Exploring Life & Business with Eugene Tutunikov

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eugene Tutunikov. They and their team shared their story with us below:

The Buckhead Village showroom of SwissWatchExpo reflects company CEO Eugene Tutunikov: classic luxury mixed with Wall Street drive.

Having graduated magna cum laude from the NYU Stern School of Business in 2006, Tutunikov had a double major in Finance and Economics and a minor in Math. After working on Wall Street as a fixed-income derivatives trader for several years and then as a hedge fund executive, Tutunikov became the third partner in SwissWatchExpo.com. The company’s trajectory is all the more impressive when one considers how all three immigrated to the United States as refugees from what is now known as Ukraine in the former Soviet Union.

Tutunikov was five and a half years old when he and his family settled in Philadelphia with $2,000 and zero English. As both of his biological parents were math teachers in their home country, they became computer programmers in the USA. “My mom always had an entrepreneurial spirit and lots of energy,” Tutunikov relates. “Along with her full time programming job, she also successfully sold wallpaper and had a university prep tutoring business. I am sure my entrepreneurial spirit comes from her and believe that our immigrant background drives our work ethic.

My stepfather was in the same immigration wave as us,” he says. “We left a communist regime to have more opportunities in the USA, so we continue to work hard to maximize those opportunities. Funnily enough,” he recalls, “I remember reading Forbes when I was in middle school and dreaming of being featured in it one day.”

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It really does feel like you’re walking into a brokerage shop more than a retail store,” says the 38-year-old, who should know. Before moving to Atlanta in 2016 to join his mother and stepfather, Victoria and Jake Rokhlin, in the watch business, Tutunikov spent a decade as a Wall Street trader.

It turns out that selling pre-owned Rolexes and other high-end watches online is more fun, says Tutunikov. It’s also exciting transforming a mom-and-pop operation into an e-commerce juggernaut. He estimates that 90% of the business is online now and that sales have grown nine times since he arrived, making SwissWatchExpo No. 2 among U.S. retailers of used luxury watches and in the top four worldwide.

Not bad for a member of a poor family from Ukraine who reached the Philadelphia suburbs in 1989. Tutunikov remembers relying on food stamps but also seeing many members of his immigrant community thrive. “I have this concept of the American dream alive and well in my heart. You can do a lot in this country if you put the effort in,” he says.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about SwissWatchExpo?
SwissWatchExpo, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet’s leading retailer of authentic preowned luxury timepieces. At SwissWatchExpo, we have a passion for beautiful Swiss timepieces and unparalleled customer service.

Unlike other online retailers of preowned watches, all the watches on our website are physically located at our showroom in beautiful Buckhead, Atlanta. Take your time browsing our exquisite selection of name-brand luxury watches online or at the showroom. We pride ourselves on providing exceptional quality, unbeatable value, and outstanding service to our wonderful family of customers. For more information, please visit www.SwissWatchExpo.com.

A family-owned business, SwissWatchExpo isn’t your average timepiece boutique unless the shop also has 2,500 to 3,000 watches available at any moment, ready to ship. Boasting the largest inventory of Rolexes in the country, they aren’t the average luxury watch retailer either. He shares, “At SwissWatchExpo, we really treat our customers like family. We are motivated by their satisfaction and not the money they spend. We don’t pay our staff on commission, so our customers don’t have to worry about being pressured into a sale. We also build long-term relationships with our clients, and we see it as helping a friend choose a watch.”

Eugene is proud of the brick-and-mortar store, which possibly has the highest density of watches per square foot of any retailer in the country.

So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why.
At SwissWatchExpo, we treat our customers like family. We are motivated by their satisfaction, not the amount of money they spend.

We don’t pay our staff on commission, so our customers don’t have to worry about being pressured into a sale. We also build long-term relationships with our clients, and we see it as helping a friend choose a watch.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.swisswatchexpo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swisswatchexpo/