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Old 16 May 2010, 11:16 PM   #1
WBROLEX
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How to Become a Rolex Reseller / Dealer

Does anyone know or have experience of how to become a Rolex / Omega dealer or reseller?

I've been told by a friend that Rolex offer an intensive seminar. If this true?
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Old 17 May 2010, 01:16 AM   #2
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i do not know but i think needs many -many money
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Old 17 May 2010, 01:28 AM   #3
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It's quite an ordeal! I personally know of a major Northeast US large jeweler with many watch lines that tried for years. In the end they got the AD status, but had to open a separate dedicated location and paid a $400,000 fee to Rolex for the priveledge of selling their product.
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Old 25 May 2010, 08:48 PM   #4
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Sounds like an insane amount of work, Tim...
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Old 25 May 2010, 09:00 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WBROLEX View Post
Does anyone know or have experience of how to become a Rolex / Omega dealer or reseller?

I've been told by a friend that Rolex offer an intensive seminar. If this true?
that is an interesting thought Will...

hope you are well mate
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Old 25 May 2010, 10:10 PM   #6
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A very big investment, and then you have the struggle of convincing Rolex that:

a) You're significantly better for the brand than the current Rolex contract holder
or b) There's a sufficient market for two Rolex ADs in one city.

It's certainly not easy for an independent AD to get their foot on the ladder, which is why (unfortunately, in my view) contracts tend to go with the big chain shops.
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Old 25 May 2010, 11:28 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WBROLEX View Post
Does anyone know or have experience of how to become a Rolex / Omega dealer or reseller?

I've been told by a friend that Rolex offer an intensive seminar. If this true?
.......................................... ..........

Other than having money, a good and trusted name,
location and distance from another dealer, dedicated space,
no sales of Breitling, minimum orders and many years of
jewelry business experience, really THERE IS NOT MUCH ELSE.

Once you get the "blessing" the top guy in charge of your area must like you
so you can get the highest profit margin (it ain't much) and the watches
you really need,
of course the first 60-80 watches will include a lot of unsellable
garbage LIKE A LADIES SIZE 26MM - NO DATE that you will have
to "eat" or sell at lower than cost if you want to get rid of them.
The good part is that they make a nice display decoration if you want
a window full of Rolex watches - but be a smart ass with the "rulers"
and their "Hitleresque" alter ego will crush your "availability" of goods to you
... and who... (in your area) gets the new sub first.
Wait there is more, they will come and look and tell you how you should run
your business and you better pay in time as well as order frequently,
this is a serious brand and if you do not follow rules and regulations
you can kiss goodbye the 10 models that really sell so you will be able
to pay your rent and employees - actually if you depend entirely on paying
the rent and the employees FROM THE PROFITS of just selling Rolex watches (?)
you are in line for a rude awakening .

You can not fulfill all of the above ??
do not worry, all is not lost, you can become a grey dealer, you make less*
but...you are proudly independent..

*debatable if you are a top dog with a few Mil invested..
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Old 25 May 2010, 11:32 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by train-time View Post
It's quite an ordeal! I personally know of a major Northeast US large jeweler with many watch lines that tried for years. In the end they got the AD status, but had to open a separate dedicated location and paid a $400,000 fee to Rolex for the priveledge of selling their product.
__________________________________________________ ____________

WOW! $400,000.00.
Add that to the "overhead" of salaries, rent, taxes, healthcare, advertising etc that the AD's pay.

This link should be posted (if the $$ amount is true) on every thread about how the AD's are priced too high and you can buy from so and so for less. That is a large investment to make back for any business.

Thanks for the information - I guess my house won't reach AD status anytime soon :-)

-Pete
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Old 26 May 2010, 12:03 AM   #9
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I talked to a guy who used to work for an AD in my town. He said much of what TempoKing stated. You have to have a certain square footage, other high end watch brands, a certain layout that Rolex specifies and yeah, you have to sell watches that no one wants!


Well, he said that they easily made a million a year on the Rolex contract, but it was pulled from them b/c Rolex didn't like the way they were running the shop. Just like that. The place was successful and they were ordering watches. I'm not exactly sure why it was pulled, but it was. Someone else in town quickly got the contract from Rolex. I call it a contract, b/c I feel it is like that. You have to do it the way Rolex wants it. Period. Kind of sucks, but why do you think Rolex's hold their value so well!?!?!?
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Old 26 May 2010, 02:53 AM   #10
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I was talking to my local jeweler about why he didn't get a dealership (No AD for 40 miles and he is the largest jeweler in the area). He said all of the above plus Rolex expected him to carry Rolex inventory valued at xx% of the stores annual sales. He wouldn't tell me the percentage but he said it would be phone number sized and he just couldn't do it.

