SimplyAbuDhabi XLII

Jean-Claude Biver - Advisor to the NORQAIN Board Thank you somuch for talking tous and sharing theNORQAINstory with Simply Abu Dhabi readers. Can you tell us about the founding vision andDNA of NORQAIN as a brand? Of course, thank you for your time. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and had noticed that there were very few remaining family-owned and independent brands in the industry. My vision has always been to create a family-owned, fully independent company aligned with our values and adventurous spirit. A brand that is not scared to challenge the status quo and approach things differently. What inspired you to create a nature-based Swiss watch brand targeting a younger generation? When analysing the market, I realised that there were not a lot of independent brands in the sub-10k category and not a lot of brands that I personally was able to identify with. I wanted to create something attainable for the young and the young at heart that feels fresh and dynamic. We often hear that NORQAIN is seen as a breath of fresh air in a more traditional industry, and I am proud of NORQAIN being a challenger brand with an adventurous spirit. How did you decide on the three collections - Independence, Adventure, and Freedom?What differentiates them? The names of the collections are inspired by NORQAIN’s values. All collections feature our own different interpretations of a sports watch. The Independence collection being the innovative sports watch, the Adventure collection the all-rounder sports watch, and the Freedom collection the vintage-inspired sports watch. What challenges did you face as a young brand in an industry rooted in tradition and history? As I’m sure you can ima gine, at the beginning people thought we were crazy and that there wasn’t any space left for a young brand in a traditional history. But time has shown that the industry is open to a new approach and energy. With anything that is young, it is important to have credibility. Working with leading suppliers in Switzerland and important partnerships, such as our partnership with Kenissi, underline the quality of our products and have been able to give the brand a lot of credibility. Could you share some key milestones that have shaped NORQAIN into what it is today? Our partnership with Kenissi was definitely a big milestone for us and our products. Other milestones have been our valued partnerships that we’ve been able to grow over the years, such as being the Official Timekeeper of the NHLPA, the TCS New York City Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Dubai Marathon, and many more exciting races and organisations. And of course, being able to work with industry legend Jean- Claude Biver to develop the Wild ONE collection – the ultimate high-performance sports watch – has been another major moment. One of the achievements that is closest to my heart is the support we’ve been able to give children in Nepal through our partnership with the Butterfly Help Project. The donations to the Butterfly Help Project from our NEVEREST collection we’ve been able to send 50 children to school in Nepal and build a hostel for the students. 186 | Simply Abu Dhabi