In a bold move to cultivate the next generation of change makers in Pakistan’s luxury sector, SONRAJ has officially launched the Sonraj Youth Circle, a purpose-driven initiative rooted in the Group’s enduring belief in the transformative power of youth engagement and education. Successfully conducted in both June and July 2025, the program is already making its mark as a pioneering platform in the region, designed to bridge the gap between youthful ambition and real-world professional opportunity.
The Sonraj Youth Circle is a dynamic and immersive program designed for ambitious students eager to delve into the realms of luxury retail, branding, digital commerce, and customer experience excellence. Far from a conventional internship, this high impact initiative is meticulously curated to offer participants direct, meaningful exposure to Sonraj’s prestigious portfolio spanning fine watches, fragrances, jewelry and eyewear. Through exclusive engagements with leading industry professionals, students gain rare insight into the inner workings of the luxury sector.
As part of the program’s international engagement initiative, an exclusive session was organizedfor participants of the program, with Mr. Daniel Niederer, founder and CEO of SEVENFRIDAY. The young participants did research on the brand and raised some interesting questions with Mr. Neiderer. The attendees of the session were Ms. Haya Abid, Ms. Maha Azeem, Mr. Rayan Abbasi, Mr. Mahad Faisal, Mr. Ramin Effendi, Ms. Mahum Fatima, Mr. Hamzah Kashif, Mr. Sameer Shahid and Mr. Kamal Rasheed
Known for its bold, industrial inspired timepieces, SEVENFRIDAY is a lifestyle brand that blends unconventional watch design with a strong global community culture. Since its inception, the brand has disrupted traditional horology by combining cutting edge aesthetics, storytelling, and accessible luxury. With a presence in over 80 countries, SEVENFRIDAY is driven by boldphilosophy that embraces living every day like its Friday.
With SEVENFRIDAY’s design and models resonating among the youth, it only seemed fathomable for Daniel himself to converse with young minds sporting tomorrow’s watch industry in Pakistan.
Daniel initially focused on Pakistan’s impressive youth demographic with 65% of the population being below 25 years of age, endowing the expansion of the watch industry to the quoted young minds, he shared unique insights into brand building, Gen Z engagement, sustainable growth, team building, product authenticity, entrepreneurial mindset and the future of community-driven luxury.
The participants took an active part in the interaction with a set of questions:
Ramin Effendi, a 2nd year A level student at Nixor College with interest in marketing, finance, and economics questioned; Your extension into apparel, sunglasses and accessories, expanded your brand into more of a lifestyle brand. You also introduced the SEVENFRIDAY Space Concept, which combines a leisure spot like a restaurant, coffee or hangout place with a SEVENFRIDAY retail area. How much are you looking towards Gen Z and appeal towards them?
Daniel explained as follows, “The products that we put our focus on are predominantly watches and eyewear. Sometimes however I do certain things, because they're fun, but they're not exactly business-worthy. Like, for example we did limited-edition leather jackets hand-painted by an artist that we have already collaborated with in the past. Nevertheless, sometimes it's important to do those kinds of things to keep the creative flow going.”
As per the question regarding a specific audience, Daniel mentioned targeting all generations without giving a dictionary meaning to the term generation, as he believes that nothing defines generation itself.
“Generally, we always have to reinvent ourselves. That is relevant to young people. And I feel like we try not to subdue too much to short-term trends.”
The mantra behind SEVENFRIDAY according to Daniel is being unapologetically yourself. Navigating and slowly paving their way through the young generation, the company envisions segregating quiet luxury from the loud uproar of unsustainable superficial luxury products.
“We just try to be natural. We respect people. We respect different cultures. We respect traditions. When we do things, we try to make them with value, in a way that lasts and not just for the sake of it. And probably this approach is most sustainable to us. And we hope that with any young generation being critical, more than my generation, they can see and segregate from what is honest and true. Other than that, we talk a lot. We also involve other people in our communication, in our concepts. That's really where we have to listen. I don't think there's a blueprint.
Responding to GenZ being the target audience for the brand, Daniel thoughtfully mentioned, “I think a lot of young people I see, they don't just buy products. They want to see more value in the world than just products. And one other thing that's coming out is this luxury where it doesn't always have to be obnoxious and loud. But it can be just qualitative. It can also be a bit secret. It can be a bit more personal.”
