Luxury Time Announces Its Partnership With Fledge Capital
Luxury Time Announces Its Partnership With Fledge Capital. Independent investment company Fledge Capital has thrown its weight behind South Africa’s high-end online watch retailer, Luxury Time.
In the 19 years since Luxury Time was started by entrepreneur Adriaan Rootman, the company has established a strong reputation for offering pre-owned authentic timepieces by premier brands such as Rolex, Omega, Panerai, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, and many more.
Fledge Capital’s preference for investing in solid consumer brands with unique appeal means that this new Luxury Time partnership is a perfect fit. Adriaan Rootman’s fascination with watches began as a child witnessing the daily ritual of his father carefully placing his own watch on the bedside table every night. As a teenager dreaming of creating his own future, Adriaan spent his pocket-money on internet magazines in CNA, and he realised early on that online selling was the way forward.
Following a trip to the UK to play cricket, he bought his mother a watch in Dubai duty-free, but back in Pretoria he discovered it retailed for three times the price in South Africa. This was his lightbulb moment: the opportunity to sell pre-owned luxury watches and to sell them online. So young Adriaan negotiated bulk buying of luxury watches at a discount with local shops and started trading. However, it was slow-going.
“Online credibility was always an issue,” recalls Adriaan. “remember 19 years ago, no one trusted buying high-end products through a website.” In the first seven years he sold, at best, 50 watches but he did notice a trend: people regularly approached him about buying their old timepieces. Instead, Adriaan offered to sell them on a consignment basis. “This was a very successful business model: I didn’t have to buy the watches, but had stock and could make a small commission.”
