Saudi-Swiss watch brand Forlan Marri received orders worth CHF1 million, or about SAR4.5 million, within the first minute of launching its crowdfunding campaign, co-founder Hamad Al Marri told Al Eqtisadiah.
The campaign reached its CHF75,000 target in just 35 seconds. Customers paid upfront, allowing the company to fund production and deliver the watches about six months later without a major capital injection.
Forlan Marri launched with roughly SAR400,000 in capital and has sold between 50,000 and 55,000 watches over five years, according to Al Marri. The brand now works with agents and distributors in more than 100 countries, has a store in Tokyo’s Ginza district and plans to open a location in Geneva’s old city.
Its watches start at around SAR2,800, while some more complex models are priced from about SAR40,000. The company said some rare pieces have traded on the secondary market for two or three times their original price.
Forlan Marri also produced a watch for the Only Watch charity auction that sold for CHF130,000, compared with a pre-auction estimate of CHF20,000.
The brand is developing a women’s collection and plans to open its first Saudi store in Diriyah in the first quarter of 2028. It also aims to establish a watchmaking institute in Saudi Arabia and eventually produce a watch marked “Made in Saudi Arabia,” according to Al Marri.
Source: Al Eqtisadiah
