TALKING SHOP: The WATCHO pillar of the Richmond community

Community is spoken about a lot within the watch trade these days, but looking after your community across two wildly different locations and demographics is not an easy task. In conversation with Watch Insider’s Daniel Malins, WATCHO’s Pradip Sarda seems to take this problem in his stride. Having started the business in his own garage, he now sees the future as nothing but bright.

Watch Insider: How did WATCHO come to be in the first place?

Pradip Sarda: In reality, the Milton Keynes store came first. We took the store over in 2008 and it is branded The Watch and Clock Shop, not WATCHO, but that was actually there first. The Watch and Clock Shop was too long a name for an e-commerce platform and it was taken as well. So, we started with something simple, a smaller name. That was WATCHO, and that’s the one that grew more nationally. It was about 2010 when we saw the e-com[merce] opportunity. After dinner, the dining table became our workspace and the packing bench. At Christmas we’d be wrapping orders until 3am, then up at 7am to take parcels to the post office. When we outgrew the kitchen, we moved into the garage and also hijacked the family conservatory for extra space. Eventually we moved into dedicated offices.

We just wanted to experiment and see where the watches would move. The early trend was that it was going there [e-commerce]. We started with a small product range, to be honest, but where it’s gone since then is a different story. It was more about building that trust and relationship, which is what we got. Our store in Milton Keynes excelled at customer service. It was about how we bring it online to a wider audience, which is how the e-com[merce[ came along.

We did have a couple of kiosks which were more like one-year or two-year temporary kiosks, just to increase our presence in Milton Keynes, but it was addressing the same customer base. With Richmond, what it did feel like is an area where it consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the UK in The Times, and, looking at the area there are some lovely jewellers, but there is only one jeweller who had some sort of watch presence. It seemed like the right location where the demographics are right.

WI: I live near Richmond in Surbiton, but Surbiton suffers from being close to Kingston because all the big names go there. But I think if you’re bigger than Surbiton, and Richmond is a big town with a big high street and lots of wealth, I almost think you can benefit from somewhere like Kingston because everyone is distracted by the big shopping centre there and they ignore the opportunity in Richmond. Is that something you feel?

PS: Yeah, spot on. We offer something different to multiples and you’re right that the multiples would look at probably the numbers and Kingston makes sense for them. But, for us, community is more important, individual personal relationship is more important. That’s what Richmond gives us.

WI: Events are a big part of this for you. How do you do evening events in a shopping centre? On the high street, it’s easier.

PS: Exactly, and Richmond is also a tourist place, especially in summer with Richmond Park, so that is a different audience that walks through the door.

WI: I agree. Before we get into other areas, what led to the opening of the store in Milton Keynes in the first place? Was your background just having a passion for watches?

PS: Yeah. It’s me and Joy [Choksi, co-owner], we are business partners and Joy’s uncle had a shop in Coventry. Where the owner was looking to retire, a family friend, that came as an opportunity, and we started with the Milton Keynes shop. It was more of a clock repairs and servicing shop and more B2B-led as well. We then made it more consumer sales-focused for watches.

WI: Fast forward to the current day and you have both locations. I would argue that Milton Keynes is very different to Richmond. Richmond is on such a pedestal. Do you treat both stores differently in terms of the curation of the brands?

PS: You’re right that the two locations are different. There is something common as well, which is about the team and how we treat customers. We’ve got passion for our watches, that part is common. But in terms of the customer who walks through the door, it is different. Yes, Milton Keynes is more like a multi-generational shop. People have been going there for decades. It’s very familiar, cosy, and people are used to that. It’s more about warmth and what they have been seeing for years. Whereas Richmond is a different demographic. It’s more young professionals and young families. It’s a place where, from a store design point of view, it’s a place where people can sit, people can relax, people can linger. It’s a place where you can come and explore and spend time on watches without making it as transaction-based. That makes it a bit more like a relaxed and easy atmosphere to walk into, which is especially liked by collectors, because they often just want to spend a few hours with the watches and not even necessarily buy on that day. So, the two stores share the fact that the customers trust the people that they interact with, but the demographics and how they interpret that trust is different.