Kamal Rasheed, a Bachelor’s student at SZABIST with interest in marketing, sales and entrepreneurship questioned; What has been your biggest challenge in expanding globally like in the markets of Asia and the Middle East?
In Daniel’s opinion, the hardest obstacles encountered included constructing a qualitative team support. As they exponentially grew, maintaining qualitative standards and providing high quality products remained the brand’s core belief.
“I think the first biggest problem was actually building the team adequately. We were really lucky when we started. Things developed extremely quickly. In 12 months we were in 50 plus countries and after 24 months, we were in more than 65. It went rapidly.
One side we had to make sure we have the team that qualitatively supported here at HQ. And then subsequently follow up and really control and make sure the quality is out there.
We grew a bit fast. And we started actively slowing down because we want to make sure that the quality is there.”
Following the GenZ narrative, he explained the clash between providing mass products in comparison to retailing exclusive luxury items as follows, “I don't want to say that the new generation would be the same. I don't need another volume product where you just want to push the product and consume it. You need a certain volume of products to produce, but you also want to keep a certain integrity and a certain exclusivity as well.”
Mahum Fatima, a 2nd year A level student at The City School with interest in graphic designing, and content writing questioned; What qualities do you look for when hiring new team members and how do you nurture those skills?
Daniel briefed on hiring creative competent individuals who contribute towards product development and success. He has emphasized this to be one of the key aspects guaranteeing product viability and demand.
“Hiring is one of the most difficult things. Your CV is important, but it is only part of the equation. What is also important is personality, character and attitude. What I am looking for is people who have their head on their shoulders and can think for themselves.
What you want is somebody who is dedicated. Somebody who brings a certain enthusiasm, a certain critical thinking and a certain responsibility to the knowledge. Because ultimately that is the most important. All the other things you can learn, including marketing and product skills. All this technical knowledge. In the end, it’s the character and personality that comes to you.”
Mahum Fatima: What inspired SEVENFRIDAY to enter the Pakistani Market and what opportunities do you see here?
Daniel met Rameez Sattar, CEO Sonraj Group, with whom he visited Karachi in 2015. Back then he hadn't known much about the stakes in Pakistan’s watch industry due to political instability and economic struggles.
“At that time, we saw, and we discussed, and we saw that, yes, we can do something, but the potential wasn't there yet. But we stayed. We stayed with them. We stayed very committed. And it was in the recent years that we started further developing, seeing the potential, seeing the whole region really coming up with everything. We stayed stable. I think there's a massive potential. And I'm not just talking about the whole region, I'm talking about India, Bangladesh. There's a huge population, but also a very young population. But the young population is very international, very informed, and very intelligent, and can communicate much easier than previous generations.
Sameer Shahid, a Bachelor’s student at IBA with interest in finance and private equity questioned: In the early days when you were starting seven Friday, how did you find the right manufacturers and suppliers for your products, how did you connect with them?
Daniel answered; Firstly, we had help at that time as I was linked with a specialist who has experience in production of watches. Secondly, I was already in the watch industry for 10 years, so I had a lot of contacts.
For any components, like in Switzerland for instance, you have 10 factories. In China, you have 100 to 500. To find the right one is very difficult. Even today, we are working with one main partner, which is absolutely golden, and we are constantly investigating different partnerships and possibilities.
Sometimes, if you're looking for something, you just have to ask people. There's always people that like your work.
Ramin Effendi: Your watches that I looked at were completely open, deliberately showing the mechanics and craftsmanship. How did you find the Japanese Miyota movement and think that this is the one you wanted for your company instead of the Swiss craftsmanship?
Our head of design, Arnaud Duval, has been designing all our products since the first day. At the beginning, it was a discussion, very much, how do we, what do we want, what do we don't want?
So one thing was, do we want to be Swiss made or not? And we came to the conclusion that it's not about being Swiss made or not. We want to bring the best design, the best quality, and thebest price to the customer. Something can be Swiss, it can be Japanese, it can be Chinese, it can be Pakistani, it can be any nationality. It's how people are working, what kind of products they deliver and what kind of products they offer.
