1. Corporate Strategy

Hodinkee CEO on its Use of Content to Fuel Commerce

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In episode 410 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jeffery Fowler, CEO at Hodinkee, an influential editorial and e-commerce site for new and vintage wristwatches. Fowler provides an overview of the Hodinkee business, including its start as a blog (0:58), his professional background that led him to join the brand (7:00), and the drivers of its current and future growth (11:20). He shares how Hodinkee is expanding its community to acquire a younger, more diverse audience (19:50) and how integrating content with commerce is essential to the brand (24:40).

In addition, Fowler discusses the watch industry trends he’s tracking to position Hodinkee for success (30:00) as well as how the brand taps into consumer sentimentality around owning traditional watches (34:20). Lastly, he shares the company culture he’s working to build at Hodinkee (36:35).

Jeffery Fowler is the CEO of Hodinkee, joining the company in March 2022. He was the president for the Americas region and member of the executive team at Farfetch, the leading global technology platform for the luxury fashion industry. As leader of the North and South America regions, Fowler worked with a diverse and talented team across offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and São Paulo to build awareness of the Farfetch brand, amaze customers with seamless and personalized service, and grow collaborative market share with boutique and brand partners of the Farfetch platform.

Prior to Farfetch, Fowler developed his career in the luxury goods sector with leadership roles at LVMH (Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer), Richemont (Cartier), and Tesla. Before that, he spent two years as a management consultant with Bain & Company after earning his BA degree in English and American Literature & Languages from Harvard University and an MBA from INSEAD. In 2017, Fowler was elected to the board of directors of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Couture Council where he has served as vice chairman since 2019. He was also selected by the editors of Women’s Wear Daily as one of the “40 Under 40” executives impacting the global fashion industry in their inaugural list of honorees. In 2018, Fowler joined the advisory board of the Baker Retailing Center at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and in 2019 was honored with the New York-based High School of Fashion Industries’ Visionary Award.

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