The encyclopedia · Product & Design · Product decision · 1994–2005
Ikepod made watches that looked like nothing else — and nobody wanted to wear them
Ikepod's avant-garde, disc-shaped watches were design icons — but the brand went bankrupt twice in two years.
Ikepod · 2003
What happened
Ikepod was founded in 1994 by Oliver Ike and Marc Newson, the celebrated industrial designer. Newson's signature disc-shaped, lugless watch cases made Ikepod an instant design icon — the watches looked like nothing else on the market and were sold in design museums as much as watch stores.
Design acclaim did not translate into commercial success. Ikepod filed for bankruptcy in 2003, just nine years after founding. The brand was bought by Perficio Group, which also filed for bankruptcy in 2005 — two bankruptcies in two years.
Ikepod was revived in 2008, but Newson left in 2012. Three Swiss investors bought the brand in 2017 and relaunched it via Kickstarter in 2018. The watches now use quartz movements made in Hong Kong — a long fall from the design-forward automatic watches that made Ikepod famous.
Why it happened
- Design-forward watches appealed to museum curators and magazine editors — but not enough real customers bought them to sustain the business.
- The disc-shaped, lugless design was visually striking but polarising — it was hard to wear with a suit and could not compete with classic round watches for everyday buyers.
- Two bankruptcies in two years (Ikepod 2003, Perficio 2005) showed that nobody could make the economics work — the brand was a design success and a commercial failure under two different owners.
The lesson
Design awards do not pay the rent — a watch that sells well is a better business than a watch that wins prizes.
Aftermath
Ikepod filed for bankruptcy in 2003. Perficio Group bought it but filed for bankruptcy itself in 2005. The brand was revived in 2008, though Marc Newson left in 2012. Three Swiss investors purchased Ikepod in April 2017 and relaunched via Kickstarter on 18 September 2018. The revived brand now produces watches with quartz movements made in Hong Kong — a very different proposition from the avant-garde automatic watches of the original Ikepod.
Sources
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