In the market for a wristwatch from World War II? Then you’ll be interested in WarTimers, a new catalog from San Diego-based Sunset Cliffs Merchandising Corp., which also publishes the Deutsche Optic catalog of military optics and instruments.
The 16-page WarTimers catalog launched in October with a mailing to 100,000 house file and rented names. WarTimers also did a piggyback mailing with the November/December issue of “International Wristwatch” magazine,”which has 10,000 subscribers. The catalog will run ads this spring in magazines such as “American Time.”
Products include original militiary watches, clocks, and accoutrements as well as re-creations, with some crossover with the Deutsche Optik book. Response so far has been below plan, says marketing and advertising manager Pete Alexander, but it indicates a strong market for watches selling for less than $1,000, and solid demand for those that cost more than $3,000. In the middle range, however, “competition is severe, and the choices are myriad,” Alexander says. The average order is $300.