BREAKING NEWS: Rolex buys Bucherer

[dpj17]

If true......Huge News:

https://usa.watchpro.com/breaking-ne...buys-bucherer/

[ikincooper]

Following in AP’s footsteps. Makes sense to me


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[Socalwatchguy]

Wow…. What will this mean for Bucherer AD’s? Preferred treatment? Will Rolex use Bucherer to control all AD distribution moving forward?

Very interesting…


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[ct79]

...so no more selling to greys directly and splitting the profits? At least not for Rolex and Tudor models?

[Avs Fan]

So many comments have been made about Rolex not wanting to be in the retail business.
They sell everything they make to retailers and take none of the retail sales risk.
Well, if this is true, they are now in it in a big way.

[Rolexken]

Originally Posted by Socalwatchguy

Wow…. What will this mean for Bucherer AD’s? Preferred treatment? Will Rolex use Bucherer to control all AD distribution moving forward?

Very interesting…


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Yes, two tier ADs. All of the UK Bucherer stores are in London and I wonder how the other London ADs will be feeling.

[Carguy87]

Wow that’s crazy big industry news! I wonder what the regulators in different countries will decide with regards to this being declared a potential monopoly. If it all goes through, it could be good for us actual enthusiasts though because then there might be tighter oversight on how watches get allocated, less “out the back door” etc.

[norcalgt3]

But there’s no US location save for one?

[APWorldTour]

Originally Posted by norcalgt3

But there’s no US location save for one?

All Tourneaus are now Bucherer.


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[DTNSS]

Not completely surprising since Rolex ADs will have a certified pre-owned program next year.


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[Carguy87]

Also going to be interesting how other brands handle allocation to Bucherer AD’s going forward. Is Patek or any other brand going to want to essentially hand Rolex money by continuing to allocate to Bucherer AD’s as they have, or will this be the catalyst for all the bigger brands to go to a factory owned boutique only model? Interesting stuff for sure.

[JRell]

Other than buying it for the property, prime locations, I don’t know why they would want to go into retail with online options and the security risks. Will it help their volume of sales? Otherwise are they not just losing profit margin %? I realize they will make more per watch without having to cut the AD check, but unless the plan is to go global I can’t imagine this is a large percentage of their overall sales.

[Socalwatchguy]

Originally Posted by APWorldTour

All Tourneaus are now Bucherer.


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Correct.


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[Danny83]

It’s definitely true. I have a friend that works there and they were informed yesterday.

[Ferrari308]

Wow - big move!


PDG

[TBC123]

They now retain the significant Retail margin they were donating to others.

[jb335]

Wow huge news!


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[kkqd1337]

I am not surprised to hear this at all, surprised only it took so long.

[RollingInTheDeep]

I've been thinking about penning a longer post - but the most genius aspect of Rolex's strategy is that all they need to concern themselves at this point is manufacturing quality and capacity, and brand equity all while retaining full control over retail through AD agreements but completely absolving themselves from the pain of running a B2C business. What has happened due to simple microeconomic (supply/demand) has put their brand recognition/equity strategy on auto pilot.

There's a single data point to prove the above - Rolex themselves got into the pre-owned business, where AD's now have pre-owned watches in the case selling at a premium to unworn watches which they won't sell to you unless you've paid the piper through a long list of prior watch or jewelry purchases.

Rolex getting directly into the retail side was always an interesting thought - but why mess with something that isn't broken, especially at the risk of negatively impacting margins through having to take on and manage retail operations? That said - curious to see if acquiring retail chains is a trend, or a one off due to nuance, i.e., historical relationship.

[JRell]

Originally Posted by RollingInTheDeep

I've been thinking about penning a longer post - but the most genius aspect of Rolex's strategy is that all they need to concern themselves at this point is manufacturing quality and capacity, and brand equity all while retaining full control over retail through AD agreements but completely absolving themselves from the pain of running a B2C business. What has happened due to simple microeconomic (supply/demand) has put their brand recognition/equity strategy on auto pilot.

There's a single data point to prove the above - Rolex themselves got into the pre-owned business, where AD's now have pre-owned watches in the case selling at a premium to unworn watches which they won't sell to you unless you've paid the piper through a long list of prior watch or jewelry purchases.

Rolex getting directly into the retail side was always an interesting thought - but why mess with something that isn't broken, especially at the risk of negatively impacting margins through having to take on and manage retail operations? That said - curious to see if acquiring retail chains is a trend, or a one off due to nuance, i.e., historical relationship.

Well said and agree.

[RollingInTheDeep]

Originally Posted by TBC123

They now retain the significant Retail margin they were donating to others.

Further to the above, THIS. Now since they own the largest pre-owned AD, those revenues resulting from secondary premium flow back into Rolex proper.

[Calatrava r]

Wow, that is big news. It could be the very early start of a move to company owned boutiques only. I would expect to see more and more small ADs losing status as has been the case.

[wm82]

Originally Posted by RollingInTheDeep

Further to the above, THIS. Now since they own the largest pre-owned AD, those revenues resulting from secondary premium flow back into Rolex proper.

Well that margin has to pay for staff, premises, new goods etc so its not like its 100% profit but yea, they'll become even richer lol.

Hope this puts an end to the AD corruption and nepotism, and all the family owned ADs get nose bleeds from reading this... So much corruption in this industry its insane.

[Mystro]

One more move by Rolex to control the market and move their brand upwards and more exclusive.

One of the ripple effects will be the consumer seeing less chance of getting a watch at a AD and grey market supply will somewhat be cut driving prices upwards again.

[Porkbelli]

It was only a matter of time when all that money wasn't rolling back into Rolex on the used market.

[alllexandru]

This is a historical step from Rolex, good.
Let’s see how this unfolds.

[ltmgeller]

Crazy. I wonder how this will play out.

[jb335]

Originally Posted by Mystro

One more move by Rolex to control the market and move their brand upwards and more exclusive.

One of the ripple effects will be the consumer seeing less chance of getting a watch at a AD and grey market supply will somewhat be cut driving prices upwards again.

Yeah, I’m of course wondering how this effects me and my allocations with my AD.


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[SDR581]

Say "Bye Bye" to your mom n pop AD. Especially in the Philly area. There is a Bucherer in KoP Mall.

[cydesai]

Originally Posted by Mystro

One more move by Rolex to control the market and move their brand upwards and more exclusive.

One of the ripple effects will be the consumer seeing less chance of getting a watch at a AD and grey market supply will somewhat be cut driving prices upwards again.

I doubt this push will make Rolex as exclusive as AP or Patek. One has to keep in mind that Rolex makes 1M+ watches a year, and being ultra-exclusive will only hurt their own business. Their business planning would entail with 50+ years of vision of what Rolex would be.

They will for sure crush the small mom-pop stores, and only do business via boutique-style stores. Buying Bucherer will ensure they have a foot in retails as well to get additional profit.