WI: To get it back to the curation of brands, is it a separate buying operation at the stores?

PS: It’s separate. The Milton Keynes store, although it had watches, after the Richmond store opened we changed the product portfolio a little bit. The Milton Keynes store is more about creating products that are different from the multiples. There are a lot of the big-name multiples in Milton Keynes, and it didn’t make sense to have the same product offering, as we wouldn’t be adding any differentiation or value to the customers. What we have in Milton Keynes are products that multiples may not have, as well as pre-owned watches and jewellery — new jewellery and pre-owned jewellery. It means the product selection is geared towards something a user will come in and find and not probably expect. It’s more like an Aladdin’s cave, you could say, and a lot of that is down to Kevin, who runs the store.

WI: In the form of niche independent brands, or are you talking more about pre-owned watches?

PS: Pre-owned watches, as well as some new watches, but it won’t be the high volume new watches. In the Milton Keynes store there is no Tissot, for example, whereas the Richmond store is different. What  we want to see is, if a customer starts their watch journey, they would end up knowing something more than we do. That’s the thought process.

Also, because every customer is still different, they will go along that journey differently. As long as we have enough products and options for customers to choose from, that’s what matters. There are Swiss brands, there are some brands which are called microbrands, there are brands which are independent. There is something different that every product or range could offer. There are products with storytelling behind them. There are some watches that have gone to space. It could be about that, it could be about something else completely. We aim to cover all the different scenarios and be with the customers for at least their next 10–15 watches in the collection journey. That’s the thought process for Richmond. Pratik, our head of operations, ensures we have curated collections from across the brands.

WI: How do you go about taking people on that journey? You might have a relatively cheap watch brand that represents the beginning, but different people will have different opinions on what comes next. How do you decide?

PS: I would say it comes more from interactions. We have some brands where collectors come in and they would spend their time. And the beauty of having products that collectors love is that when you talk to them, they know what they’re looking for next as well. It’s not just collectors, but some of our suppliers, the account managers for the suppliers, they themselves are quite passionate about horology. When we speak to them, it’s not about what products they have on offer, but personally, what products are they wearing? Not today, but on the weekend. What’s your next watch going to be and what’s happening in the market?

When we speak to our customers and our suppliers, based on our own knowledge and experience, we get a feel of what products customers would go for. We are quite active and try and at least read the forums to understand what the vibe is. We want to try and catch that vibe.

Then what we have got is the benefit of the sales data. We can see what’s working, what’s moving, so that gives us a bit more confidence about selected products. What we have noticed from experience is products where there is a nice compelling story behind it, really work. If we can feel that story for the product, then we get that confidence that our customers will also like it. We get passionate about selling that product because of the story.

WI: As people get older and they have more disposable income, their tastes change and there is an argument that for all watch shops, including yours, there’s a glass ceiling. It’s difficult, because that collector will eventually want something rarer or more expensive than you can offer. How do you keep them for 25 years, and not just a few years? Or are you happy just to have this niche of sub-£3,000 watches?

PS: We had about 10 brands probably five years ago, and now it’s got to more than 25 brands. It has upgraded. Obviously, we didn’t know what those next 15 brands were going to be, but they came along. Likewise now, in the next five years I’m sure we will have more products to offer.

The products we would select are not necessarily just based on price either. Nowadays people like products where there is: a) a really compelling story; or: b) it relates to them in some way; or: c) if there is good craftsmanship behind it — it’s a well-made product and it’s going to last them, or something that they can pass on for future generations. Although there will be some brands we may not have even five years down the line, I’m sure there would be other products where there is a story, and craftsmanship. One example is one of our customers. I don’t know if you watched the Interstellar movie. Believe it or not, one of the customers wanted a Hamilton for himself and his daughter. That sort of story resonates very, very well with exactly what happens in the movie. It doesn’t matter what another brand comes along with, what the person really wants is that Hamilton Murph watch, the exact same watch that’s in the movie. Things like that. I think there are always products, there are always products that are available which genuinely resonate with the customer.

