Material Good's co-founder Rob Ronen describes their unique approach to luxury retail, prioritizing an unparalleled in-store experience over immediate sales. This strategy, born from identifying a gap in the luxury timepiece and jewelry market, emphasizes relationship building and caters to both discerning and aspirational consumers. The episode reveals how this experiential focus has driven their growth, enabling them to expand to a second location eight years after bootstrapping their initial success.
In 2015, Rob Ronen and Michael Herman co-founded Material Good, a retailer specializing in fine jewelry and rare timepieces that first opened in New York City's Soho neighborhood. They had no backers — and still own 100% of the business — but they had years of experience working for Audemars Piguet and in the private jewelry sector, respectively. And they'd defined a white space that was particularly glaring in lower Manhattan. "The retail experience that was being offered was subpar," Ronen said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. "I would go to different retailers … that were carrying high-end timepieces, and I noticed that it was all about product and price. A client would walk into a store, they would ask for a specific product or ask to be shown different price point products, and then they would haggle and negotiate over price — because that was still a time when discounts were prevalent in the watch world. … It was not experiential. I felt like there would be something we could do better." The first store served as a proof of concept, even attracting Hailey Bieber and John Mayer, among other celebrity shoppers. So, eight years after its opening, in early December 2023, the founders opened a second store in Miami. Along with discussing the company's unique approach to physical retail, Ronen spoke on the podcast about how it's meeting the standards of discerning luxury shoppers while also appealing to aspirational consumers.