The one AD I frequent, recently bought land and built their own new store and in order to maintain their dealership Rolex had to approve their building plans, even down to having to change the location of electrical panels, etc. because that is where Rolex wanted their counters and displays to be.
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Old 5 June 2019, 03:11 AM   #11
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I wonder what the margin is on a watch at MSRP is.
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Old 5 June 2019, 03:29 AM   #12
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AD's pay rolex 62% of MSRP in the US.
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Old 5 June 2019, 04:17 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TempoKing View Post
.......................................... ..........

Other than having money, a good and trusted name,
location and distance from another dealer, dedicated space,
no sales of Breitling, minimum orders and many years of
jewelry business experience, really THERE IS NOT MUCH ELSE.

Once you get the "blessing" the top guy in charge of your area must like you
so you can get the highest profit margin (it ain't much) and the watches
you really need,
of course the first 60-80 watches will include a lot of unsellable
garbage LIKE A LADIES SIZE 26MM - NO DATE that you will have
to "eat" or sell at lower than cost if you want to get rid of them.
The good part is that they make a nice display decoration if you want
a window full of Rolex watches - but be a smart ass with the "rulers"
and their "Hitleresque" alter ego will crush your "availability" of goods to you
... and who... (in your area) gets the new sub first.
Wait there is more, they will come and look and tell you how you should run
your business and you better pay in time as well as order frequently,
this is a serious brand and if you do not follow rules and regulations
you can kiss goodbye the 10 models that really sell so you will be able
to pay your rent and employees - actually if you depend entirely on paying
the rent and the employees FROM THE PROFITS of just selling Rolex watches (?)
you are in line for a rude awakening .

You can not fulfill all of the above ??
do not worry, all is not lost, you can become a grey dealer, you make less*
but...you are proudly independent..

*debatable if you are a top dog with a few Mil invested..
Looks like you've been through the Rolex-mill or know someone who has a shop.

Everything in that is true to the T. Couldn't have worded it better.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mfer View Post
I talked to a guy who used to work for an AD in my town. He said much of what TempoKing stated. You have to have a certain square footage, other high end watch brands, a certain layout that Rolex specifies and yeah, you have to sell watches that no one wants!


Well, he said that they easily made a million a year on the Rolex contract, but it was pulled from them b/c Rolex didn't like the way they were running the shop. Just like that. The place was successful and they were ordering watches. I'm not exactly sure why it was pulled, but it was. Someone else in town quickly got the contract from Rolex. I call it a contract, b/c I feel it is like that. You have to do it the way Rolex wants it. Period. Kind of sucks, but why do you think Rolex's hold their value so well!?!?!?
It is a 12 months contract in which Rolex also has a clause to shut you down immediately and buy back the stock you have in excess for less than what you paid for. In that 12 months renewal contract there will also be another clause that states you will adhere to their demands of renovation as per their request.

You can also order as many watches as you want, but Rolex will ship you what they believe is fair for your shop. This depends on relationship (how far you go back), and inventory that you've sold. What they ship, you have to "buy". If you try to protest, wave your license farewell. This is also after you have dedicated the most exclusive plot in your shop to Rolex and paid them for the material. The contractor who does the job is a third party, but everything you see on display is Rolex-made-for-and-owned by them (you bought it from them).

Quote:
Originally Posted by jonnyz1245 View Post
AD's pay rolex 62% of MSRP in the US.
That's gross. You pay for the shipping too and advertisement (if that's included in your contract). So an AD's net would be somewhere closer to 33% on each watch sold. See the Rolex advertisement? The shops didn't just voluntarily take an ad out for fun to cause "awareness"; they were forced with hands tied behind their back to put Rolex's name out there.


Side note: And now that Rolex has cut supply and indirectly force ADs to do bundled deals, they sit back, enjoy the profits and give the thumbs up or down (like Caesar) to the shops. And yet, we still love this brand and will continue to buy it.
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Old 5 June 2019, 04:27 AM   #14
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Rolex is not adding any new independent dealers but only its own name brand stores or an additional location to an existing retailer.
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Old 5 June 2019, 04:43 AM   #15
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I have better inventory on ss sports than any dealer in the country (Which does say much at the moment ) ,can I become a dealer ??? NO discounts AND I can ask above MRSP !
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Old 5 June 2019, 04:45 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WatchLurv View Post
Looks like you've been through the Rolex-mill or know someone who has a shop.