WI: I want to ask you about the events you do at the store, which I think are such an important part of modern luxury retail. I know what a great job your Richmond retail manager Malgosia Roznerska has done on that side of things, but what made you go down that route in the first place?

PS: We feel watch retail is still a very tactile experience and events are not for marketing, but more about being able to share the experience, talk about it, and hear from the customer about what they feel for that watch. Why did they end up buying that watch? An event is a platform that makes that happen. We have customers, we have collectors, we have people who are passionate about horology, whether they bought from us or not. We have got brand partners and suppliers, and it allows them to have an interaction in a relaxed environment. It’s not about buying, it’s not about selling. It’s about: “Which watch am I wearing today? Why am I wearing it? What are you wearing? And what’s the story behind it?” It’s about feeling that connection. Malgosia and the wider team’s creativity brings it to life.

If I have to put a commercial hat on, if we can create that community and connection, that’s what would really differentiate us from anyone else. We want to know our customers by first name and we want them to know us by our first name as well. If we have that genuine connection, next time they are on the lookout for something, the first thing they would do is contact us.

I remember a Garmin event that we hosted. The reason it started was as an activation and to show what the new watch that they had could offer, but the people who came in really did not come in for the technical specs or the brand. We had a competition on the day — go for a run, come back, and there were three prizes to be won for whoever ran the most. One person ran around the 20km mark, so we thought that that person was going to be a winner.

A few minutes later, somebody else came up with 30km! And then somebody ran 40km and came back! The reason he gave was even more touching. What he said is that he had an injury and when he saw our event about running, this was his motivation. He hadn’t been running for a while and because he hadn’t been running, it had just slipped off his daily routine. This event was his motivation to get back into fitness and get back into running, and that was the day when he started back. Again, in this story, there’s no product really, but it’s about connections. It’s about what you feel for it. The event is just a platform to make all that happen and build deeper connections into our community.

WI: I think it’s a great idea and presumably you will do more of these events, especially in the summer.

PS: We try and theme them, so there would be something around Valentine’s Day, and then more around the summer. Logistically, summer does make things a lot easier for more people to come in. We try and align it with a product launch if possible. We’ve had a Japanese night, we’ve had a Swiss night, we’ve had a French one for French watches, and then we had an American one for Bulova.

WI: Do the brands get involved on these nights and send a representative?

PS: They get involved because they are passionate. A lot of times brand representatives come along because they want to genuinely interact with customers or even with collectors to try and share that story.

WI: Moving onto business more generally, you’ve now got the two stores and the online platform. You’ve said your focus is on the community and your people, but that becomes harder as you scale up. Do you struggle to retain the core DNA of WATCHO as you grow?

PS: I think we’re lucky. Yes, our team has grown substantially in the last few years. We are still recruiting. We had a new joiner this week. We have got another person joining next week as well. I think when people join our team, they can feel the sense that customers come first.

It’s not a policy, it’s just what we believe and that’s what’s ingrained in all of us. Yes, there are logistical complexities with three locations and so on, but what we make sure is that what customers see is that calm approach where they are looked after and they are valued and we don’t rush them into anything. They are genuinely cared for. Yes, beneath the surface it is our duty then to make things happen in the background and we meet those deadlines and make sure that the customer’s special day is very special.

We’ve got good managers and everybody’s hands-on. Even the owners and the directors are hands-on in the business, which means that they can see the decisions we make every day are about the customers and about maintaining that community. It is about how we can stay part of that community. It’s good to be involved and included in the collector circle if they trust us because they know we are not coming in to them to sell something, but just genuinely to be part of it. As they see it, I think it gets ingrained in their DNA as well.

