A Dundee man’s watch-making business that has a shop in St Andrews is planning expansion to the Middle East.
Kartel was started by watch enthusiasts Dundonian Bobby Morrison and his brother Dale in 2014.
The pair spotted a need in the market for a simple classically-designed watch so developed the Lewis Model.
In its first year, they sold their new brand to 30 global airlines.
A year later came the launch of the Kartel website, while in 2016 the wholesale business launched in Asia.
The brand’s first shop opened in St Andrews in 2017.
Two years later the brothers decided In to no longer sell their watches through third party retailers.
Bobby said they wanted to provide a better service and build stronger customer relations.
The brand continued to grow and a second store opened in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter in October 2021.
Watch-making firm expands into London
The success of Kartel led to another new store – its first outside Scotland – opening shortly before Christmas.
The move to to London was a “strategic” move for the business, Bobby said.
He added: “We’re just at the back of King’s Cross station. They’ve spent billions on the development and it’s London’s Silicon Valley.
“We’re in a beautiful development called Coal Drops Yard.
He said the expansion, with investment of about £150,000, has been about a year in the pipeline.
“We’ve got so many customers down south and we wanted a hub to be able to meet them and show them our wares.”
The company offers a range of watches for both men and women.
It also runs in-store watch building experiences where customers can select and assemble their perfect watch.
“We hold the components and they can then build the perfect watch.
“They then finish that by adding their own engraving. That is what stands us out from others.”
The success of the watch-making experiences is helping the business continue to grow.
Picking right time for Dubai expansion
Despite challenges posed by the economic climate, he has plans to open a fourth store this year, and another in 2024.
“This year we’re keeping an eye on the economy, but we’re pretty confident we can stick to that plan.
“We have been looking at places like York and Cambridge for our next store. Our store in St Andrews is a real success story with the demographic there.
“We’ve also registered our trademarks in Dubai. We see it as an option due to the number of tourists it sees.
“Hopefully we’ll pursue that within the next couple of years.”
