Chrono24 is cornering the luxury watch resale market

Watch it: Chrono24, a luxury watch marketplace founded in 2010, is now a unicorn after raising a ~$118 million funding round earlier this month.

How? For one, as co-CEO and founder Tim Stracke told Retail Brew, Chrono24’s biggest competitor in this space is eBay, which typically sells watches at lower price points. Also, Chrono24 isn’t exclusively for resale. Sellers, which are largely mom-and-pop shops, can also sell new watches.

• 85% of transactions through Chrono24 are from professional sellers, whereas 15% are from private individuals. The company carries 3,000+ dealers on its platform.
• In 2020, Chrono24’s revenue grew 50% YoY. While Stracke declined to share specific numbers, he said the company expects transaction values of roughly $2.9 billion this year.

“People couldn't spend on restaurants, hotels, experiences, and travel anymore. So they were sitting at home and then, as revenge, buying luxury watches,” Stracke told us.

• High-end watches and jewelry were the second-best performing category among luxury goods in 2020, according to McKinsey & Company, due to their investment value.

Stracke said this year is even stronger. “People don't buy vintage watches because they can save a few dollars. These are items that are super stable in value that mostly appreciate over time.”

Looking ahead: Chrono24 is profitable and doesn’t need cash to run its day-to-day operations, Stracke said. He told us an IPO is “probably more likely than another huge fundraising round.”—KM