Luckily, when people come in, especially when there is a first job or second job, they do need a bit of direction, and what to look out for. As long as they know what the most important part of the company is, then when they make their decisions, it becomes easier for them. They don’t have to consult three people to see what needs to be done, but they know what’s the right thing to do for the customer. So far, we have been able to maintain the core DNA of the company, which is about customers, about community, but also being honest, being ethical, making sure that we are giving back to our community.

WI: In an industry where some may have scale and marketing budgets you cannot match, how would you describe what makes WATCHO genuinely different?

PS: It starts with relationship. Just as every fingerprint is unique, so is every person who walks through our doors or rings us. And that belief shapes everything about how we operate. We answer every call within two rings. If the customer service team is busy, someone else steps in. Vidya, one of the owners, is often first to pick up. We ask questions, we listen: what’s the occasion, what do they already wear, what story do they want a watch to tell? That kind of guided discovery builds something that lasts well beyond a single purchase.

One customer review put it better than I could. They wrote that they felt we were more focused on helping them find the right watch than on making the sale. That is not an accident, it is a philosophy. People come to us trusting that we will recommend the right product, not just any product. And when that trust is honoured, they come back. Not just for a second watch, but for their fifth and their tenth.

WI: I wonder what your view is on what an ideal member of sales staff looks like. Because when I’m a customer and I go into a shop, I want someone to have a bit of personality and a bit of character. But the problem is, if you’re the owner of the business, character can go one of two ways. Generally, companies try to make standards very uniform. It’s a difficult balance because you don’t want to deal with robots, but it is equally a bit dangerous if a staff member becomes ‘bigger’ than the brand.

PS: I have to think back and see how what has made it work for us. I do know that for all the customers we serve every day, we have to make some decision or another. The ideal person from my point of view is somebody who is making sure that the customer is happy. It’s not about selling a product to them. It’s about whether that customer will come to you for life. Every customer that we have acquired has to be a lifetime customer. What would we do to have that customer for life, not just for today’s sale?

And because every team member, especially the sales team, knows about this, it’s more about lifetime value. It’s not necessarily trying to look at numbers or hit some arbitrary targets. We don’t give them targets to hit any day or any week because we feel that it might just create a different atmosphere or a different vibe. What we look for is how many customers, for example, left a review for you. How many customers actually named you in the review, and that gets incentivised. And when it’s a positive comment left by a customer, or the fact that that customer came along, if that’s what is incentivising the behaviour, that’s the key. I think we attract the right person who treats the customer as a lifetime customer.

You may buy something today, but if you don’t like the experience you will probably not go there again for your whole life. You’ve lost that customer for what, the next 50 years? I would personally shop at places where there is familiarity. I’ve been there, I like it, I just keep going there. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a big chain or they’ve got 100 shops or they’ve got 10 shops — it’s one person I’m dealing with all the time. He gives me good service and that’s why I go to that place.

WI: From your experience, do you feel that the system you describe works, in terms of incentivising the right people and making sure they stay?

PS: Absolutely. It’s a snowball effect. It may start slow, but it quickly gets pace and that’s what happens in this case. We’re not looking for quick money or quick output here. It is about building a business that will last me, but also something that I can pass to the next generation. Also, if you have really looked after customers, the benefit you receive, which is in hindsight really, is you get word-of-mouth publicity.

Coming back to your first point about how we standardise it, that’s the real challenge. That’s where unique skill would come in. I don’t think you can have a corporate policy about standardising the process because every customer is unique, and we want to treat it that way. We want to make sure that is valued. That said, what means value for one customer is different from what it means for another customer. There is that flexibility that the sales team have to make sure that the end goal is met.

My job as an owner is to make sure that there are no hurdles between the salesperson and what he or she wants to achieve. If it means giving some flexibility, liaising with multiple teams, speaking to the supplier to meet some certain deadlines etc., then I’ll make sure that I do that so that, from a sales team point of view, he or she can make sure that they’ve kept that promise to the customer.

