5% Increase on Rolex prices in the UK from the 1st of October

[beshannon]

Originally Posted by Art 1

I really can't blame Rolex for raising prices, it would be bad business not to. But it would be nice if they had some merchandise to sell and to raise the price on.

When the prices rise enough to lower the demand to the supply level, then all will be well.

[Harry_S]

Originally Posted by stash21

it's only price increase if they have something you want to buy

I look forward to not buying a SS pepsi for 5% more than not buying a pepsi today.

LOL I was thinking the exact same !

[Sarosh]

Originally Posted by beshannon

When the prices rise enough to lower the demand to the supply level, then all will be well.

Couldn’t have said it better myself Brian!

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by beshannon

When the prices rise enough to lower the demand to the supply level, then all will be well.

I agree, they are very slow in raising the prices. Could be what this grand plan is all about. Rolex could easily raise the prices another 20% to 30% on many models and still have waiting lists. That's my opinion from following the grey market.

[mercman]

Just spoke to my AD who confirms an increase on the 1st of next month, he was only told this morning.

[DYJ150]

Originally Posted by Art 1

I agree, they are very slow in raising the prices. Could be what this grand plan is all about. Rolex could easily raise the prices another 20% to 30% on many models and still have waiting lists. That's my opinion from following the grey market.

I totally disagree - Take the 116710LN as an example:

6200 today price in the UK

With 30% increase

8060

If your hypothesis is correct in that there will still be waiting lists, what will this do to the price on the grey market because they will still exist. 10%/20% more? so maybe 10K for a steel GMT?

Im really not convinced - Guess its my opinion.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by Art 1

I agree, they are very slow in raising the prices. Could be what this grand plan is all about. Rolex could easily raise the prices another 20% to 30% on many models and still have waiting lists. That's my opinion from following the grey market.

i agree if you consider this a price rise, this is pretty weak. If you view it as an attempt to correct an imbalance vs other markets its a different situation and different than Patek suddenly increasing 20% as a direct response to what the watches were selling for on the secondary market.

[Buzzlite]

5% increase is hardly anything to flutter over. If you can afford a Rolex in the first place an extra 5% won't break the bank to get the piece you want. However an increase of say 20% would make a big difference and I would like to think the waiting lists would be less and alot less could afford one.

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[Dsmith1974]

Would this have an immediate effect on the grey market?

Less so on the vintage pre owned?

[Hollie_Rollie]

Originally Posted by Dsmith1974

Would this have an immediate effect on the grey market?



Less so on the vintage pre owned?

I think it may certainly affect the prices on the grey market. I guess much is to be seen on October 1st?


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[Fedor]

Originally Posted by Dsmith1974

Would this have an immediate effect on the grey market?

Less so on the vintage pre owned?

For sure it will.

[AK797]

Originally Posted by Dsmith1974

Would this have an immediate effect on the grey market?

Less so on the vintage pre owned?

Yes, they will just pass this increase on, and probably use it as an excuse to widen their already large spreads.

[emtee]

5% is only a few hundred quid on most models so won’t make any difference apart from
Rolex makes more profit.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by emtee

5% is only a few hundred quid on most models so won’t make any difference apart from
Rolex makes more profit.

of they make closer to the same profit than they currently do selling watches to the US.

BLRO:
excluding tax the retail price in the UK is 6,944CHF
excluding tax at retail price in the US is 8,866CHF

Dealer cost is the same percent of RRP in both countries, so subtract that and Rolex makes considerably less money selling to the UK vs the US on a per watch basis. I still think its not enough as what is their incentive to supply the UK at all?

Not entirely sure how the initial import fees to get them into the country factor into that, but for sure its still priced lower for the end purchaser in the UK vs the US as well, in USD at least.

[emtee]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

of they make closer to the same profit than they currently do selling watches to the US.

BLRO:
excluding tax the retail price in the UK is 6,944CHF
excluding tax at retail price in the US is 8,866CHF

Dealer cost is the same percent of RRP in both countries, so subtract that and Rolex makes considerably less money selling to the UK vs the US on a per watch basis.

