Hodinkee cuts 20% of workforce

[Pop Art Suzy]

I don't see a link/URL anywhere.

[77T]

Maybe better to merge this thread with the other one on same topic from hours earlier.


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[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by 77T

Maybe better to merge this thread with the other one on same topic from hours earlier.


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Did not notice that this is a duplicate.

Kat


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[KatGirl]

Originally Posted by Pop Art Suzy

I don't see a link/URL anywhere.

My bad. Fixed.


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[amh]

".... as prices for pre-owned timepieces slump."

I wish they'd hurry up and slump faster!

[HMHM]

If Hodinkee do not go back to its roots, I’m afraid we will see more cuts in the future. The site is now so bad.

[BraveBold]

My guess is the 20% cut is just the first pass.

More likely to come as I don’t see inventory moving without price adjustments (lower). This is a classic case of acquisition and expansion during a market peak.

[sski]

imo----The Dink has been on a downward spiral after Jack Forster, Cole Pennington departed (also Stephen P., Cara B. are missed!)

I enjoyed Sarah Miller's writing, but looks like she's no longer @ H either

[Pablito]

I need them to slump a little more so I can complete my collection reasonably ��

[77T]

Originally Posted by KatGirl

Did not notice that this is a duplicate.

Kat


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No problem - was sharing in spirit of communication, not a rant at all.

Good news is the Mods got the threads merged


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[Chester01]

Originally Posted by 1William

Sorry to hear for the people that lost a job. Not so sorry for the brand as Hodinkee has strayed so far from what I use to like about it.

I hear this kind of thing a lot. Im not in the watch business, but in general journalism is a tough business and the purpose of most business are to make $$ (or at least one of the top purposes). One can stay small as satisfy a small number of folks like ourselves on these kinds of things, or expand and bring more awareness to the masses. In doing that, one needs to expand. Even if one has a passion for watches, one needs to make enough dough to leave their day job and be a watch journalist. You make a good point, but far, far easier said than done finding that balance.

[Steerpike999]

Originally Posted by rushca01

Looking at their “masthead” their staff seems to be bloated by unnecessary positions.

You either pay someone commensurate to the value they bring to the company or you give them a title to satisfy their ego and hopefully distract them from the fact their pay is below par.

[Wahlberg]

Originally Posted by Chester01

I hear this kind of thing a lot. Im not in the watch business, but in general journalism is a tough business and the purpose of most business are to make $$ (or at least one of the top purposes). One can stay small as satisfy a small number of folks like ourselves on these kinds of things, or expand and bring more awareness to the masses. In doing that, one needs to expand. Even if one has a passion for watches, one needs to make enough dough to leave their day job and be a watch journalist. You make a good point, but far, far easier said than done finding that balance.

Did they need to add crown and caliber? They were already selling new watches or meddling with those, it was easier to to set up a small team and buy/sell those vintage watches if that source of income was really needed and expansion in that direction was necessary. It doesn't take a lot and they already have the money and connections ready to do that. So many people are likely willing to trade in their vintage Rolex/Omega/Patek/... you name it because they know Hodinkee the brand.

Imagine paying 40 plus million for a used watch shop and now you are losing money because of it, yikes.

[Normunds]

Originally Posted by Wahlberg

Imagine paying 40 plus million for a used watch shop and now you are losing money because of it, yikes.

I really doubt they are losing money because of that.

[dtwer]

Originally Posted by Chester01

I hear this kind of thing a lot. Im not in the watch business, but in general journalism is a tough business and the purpose of most business are to make $$ (or at least one of the top purposes). One can stay small as satisfy a small number of folks like ourselves on these kinds of things, or expand and bring more awareness to the masses. In doing that, one needs to expand. Even if one has a passion for watches, one needs to make enough dough to leave their day job and be a watch journalist. You make a good point, but far, far easier said than done finding that balance.

You hit the nail on the head. Contrasting this with the news that some Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer has to bring in hundreds of their foreign workers to build their new chip fab plant here in the US due to the lack of skilled American workers to do the jobs, I think that sheds light on where our next generations should focus if they seek financially secure careers. STEM is the key.

[Fleetlord]

Too many people doing a whole bunch of nothing on a niche subject.

[CNY]

Their new CEO is from e-commerce, and everything you get with that. Wouldn't be surprised to see them move to a Forbes contributor model to save money by pumping worse content for more clicks.

[77T]

If they had hired McKinsey, the layoffs would have been 40%. (as they ought to for strategic focus)

As sad as it is, this will be the first “paper cut”.

The silver lining (if there is any) is that the people skills among those who are affected will let them find another job faster than those displaced by technology revolution in the info sector.

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[Kinnakeet]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Too many people doing a whole bunch of nothing on a niche subject.

Exactly.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Too many people doing a whole bunch of nothing on a niche subject.

Yeah, it’s like when Twitter had 7,500 employees.

When I managed a large software organization, we had apps much more complicated than that, and we supported them with less than 500 people.

Of course, Twitter needs HR, Finance, Legal, sales, and marketing departments, but I still can’t see how they ever got to 7,500 employees. Should be 2,000 max.


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[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by CNY

Their new CEO is from e-commerce, and everything you get with that. Wouldn't be surprised to see them move to a Forbes contributor model to save money by pumping worse content for more clicks.

Yes, Forbes and perhaps all the typical pay-for-play promotions. See it all the time in fashion magazines. Maybe buy-in for a mention/promotion during a popular TV show, back in the day the Sopranos schlocked all sorts of stuff.

Hodinkee could also leverage famous people they've worked with and typical 'influencers'. This is effective as is typical 'exclusive' collabs.