WI: I really like that. It’s such a long-termist way of doing things. One of my final questions is about your relationship with the Brighter Future initiative. What is the story behind it and how do you manage to relate that to your daily retail operation?

PS: This is something that’s deeply personal to me. A few years ago I visited an orphanage and saw first-hand what genuine hardship looks like. 12 children sharing one room. No beds, no tables. They were sleeping on the floor. We don’t have to think about whether we will get our next meal. For them, it was the defining question of their day. It touched me deeply. I said to myself: we need to do something about this.

We are in the privileged position of running a business that people choose to support. Every product we sell is an act of trust from a customer. We felt — and still feel — that we have a responsibility to use that trust to do something meaningful beyond the transaction.

So we built it into the very structure of how we trade. Every watch sold plants a tree and donates a meal to a child in need. We also donate school kits at the start of each academic year, because education is how you change a life, not just a day. To date, we have planted more than 17,800 trees — working towards our target of 26,000 by the end of 2026 — and served over 1,100 meals, with a target of 1,500. A school kit that seems small to us could be genuinely life-changing for a child who has never had one.

We also give customers a choice at the point of purchase, be it in-store or online. By default their contribution goes to one of these causes, but they choose between the two. In store, customers drop their choice into one of two charity boxes on the counter. It puts something meaningful in their hands at the moment they buy.

We call it the Brighter Tomorrow Initiative – a commitment woven into everything we do, every day. One Watch. One Tree. One Meal. We share it publicly not to seek recognition, but because we hope it inspires others to think about what their business could do. The whole team is behind it, and I genuinely believe both they and our customers can feel that commitment when they walk through the doors or connect with us online.

WI: I love to hear that. We should all agree that children shouldn’t have to worry about where the next meal is coming from. To conclude, is this the beginning of an empire? What does the future hold? Is it about just improving what you already have or is it about expanding?

PS: Three things stand out, and I feel strongly about all of them. First, community. We want to deepen what we’ve built — not just grow it by numbers, but by the quality of the relationships. Events, collector gatherings, experiences that bring people together around watches and jewellery. That will always be at the heart of what we do.

Second, personalisation through AI. And I say this as someone who has spent time in technology. This is a once-in-a-decade, possibly once-in-a-generation, opportunity. But for us the question is not how to use AI to replace the human connection, it is how to use it to deepen it. If we can help someone discover what resonates with them, or make their experience even more personal, we can make every conversation more meaningful. AI in service of something more personal.

Third, jewellery. With watches we’ve built something we’re proud of: sales, pre-owned, servicing, education, and community. A complete world for the enthusiast. We are proud to have become a trusted advisor to our customers, something that keeps them coming back and allows us to keep serving them. We want to build that same depth around jewellery. We’ve already started. We have pieces in Richmond inspired by the park itself: one custom-made piece that traces the shape of Richmond Park. That kind of connection to place is exactly what we want the jewellery offer to stand for. The foundation stays the same. Every customer is unique, every relationship is personal. That will never change.

WI: With jewellery, the branding is not as strong as with watches, but there is significant margin. If you can get people in to buy a watch and then they see the jewellery offering, the two should dovetail nicely, right?

PS: We have it all the time. Guys used to come to buy a watch and then the partner would probably be just waiting or sitting. We did try a few things at that time. We added some element of skincare routine or nail routine for them to do while the guy is shopping for watches, but then we thought that if that person is just waiting, then they wouldn’t mind looking around and seeing the options on display. Having jewellery does bring that in. Somebody comes in first for jewellery and then buys a watch, or vice versa.

It’s going back to community. It’s about loyalty. We have got a loyalty system in place. That also means that when they may have come for watches and if the next watch is a few months or even a year down the line, we don’t have to lose that customer for that year. There is a reason for the customer to come back to the store and stay engaged with us.

This article first appeared in the April 2026 edition of Watch Insider magazine.