Grand Seiko's president just told watch fans they're no longer the target audience

In an interview published today on Hodinkee Japan, Seiko Watch Corporation president Akio Naito said the quiet part out loud: Grand Seiko is done trying to win over watch enthusiasts. That's not the target anymore.

Speaking to Hodinkee Japan editor Masaharu Wada at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2026, Naito talked about what he calls the brand's "third phase". It seems to be a deliberate marketing stance toward consumers who have never opened a watch forum in their lives. "How do we deliver our appeal to people who are not watch enthusiasts?" Naito said. "That is our theme right now."

It's an interesting admission from the head of a brand that built its global reputation almost entirely on the back of goodwill of enthusiasts. Grand Seiko's rise outside Japan is largely a word-of-mouth story. Collectors who discovered the brand's finishing quality, Spring Drive movement tech, and stunning nature-inspired dials before mainstream luxury publications were even paying attention. That community, in many ways, did the marketing.

Now the brand is gunning for a different audience it seems. And the strategy to get there is somewhat clear. Seiko's watch division has been outpacing Swiss rivals in both growth and margins, with strong US demand driving a big chunk of that momentum — and Naito is doubling down on that market specifically. The Shohei Ohtani global ambassador deal which was announced earlier this year, is explicitly an American play. Naito added that European visitors at W&W responded to Ohtani with relative indifference, while American audiences had the exact opposite reaction. At this point, it's clear that this isn't a global campaign so much as a targeted US brand-building exercise.

However, it remains to be seen whether the enthusiast community — the people who got Grand Seiko here — will feel comfortable with where it's going. That is a different question entirely.