CHICAGO – Detroit, and the idea of jobs making a very different kind of motor in the Motor City, is a big part of upscale watchmaker Shinola's brand.
But Shinola also has strong Chicago ties. A local tannery supplies the leather Shinola uses in its watch straps. Three Shinola stores have opened or are opening in the Chicago area by this fall. The company wants to set up a manufacturing plant on the city's South Side, though Shinola President Jacques Panis has declined to say what it may make and when it may open.
Over the years, Shinola has branched out to new products — some built in-house, some with outside partners — from bicycles to leather goods to turntables. What ties it all together? Panis said Shinola is trying to create U.S. jobs by finding ways to make, or at least assemble, goods in the U.S. that are often produced overseas.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How did you come to Shinola?
A: I've worked for our founder (Tom Kartsotis) for about 10 years at a company called Reel FX. We built a virtual world for kids there — that was the project I was leading.
Q: This seems like a bit of a switch.
A: It is, but even the virtual world we were making was about creating an environment and a platform to engage, tell stories and educate. So when you think about the digital realm we were working in, and this place we're working in today, there's a lot of similarities.
Q: You say the stores are designed to activate customers' senses. What does that mean?
A: You get the sight of the store — the colors, the warmth of the wood, the lighting. You can hear the Shinola turntable playing and the Shinola candle burning, and the team is going to eventually offer you a Shinola cola as well. And the last sense we want you to experience is feel. Our watches are out where you can pick them up, [along with] the leather goods, so you can feel the textures. It's a really wholesome experience that engages individuals on a personal level.
Q: Was there something the Shinola team saw when creating the brand that made you think the story around heritage and being made in Detroit would catch on the way it has?
A: It was our mission from the get-go to create jobs in the United States and, in creating jobs, design well-made, very high-quality goods. It was always our goal to tell that narrative and share the story of this brand and the city of Detroit. There's an incredible history there of manufacturing. Our motors power the watches, so when you think about building engines, there's no better place to go do it.
Q: Do you think it could have worked as well elsewhere?
A: Detroit was our No. 1 choice. It just took time to find space and work with our partners to make sure they were comfortable with what we were doing.
Q: You've introduced a wider range of products. How do you decide where to branch out?
A: What we're looking for is products that traditionally, at scale, have gone offshore and are being made in other parts of the world. We look at those categories and try to figure out where we can innovate and invest capital in those categories and bring those manufacturing jobs back here in the U.S. We have to be able to build things here.
