Quote:
Originally Posted by jon_jon
TS has stated numerous times they are not opening Patek owned Salons at the moment. However they may allow mono-brand Patek "boutiques" owned by local ADs. This is the Rolex model, where customers go into a Rolex "boutique" owned by a local AD.
Many Patek ADs around the world already have mono-brand "boutiques" where they only display Patek watches. This caters to a more select client base, rather than people walking into a watch store that sells everything from Tissot to Tag to a Patek. These ADs usually have another store nearby that displays other watch brands.
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This sounds very logical - if they want to control the customer experience more tightly, there are clearly more balanced (and cost effective) ways to do it, especially at Patek’s scale.
From my experience even with AP going “full boutique”, in my city they took over the existing mono-brand outlet in the department store and opened a new boutique in another part of town. The team in the original boutique all still work there and my relationship with them or the brand is unchanged.
This article actually indicates that even AP’s new “fully integrated retail network” is made up of boutiques that are “directly operated or with local partners”.
https://monochrome-watches.com/audem...etail-network/
Potential for discounts is likely to change if they went that way, but other benefits of the AD relationship likely stay intact.