Hi my name’s Jason Monaghan, I’m the founder and CEO of JJ Monaghan Watches. Below are a few questions to get to know me and the direction I’m looking to push JJ Monaghan in the future.
1. What do you feel is the biggest strength of your company right now?
Being one myself, I know what young professional guys in their 20s and 30s are looking for and want to wear – this really helps when looking at possible new collections and how I want the brand to feel.
Another strength is how fast we’re able to introduce new collections and watch designs. Whereas most watch brands may take up to a year to release a new collection. We are able to turn around a new collection in a couple of months; from designing, to receiving the samples and putting in the order for the finished product. People are always looking for something fresh, so being able to create new products quickly is really important.
2. What goal do you have for the company?
Well, 2020 has already been a massive year for JJ Monaghan. Receiving a call that Martin Compston wanted to wear our watches for the new BBC show The Nest and finally seeing it onscreen this year was a monumental milestone and I had felt it was such an absurd dream that it had never been one of my goals.
That being said, one goal I’ve always had for JJ Monaghan is to get our watches into an independent store. I often receive calls from customers wanting to check out our products in person, so having a store where they could physically see and feel our watches would help our customers make decisions on our products.
3. What was the path you took to get to where you are today?
I grew up in Montrose, Scotland. It’s a small holiday town with a population of around 12,000. I attended high school and college where I went on to study design. Men’s fashion and grooming have always interested me and I had always dreamed of having a business in one of these fields.
I have always had a passion for watches and felt I could bring something new to the watch market. I saved up money from my full-time job and placed an order for my first collection. When my first collection arrived, I went about photographing them, building our website, creating all marketing material and reaching out to celebrities to see if they would like the brand as much as I hoped they would. Luckily, lots of them did! Big shout out to my brother for helping me fund my second collection!
While the brand is growing, all the profits go back into the company so I can improve and grow it even more.
