MK II: Building an American Watch Company

Against all odds, the founder of Mk II Corporation (Mk II) has started an American watch company. The founder, a former investment banker and a Wharton MBA graduate, began his venture in 2002 with no prior experience in the watchmaking trade. He started his company to produce watches in the United States during an era when U.S. manufacturing was in decline and the country had no indigenous watchmaking firms to speak of. In addition, the economy was recovering from the dotcom bust and there was intense competition from large, vertically integrated players. Despite all this, the founder has managed to deliver a few thousand watches and watch parts, and has a growing customer list. His challenge in March 2009 turns from trying to survive to figuring out how to manage Mk II's explosive growth.