Japanese products are known for their relentless reliability and premium quality, “For example, when it comes to movement, in terms of the customization process, they're absolutely reliable and they bring really good quality.”
Regarding the Japanese Miyota movement Daniel carefully explained the thought process behind the design.
“The second thing was the design. Our designer was looking for a certain arrangement of hands which allows him to create a watch that has a much higher perceived value for the asking price.
We have different movements depending on the models, we even have a Swiss movement in the FREE-D series, but we don't even mention it. And that's one thing which is maybe a misstep on our part, because everybody knows all the Swiss movements tend to sell better. But I just dislike the marketing and oversimplification around it.”
Mahum Fatima: How would your staff define your management style?
I don’t know, maybe it’s better to ask them.
But generally, there are seven people in the office and one person in Hong Kong. The majority of the Team has been here since we launched SEVENFRIDAY.
On one hand, I have to give direction, to check these guidelines and time frames. On the other hand, I need people to be as independent as possible, especially with a small group like that.
What I'm trying to do is to be very transparent. I want everybody to understand what the whole company does.
As a token of advice for everyone stressfully running a business out there and trying to balance out work and life, Daniel had the most valuable insights, “The last time, I was asked about work-life, about what I would think about it in that regard, I would say the same thing: If you start concentrating on segregation, you're missing a lot of things, and you're making more stress than necessary. Ideally, you can blend it together.
As per leadership advice he claimed that, “My only, maybe, leadership training was the army.When you give instructions, you give them independence and control and you correct them.
It's not only about human relations, it's about the tonality as well. How you say things. I can say the same thing in different kinds of tonalities and pronunciations, it means a very different thing. So those are the things we have to be aware of.
If you have a coach who is not as good as you are, it's a bit difficult, and it’s a bit tricky to believe them. And it's the same in business. Everything I have, and what people do here, I’ve done it myself. If there's a problem, I go there myself. And I think it's important.”
Rayan Abbasi, a 2nd year A level student at Karachi Grammar School with interest in business management, and entrepreneurship questioned; Do you think that having any sort of experience like leadership before starting your business is important or not, or experience in business is important, or you just go all out and start a business?
I think there is no rule. It depends very much on your personality and character. Obviously, you need to be able to lead, to convince. Some are doing better with some formation first. I think it generally depends on the person, but also having experience can always help. It depends a bit how impatient you are to start your own business. Some people are apparently straight from university, not even finishing building a multi-billion-dollar empire.
I worked all over the Asia-Pacific. I was in a large company. I worked in IT and enjoyed that. I enjoyed this kind of life as well, and then I shifted to entrepreneurship.
I can only comment on what I do or what I see people doing. But I think, especially in my generation, we have to be very careful to give advice. It's not like we make everything perfect. I have to know exactly how things work. And again, as I said, it's very individual.
Don’t rely too heavily on advice and try to always follow your gut feeling. Because that's what the beginning of the discussion was, right? Of course it's good because you need to learn. It’s important to be a critical thinker or independent. That gives you a very strong gut feeling, intuition, what is right and wrong and what you should be doing. And that can be absolutely strong if you can listen to it.
Mahad Faisal, a 2nd year A level student at Karachi Grammar School with interest in business and finance questioned; When Seven Friday was starting out, how did you get people to invest in the company and what is your general advice on how to get some capital when you are starting your business?
Whilst answering another set of questions regarding financial backups and investments, Daniel strongly advocated for self-financing. “I think it always helps if you put your own money where you are since that's more credible. Even if it's not a lot.”
The way I raised money is by selling products and finding partners who really invest. So what happened is I invested my money in the products produced and was sitting here and nobody knew. Pretty frustrating, I can tell you that. So I started on Instagram and social media and things suddenly picked up.
And one rule was, to raise capital. We don't do credits.
Sometimes it's good guidance to start with little capital. You have to be more careful. You have to plan. You have to calculate better. None of the partners had a problem with it. Till today, we don't have investors. We don't even have a bank. We're completely independent.”
Ramin Effendi: When you started out, you gained popularity by being pioneers on social media but as time marches on, your mostly traditional competitors also moved towards social media marketing. How do you (over-) compete against them?