Sure. I was only talking about the UK market. But you do raise an interesting point - is the cost of doing business higher in some countries than others? I.E does Rolex make less profit from a 5K watch sold in the US than the UK due to a variety of factors such as shipping costs, tariffs etc?

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by emtee

Sure. I was only talking about the UK market. But you do raise an interesting point - is the cost of doing business higher in some countries than others? I.E does Rolex make less profit from a 5K watch sold in the US than the UK due to a variety of factors such as shipping costs, tariffs etc?

i think anytime there is an imbalance especially at the retail price level then it creates additional demand in the market affected by it. The UK is adversely affected by increased global demand due to the price being lower for sure. Now if Rolex themselves ship less watches to the UK because its also less profitable for them to sell there vs somewhere else then its creating major supply issues in addition to the demand issues.

None of that factors at all into the global supply reductions either, and its just added to the problem. The UK has reasons for a shortage on multiple fronts which makes it different than anywhere else im aware of.

[Vivalas]

Does anyone actually know if it’s 5% across the board, or will some be higher than others?

5% on datejust or gold for example will possibly reduce sales, whereas a SS Daytona could easily stomach 10%, 20%, even more maybe.

[emtee]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

i think anytime there is an imbalance especially at the retail price level then it creates additional demand in the market affected by it. The UK is adversely affected by increased global demand due to the price. Now if Rolex themselves ship less watches there because its also less profitable for them then its compounding the supply issues.

Ha well I actually meant the opposite. Maybe part of the reason the retail price is less in the UK is because it’s actually cheaper in terms of what it costs Rolex to get the product to the end consumer here. Of course even if that was the case you’d expect Rolex to take advantage of that and try and make the end consumer cost as close as possible to somewhere it costs them more to sell their products.

Ie they make more profit by selling the same watch for the same equivalent RRP in certain countries.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by emtee

Ha well I actually meant the opposite. Maybe part of the reason the retail price is less in the UK is because it’s actually cheaper in terms of what it costs Rolex to get the product to the end consumer here. Of course even if that was the case you’d expect Rolex to take advantage of that and try and make the end consumer cost as close as possible to somewhere it costs them more to sell their products.

Ie they make more profit by selling the same watch for the same equivalent RRP in certain countries.

the retail price excluding tax and in CHF is 25% higher in the US vs the UK. So unless the tariff to import it is 25% or more in the US vs the UK, its less profitable to sell watches to the UK. 25% is a high tariff so I think Rolex makes less money wholesaling watches to the UK vs the US

[emtee]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

the retail price excluding tax and in CHF is 25% higher in the US vs the UK. So unless the tariff to import it is 25% or more in the US vs the UK, its less profitable to sell watches to the UK. 25% is a high tariff so I think Rolex makes less money wholesaling watches to the UK vs the US

So why would Rolex sell watches for less in 1 country than another? Just an open question, doesn’t make much sense...Even the 5% increase doesn’t bridge the gap. Maybe they just know what cheap asses us Brits are!

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by emtee

So why would Rolex sell watches for less in 1 country than another? Just an open question, doesn’t make much sense...Even the 5% increase doesn’t bridge the gap. Maybe they just know what cheap asses us Brits are!

all i know is my BLRO i bought in the UK cost over 1k USD less than i would have paid in the US because i am based in USD but it was priced in GBP. That includes the 20% VAT i paid, since i didn't get a refund. Its out of wack and it's no wonder that everyone wants to buy here

Ultimately its an increase for GBP based customers as it costs more than yesterday in pounds, but globally, its not an increase as its still priced less than other countries but getting closer.

[emtee]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

all i know is my BLRO i bought in the UK cost over 1k USD less than i would have paid in the US because i am based in USD but it was priced in GBP. That includes the 20% VAT i paid, since i didn't get a refund. Its out of wack and it's no wonder that everyone wants to buy here

Ultimately its an increase for GBP based customers as it costs more than yesterday, but globally its not an increase as its still priced less than other countries.

