Kevin Goddard has spent his entire career in retail, starting out as a merchandiser for Sainsbury’s and then Debenhams from the mid-1990s before joining Signet as a merchandising controller for H. Samuel and Ernest Jones in 2002.

He was promoted a number of times over 18 years with Signet, rising to director of buying and merchandising at the beginning of 2018.

Mr Goddard and Signet parted company on August 1 this year, and he has since been consulting for a range of FMCG brands on their pre-Christmas positioning and campaigns.

Alongside that consultancy, he fulfilled a long-held ambition to take charge of his own watch business by acquiring Zenn Style, a brand launched in 2017 but mothballed last year by founder Andrew Cook, a specialist in digital marketing.

Zenn Style has been established as a lifestyle brand selling premium quality watches and jewellery at sub-£100 prices. All watches use surgical steel cases, sapphire glass and are waterproof to 5 ATM.

The microbrand will sell direct to consumer via its own website and already has over 7,500 followers on Instagram.

The website launched yesterday with a line up of quartz-based men’s watches priced between £79 and £99.

The website also sells a collection of unisex jewellery selling for just under £20.

All watches and jewellery come with a 2 year guarantee.