Everything in that is true to the T. Couldn't have worded it better.



It is a 12 months contract in which Rolex also has a clause to shut you down immediately and buy back the stock you have in excess for less than what you paid for. In that 12 months renewal contract there will also be another clause that states you will adhere to their demands of renovation as per their request.

You can also order as many watches as you want, but Rolex will ship you what they believe is fair for your shop. This depends on relationship (how far you go back), and inventory that you've sold. What they ship, you have to "buy". If you try to protest, wave your license farewell. This is also after you have dedicated the most exclusive plot in your shop to Rolex and paid them for the material. The contractor who does the job is a third party, but everything you see on display is Rolex-made-for-and-owned by them (you bought it from them).



That's gross. You pay for the shipping too and advertisement (if that's included in your contract). So an AD's net would be somewhere closer to 33% on each watch sold. See the Rolex advertisement? The shops didn't just voluntarily take an ad out for fun to cause "awareness"; they were forced with hands tied behind their back to put Rolex's name out there.


Side note: And now that Rolex has cut supply and indirectly force ADs to do bundled deals, they sit back, enjoy the profits and give the thumbs up or down (like Caesar) to the shops. And yet, we still love this brand and will continue to buy it.


Is this your personal knowledge as an AD (or previously an AD)?

The best strategy to become an AD might be to buy an exiting AD.




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Old 5 June 2019, 05:15 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by train-time View Post
It's quite an ordeal! I personally know of a major Northeast US large jeweler with many watch lines that tried for years. In the end they got the AD status, but had to open a separate dedicated location and paid a $400,000 fee to Rolex for the priveledge of selling their product.
To add to TempoKing near perfect explanation:

There is no "fee" he did have to spend between 400k minimum worth of inventory to start, remodel the space according to Rolex's standards also drop lines that Rolex does not want to be associated with. So there and then those 400k are vanished from the getgo. You don't swim in money as an AD but being a "Rolex Authorized Retailer" guarantees the store/jeweller traffic. Hence the reason you buy jewelry in order to get access to those desired professional models.
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Old 5 June 2019, 05:31 AM   #18
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And, it’s not just Rolex’s franchise fee and costly requirements regarding store location, display space, advertising, fixtures, etc. ad nauseam.

If ADs are indeed buying at 62% of MSRP, then the Rolexes (which they are required to sell at or below MSRP) are probably also by far the lowest-margin items in the whole store. I don’t know about other watch brands, but for other items, retail jewelry markups generally start at 100% and range up to whatever the market will bear.
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Old 5 June 2019, 03:19 PM   #19
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No way in heck would I want to be trying to open a Rolex AD right now.

Given what Ive been reading about long term stores AD status being pulled, forced renovations, PLUS poor stock availability of high demand watches.

IF they could get me product that currently would sell like hotcakes.... Sure. Then it could be worth it.
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Old 5 June 2019, 05:22 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 77T View Post
Is this your personal knowledge as an AD (or previously an AD)?

The best strategy to become an AD might be to buy an exiting AD.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I have somewhat intimate knowledge of how some ADs are run - As stated before on this board, when arguing against the "demand has gone up 4-folds", I have "stuff" that the normal Tom, Dick or Harry hasn't. I can't say how each AD is run in each region, but the general consensus and rules apply to all of the ones I keep a good relationship with.

A lot of existing ADs see Rolex as their bread-and-butter. If you have a shop that doesnt have a Rolex license, and someone across the street does, you can bet your arse that most of the foot-traffic is beelining straight to that shop.
Buying an existing AD? Not sure which AD would sell out unless some sudden tragedy comes upon them. If you know how to run the business and you can meet your numbers you can have a comfortable lifestyle. If you're a mum & pup operation (which has in recent times been seen axed) and value your local clientele that only buys SS and never picks up your deadbeat models (pearlmaster, DJ 28 etc), you can expect not to exist in the very near future. Survival of the fittest when you deal with Rolex.
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Old 5 June 2019, 05:25 PM   #21
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I find the work of an AD rather super tasking
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