An honest answer to this question simply relied on the passage of time and swift adoption of social media outreach. Daniel expanded on this question as follows, “Time marches on and at one point competitors also went towards social media marketing.
So what happened, because we had a head start, there was this gap, this time lag, it helped us to establish ground and propelled us to a certain level where we can compete against. In terms of capital, in terms of share of voice and visibility and then global distribution.
So that was one thing. And now, if you're doing the same thing like everybody else, first of all, it's not fun and secondly, it's only in the way of following others.
So yes, we constantly have to challenge what we do. We're never resting, we're never stopping, we never believe, we know exactly how it works, we know exactly what to do, and we question everything all the time. And one of the big approaches I mentioned before is the community approach.
A database is not a community. A database that's engaged with a community, that can be a community. We know it more from the gaming world, from Web3.
And I think that's something we need to learn, in the traditional analog world, to embrace those new technologies. Not the technology and selling all this on blockchain, but for the possibility it gives to enhanced experiences. We're constantly trying to push in different directions, we even developed our own system that integrates our NFC chips, B2B App and consumer App.
So we very much need to constantly push in creating our own niche, our own legitimacy to keep staying in the same global context.
A collective debriefing session was precedented to conclude and reflect on the panel discussion, the last few questions were jointly agreed by the group and were raised accordingly as follows:
Q. Community outreach is essential for brands to thrive and find their target audience, do you find outreach events as a PR challenge?
We were lucky to be at the right time at the right place to do something like this. You can also put it down as a strategy, but really, there's a lot of luck involved and you also need that as well.
People like to buy from people they like. If I can get people to like SEVENFRIDAY because we recognize the people, we listen to them, and we reward them as well, they, I believe, are more inclined to engage with SEVENFRIDAY and also keep up by also having a product.
In my opinion, sometimes we have to let loose a bit of the short-term business aspect and work more really on the long-term perspective of engaging with people.
Q. What are your future plans for SEVENFRIDAY?
I think the Community is one of the biggest projects because it's a bit unknown in our industry. Nobody has ever done it. And we really want to bring this community to another level. Where it can be something fresh, something special.
We want, to a certain extent, empower the community to manage itself. Not just to become another communication channel for the brand, but to become another source of sales and a place of exchange where people can really engage in it. There's a lot to do in that direction, and we do it in small steps.
Additionally, brand optimism also creates positive energy. Positive energy creates positive energy. It's a better business.
Other than that, our developments in the Middle East, and further development in Pakistan is coming up. In the near future, I want to do something strategically and geographically coherent. For me there's predominantly three parts. We have Asia. We have North, East Asia, and China. We have South Asia and The Middle East, apologies to link it together but I feel like Pakistan and India are closely knitted towards the Middle East and will be dominating as one of the most powerful upcoming parts of this world. Some people are surprised but I’m not banking so much on Europe. However, these are the three main pockets. For the next 6 months, a big focus is on Pakistan.
In terms of products we keep on developing new things and already have a product line for the next 2-3 years.
Q. If there’s one thing you would like these participants to achieve in the near future as entrepreneurs, what would it be?
I hope you very much do more than the previous generation. Listen to what people do or used to do, be critical about it, change and improve it. Make it different, make it more efficient and beneficial. I think that's the biggest value.
Consequently, that's true added value in my opinion. Sometimes you don't know what it is and find it within the job. I think there I would say, try not to see the job or working as a must, we are privileged to go to high schools and universities, choosing our own directions.
So if you have a choice, make it count. You put your energy in it, you get rewards, it makes you feel better, hence creating a profitable conversation. But I’m no advisor, I don’t like to listen to them, you need to make your own experiences. I just hope you’ll be true to yourself.
The discussion between the students and SEVENFRIDAY’S CEO proved to be a truly enriching experience on both sides. For the students, it provided an opportunity to ask candid questions, express their enthusiasm, and gain deeper insight into the path of leadership. For Daniel, it was a welcome experience — one that showcased the curiosity and fresh perspective that youth bring. Interactions like these build a connection, inspire new ideas, and serve as a powerful reminder that human beings are the key to any worthwhile advancement.