Eqotime meets Mockberg's founder Elvira Eriksson

Text: Britta Rossander

With watches in appealing design and at an advantageous price level, Elvira Eriksson has pulled off the feat of selling watches to women for millions of kronor. 

-The first year we sold for 10 million kronor. We were early on instagram after all and that paid off, says Elvira Eriksson, who founded the company Mockberg in 2015 and sold watches from her student flat. 

The name Mockberg is taken from a mountain with the same name that lies outside Leksand. Elvira has however no connection to Dalarna but thought it was a fitting company name since both gold and silver smithing went on in the area long ago. 

That it became a watch company is because when she was hunting for a watch for herself she quickly realised that the range of watches for women was limited and that the models that existed for female wrists felt both stereotypical and old fashioned. 

-The frustration I felt about this made me decide to design what in my view would be the perfect watch for a woman. That was almost ten years ago.

-The watch industry is special and there is an enormous pride and knowledge. Finding the right manufacturer is like finding a partner for the company. Without the right partner nothing works. 

-It took a long time to find the right suppliers who could deliver the quality we wanted, and besides, our first models had a fairly unique case that was new as a type for the manufacturers. 

-After hundreds of samples and surely just as many visits to various manufacturers we finally landed right. The road there was far from simple and of course we have made a few costly mistakes along the way. I have been forced to learn as much as possible about watches and have at the same time developed a love for the industry in a way I had not expected. 

-When we started Mockberg in 2015 we were quite early in selling watches online, so to begin with it went relatively easily, we grew very quickly. The years that followed were however lined with extremely much competition within the same price category and target group, so it clearly became harder. We set a retail strategy early and began visiting and exhibiting at international fairs. That meant we got distributors who took Mockberg out into the world and launched the brand in their respective markets. 

– In 2020 a lot happened. I won the prize as young entrepreneur of the year, which is awarded by Founders Alliance. The jury's motivation read: 

”The winner saw a need in a mature market and has built an international brand without external capital. The founder has shown that she is prepared to do what it takes to move her company forward in good times and bad.” 

You were in a few accidents, weren't you?

-Yes, I was also in two riding accidents. First I broke  a vertebra in June 2020, I was lucky and healed quickly, but in September the same year I broke my neck. I am now fused in the neck with minor loss of feeling in my left arm. The recovery went unexpectedly quickly and I am so grateful that everything went so well. The doctors said I should buy a lottery ticket since I could have been paralysed in my whole body. 

You had a tough period a couple of years ago, didn't you?

-Exactly, a lot happened within the industry in 2017-2018. I personally think there were a few too many watch brands competing for the same customer in the same price range. What happened to us was that we lost a large part of our markets abroad. We had grown quickly and launched Mockberg in 25 countries, but when things started going badly we very swiftly lost everything we had built up. 

-We had to take a step back and think about what we wanted to stand for and who actually was our customer. We carried out a big change process in both the range and the brand and the result is the Mockberg you see today. Since 202 we have grown every month and it really feels like we have found our way home in both product and brand. 

You have a part owner now, tell us more.

-We brought in a part owner who is brilliant at expanding brands at an international level. My brother Daniel, who is a co-founder, and I felt that this guy is the right person to take Mockberg to the next level! 

The German site, has it gone well?

-Yes! It has only very recently been launched and we have just started advertising in the German market. I think Germany will become and be one of our biggest markets this year! 

How do you see the future for the company today?

-The way I see it there is no limit to how big Mockberg can become, but that is not the most important thing. The most important thing for us is that we continue to produce beautiful, stylish accessories for women, that I feel is my great calling here in life.