At present, a large number of DTC watch independent station brands give up European local foundry and choose Chinese watch supply chain. This paper compares the differences between Chinese and European watchmaking industry chain and analyzes the core reasons behind it from the five dimensions of cost, delivery, customization ability, full category production capacity, innovation and research and development.

I. Introduction: A significant transformation has occurred in the global DTC wristwatch purchasing landscape

Traditional European watchmaking has a century-old brand foundation and the halo of precision technology, but it is no longer the first choice of small and medium-sized DTC brands; In contrast, China's pearl river delta to form a complete watch industry cluster, small single try perfect match DTC brand, rapid iteration, high degree of freedom to customize, controllable budget core requirements.

II. Four Core Reasons: DTC Watch Brands Abandon Europe and Choose China Supply Chain

2.1 Complete integrated industrial chain, one-stop full-process production, Europe highly fragmented

European watchmaking industry has a serious division of labor problems: movement procurement from Switzerland, case processing in Germany, watchband production points in Italy, Spain, dial, packaging and need to butt different small workshop. If the DTC brand chooses European OEM, it needs to connect with 5-8 different suppliers, cross-country communication and multi-batch logistics transfer, which will result in high communication cost and time loss.

China Pearl River Delta (Shenzhen, Guangzhou) has created the world's only full-chain watch industry cluster: movement, stainless steel watch case, alloy watch case, diamond glass mirror, steel belt/silica gel/leather watch band, dial printing, crown accessories, gift box packaging and other industry circle integration. From design proofing, mold opening, parts processing, assembly, quality inspection to finished product packaging and delivery, all processes can be completed by FOKSY factory. For DTC brands with fast new development speed and frequent style iteration, there is no need for multi-party connection with suppliers, and the supply chain management is greatly simplified. It is especially suitable for independent merchants with single operation and small team.

2.2 Flexible order quantities, suitable for DTC small batch trial production mode, European threshold is extremely high

Old European watchmaking factories generally serve luxury high-end brands, with a very high minimum order quantity threshold. The minimum order of a single type is thousands. Some Swiss workshops even require tens of thousands of orders before accepting cooperation.

Chinese watch factories have a well-developed hierarchical structure, with both large-scale factories capable of handling tens of thousands of orders and small-scale factories capable of undertaking low MOQ custom trial orders. The brand can simultaneously develop 10 new products, stock a small amount of each type, and flexibly adjust the replenishment amount according to the traffic conversion data, which perfectly fits the operation mode of DTC: quick model testing and light inventory.

2.3 The overall production cost is controllable, and the cost performance of the same process in Europe far exceeds that of Europe.

A lot of people wrong, think Europe wrist watch is premium is high, the actual production cost is higher than domestic several times.

First, labor costs: the salary of artisans, factory site rent and environmental taxes in Europe are 5-8 times that of those in China, which directly increases basic processing fees.

Second, the cost of raw materials: European metal, glass, leather raw material imports, customs, transportation, additional cost superposition; China has sufficient local production capacity for steel, leather, and plastic raw materials, without additional import premiums;

Third, loss costs: The assembly lines in European factories are more traditional and manual, resulting in higher production loss rates; Domestic automatic CNC equipment popularization, scale production to reduce material loss.

The same material, the same standard of simple quartz watch, European OEM factory price will be 60% - 120% higher than China. DTC brands need to control the terminal price to increase the online conversion rate, and the lower price can reserve sufficient profit space for advertising and discount activities, which is the key economic factor for brands to choose the Chinese supply chain.

2.4 Unlimited customization capabilities, providing all-round support for DTC brand differentiation

European watchmaking factories have a high degree of standardization, and most of them only support small modifications of fixed mature styles. Deep customization may generate high mold opening costs, and the modification scheme is seriously limited.

The source factories in China offer full-dimensional free customization, covering all the brand's differentiation needs:

1. Appearance customization: Customize the shape of the case, the texture of the bezel, the background color of the dial, the printed patterns, the night light effect;

2. Brand customization: Laser engrave the logo on the back cover, engrave the brand logo on the crown, provide a complete set of brand-private-made gift boxes, tags, and manuals;

3. Function customization: Quartz movement, multi-function chronometer movement, waterproof upgrade, special reading structure, etc.;

4. Accessory customization: Stainless steel straps, quick-detach silicone straps, genuine leather straps, and free combination of woven straps.

The core competitiveness of the DTC independent website lies in differentiation. It helps brands break away from the market's inflationary competition and provides a complete customization service to help brands create exclusive and exclusive styles, establish product barriers, and avoid low-price, homogenized competition with Amazon and independent websites.

III. FOKSY: Deeply rooted in 20 years of Chinese custom watch source factories, preferred supplier for DTC brands

FOKSY has mature cross-border customization experience, proficient in the differentiation of overseas DTC brands, deeply engaged in the watch OEM/ODM industry for 20 years, serving hundreds of European and American local DTC watch brands around the world, and familiar with overseas consumers' aesthetic preferences: Minimalist business watches, trend sports watches, women's light luxury quartz watches, replaceable Watch band series, Apple Watch adapted watch band and other full-category mature solution library.

To create its own wrist watch brand, operating Shopify independent stand sea merchants, free contact FOKSY obtain quotations immediately.