Opinion

What is a Microbrand?

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Image: Worn & Wound

Zach Kazan reflects on the term microbrand after attending Windup, arguing that the label now says more about the community around small watch brands than about their size, price or business model. Kazan weighs it against alternatives like micro-indie and challenger brand, which Kazan finds problematic. Kazan concludes that the microbrand boom has been a consequential and beneficial period for the hobby.

The original

Worn & WoundOpinion

What is a Microbrand?

By Zach Kazan

Zach Kazan of Worn & Wound questions what a microbrand actually is, noting that the term is elastic and resists a clear definition. Related labels such as micro-indie and challenger brand come under Kazan's scrutiny, and both prove problematic. The label, Kazan argues, now signals membership in a community of enthusiasts rather than a specific size, production method or price point. Brands that reject the microbrand designation miss out on that community, and the microbrand boom is, in Kazan's view, one of the most beneficial periods in the hobby in a generation.

  • The microbrand label works as connective tissue for the enthusiast community
  • Brands that actively reject the microbrand designation
  • Micro-indie and challenger brand as replacement terms have their own problems
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