Interview with William Bauer and family owned business ROYCE.
What is your company and what is its main goal?
ROYCE is a fourth generation family tradition that prides itself on sustaining heritage and craftsmanship, while providing pragmatic, functional executive essentials and travel accessories for contemporary jet-setters.
When did you start your business and why?
While my great grandfather Josef Bauer started the business as a means of putting food on our family’s table, for me it’s about pride and tradition, I’m fueled by a passion for keeping the legacy going and carrying on the work of my predecessors who gave blood, sweat and tears to this business. So while the business is in its fourth generation, we’re actually in “lean start up mode” again as I have heavily pivoted the company away from traditional leather manufacturing to leveraging our monogramming capabilities to provide experiential monogramming and on Instagram as well as partnering with Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s to provide live, in-person monogramming year round in their flagship stores.
What makes you different from your competition?
Our ability to offer complimentary, on the spot monogramming is an exclusive, bespoke service that none of our competitors can compete with, as it pertains to monogram quality, turnaround time or cost. Our commitment to client service is reflected in our 4.9/5 on Google on 200+ reviews, but ultimately it is the personalization that truly sets us apart.
What marketing channels do you use for your growth?
Our marketing budget is actually non-existent. Our ad spend is zero, no brand ambassadors or influencer partnerships, etc. We pride ourselves on being authentic, organic and accessible, probably to a fault. But we want to remain true to our family business principles and I think that really resonates with our even our most luxe clientele.
What are you expected to grow in terms of revenue in the next 12 months?
We expect to supplement our current revenue trajectory by at least another $1 million in the next year, premised on burgeoning corporate client initiatives and the growth of our in-store monogram boutiques in our flagship department store partners in New York City.