Maybe they’re hedging their bets for a no deal Brexit? A 5% increase now and another one 6 months later is easier for people to accept than 10% all at once if that’s how it goes down?

But then again if you can afford to spend several thousand pounds on a watch a few hundred difference shouldn’t stop you, although who wants to spend any more than they feel they should have....

I’d be pissed if the watch id been waiting for cost 1K more than it did last week when I got the call. But £500 i’d be like ‘well that’s a bit annoying but ok....’

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

the retail price excluding tax and in CHF is 25% higher in the US vs the UK. So unless the tariff to import it is 25% or more in the US vs the UK, its less profitable to sell watches to the UK. 25% is a high tariff so I think Rolex makes less money wholesaling watches to the UK vs the US

Great points! There's also 'overhead' costs such as servicing center(s), cost of doing business in general such as cost of moving funds between countries (as desired), etc. One country's 'overhead costs' overall can reflect in product pricing within said country. Rolex naturally must include the country's currency devaluation scheme (a.k.a. inflation) as well. Within the USA, for example, the Federal Reserve's debt note currency target rate is 2% devaluation per year.

This is an average inflation rate of 2.18% and cumulative inflation of 53.90% (!!!) from 1998 to 2018 for the USD (that's only over a small 20 year period and you may live to be 60+ so...). For me it is hard to talk about pricing without also talking about the currency said pricing is based upon.

JMHO YMMV

[emtee]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Great points! There's also 'overhead' costs such as servicing center(s), cost of doing business in general such as cost of moving funds between countries (as desired), etc. One country's 'overhead costs' overall can reflect in product pricing within said country. Rolex naturally must include the country's currency devaluation scheme (a.k.a. inflation) as well.

Yes this is what I was trying to get at. Maybe once all factors are taken into consideration (and i have no idea what they all are) that despite the fact the RRP is less in the UK than other places Rolex ends up taking the same amount of profit when all is said and done.

Still even if that was true you would have thought they’d just jack the RRP up so it cost the same for the end consumer in all locations.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by emtee

Maybe they’re hedging their bets for a no deal Brexit? A 5% increase now and another one 6 months later is easier for people to accept than 10% all at once if that’s how it goes down?

But then again if you can afford to spend several thousand pounds on a watch a few hundred difference shouldn’t stop you, although who wants to spend any more than they feel they should have....

I’d be pissed if the watch id been waiting for cost 1K more than it did last week when I got the call. But £500 i’d be like ‘well that’s a bit annoying but ok....’

just speaking economically, yes i agree. currency fluctuations up or down are going to happen depending. 5% seems like a wait and see as they can go more depending on what happens with the currency. If it tanks maybe another 10% like the last time.

[law0501]

Went into an AD today in London. The guy confirmed 5% increase and was surprised so many people knew about it. I was the third person who asked them!

[bayerische]

I'm not buying Rolex, so doesn't matter to me.

[A.I.]

Originally Posted by enjoythemusic

Maybe England should go back to the British pound sterling standard instead of what they have now. That would definitely help keep prices reasonable over a long period of time :-)

??...How long was I asleep?

[AK797]

Originally Posted by emtee

Yes this is what I was trying to get at. Maybe once all factors are taken into consideration (and i have no idea what they all are) that despite the fact the RRP is less in the UK than other places Rolex ends up taking the same amount of profit when all is said and done.

Still even if that was true you would have thought they’d just jack the RRP up so it cost the same for the end consumer in all locations.

Rolex SA get paid in CHF so their revenue is constant, it is the ADs and the different country's Rolex affiliates that have to deal with fluctuating currency issues, which is why Rolex is supposed to try to even out disparities, but they are usually in no hurry as it is not on their dime.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by A.I.

??...How long was I asleep?

i think he is referring to a non fiat currency. One pound, sterling (silver)