Omegas pulled from Tourneau in King of Prussia mall

[kxux]

I was in KoP today doing some LEGO shopping with my son. While there I wanted to check out Omega Speedmaster Professional, but was told by staff at Tourneau that they have been asked to remove Omegas from their display since Omega is building new Boutique across from their store that should open in about a month.

In case you wanted to shop form Omega in KoP you will need to wait or head over to their dealer in Warrington where I stopped later in the day to check out the watch. It looks very nice.

Few pictures of the Omega Boutique front in KoP - well the pretty pictures of what is the door of the construction site.

[gwalker]

I was there last week and sad. I wanted to try on a PO 8500 again. I'm really wanting one but will have to sell my Sub C since I'm picin up and AP soon.

[azguy]

sign of the times.....I mean, how many Omega's can you sell in a month to cover the rent and employees

Maybe they think of it as just brand advertising...I bet there is no way they can sell 10-12 watches a month

[TuonoRider]

Originally Posted by azguy

sign of the times.....I mean, how many Omega's can you sell in a month to cover the rent and employees

Maybe they think of it as just brand advertising...I bet there is no way they can sell 10-12 watches a month

KOP is probably one of the wealthiest areas in the East...I would bet they will sell 10-12 a week...

I'm glad for the boutique so I can see the full range of watches and try before I buy elsewhere! :)

[kxux]

Originally Posted by TuonoRider

KOP is probably one of the wealthiest areas in the East...I would bet they will sell 10-12 a week...

I'm glad for the boutique so I can see the full range of watches and try before I buy elsewhere! :)

Yep that is true. KoP Tourneau does not seem to struggle. I'm glad full line up will be available closer than NYC.

Just disappointed I had to drive more to see the Speedy.

[Subfiend]

I'm going!

[kxux]

Originally Posted by Subfiend

I'm going!

Don't rush there just yet ;-). Give it few weeks. They are still building it.

[InTime]

hire a stud salesman who likes to small chat and give discounts and im sure u can sell more than 12/month

[Zirotti]

NorthPark here in Dallas will soon have Rolex, Panerai and Omega boutique, to go along with the Cartier one already here.

Sadly, I think the days of ADs are dwindling. More and more manufacturers are getting into the retail business so they can control brand pricing.

[treeinthecity]

They did the same thing with the Tourneau in Natick Mall in MA. Good luck trying to get a discount at the boutiques. I don't know if this is a good long term business model, at least in the US. I would not buy Omega at full retail.

[kxux]

Originally Posted by treeinthecity

They did the same thing with the Tourneau in Natick Mall in MA. Good luck trying to get a discount at the boutiques. I don't know if this is a good long term business model, at least in the US. I would not buy Omega at full retail.

Yes. Especially considering the regular 20+% discounts offered at ADs.

[TuonoRider]

My guess is a lot of AD's will either drop the brand due to pressure from Omega or raise their price to meet the boutique price...because they'll soon realize if Omega Boutique can get full retail or maybe a +/- 5% discount, why shouldn't they raise their price and earn more profit dollars...

Many people say they'd never pay full retail for an Omega. IMO, The new Omega's are easily going to be just as attractive as a Rolex. After just buying the latest model SMP 300, It's easily worth $4400 retail compared to a Sub for what? $7500? There will always be people that don't like Omegas...

I don't know...the boutique model is a tough call. Will certainly be interesting to watch it pan out.

[gmh1013]

Everytime Im in Houston Galleria I see zero people in (Omega) it.....then I walk in and cant get the women to get off the phone to see what I want.....after 2-3 mins I walk out.....last customer of the day.
I bet they dont sell 6-7 a week if that.

[bodybump]

Rolex are on the way also....

[TuonoRider]

Great point, Greg.

Funny how it usually comes down to the sales person. Like someone posted earlier, put some people on the sales floor that know how to chat it up with people, not matter what they look like (as in, leave your pretentious attitude at home) and you will move merchandise.

I'd walk out of a store like that too...I don't mind spending money when I'm in the mood, people like that couldn't give me an Omega. OK, maybe that's stretching it a bit!

[btrizzy]

Originally Posted by kxux

Yes. Especially considering the regular 20+% discounts offered at ADs.

Have you considered that Omega is heading towards boutiques being the only Omega AD's?

[azguy]

Originally Posted by TuonoRider

KOP is probably one of the wealthiest areas in the East...I would bet they will sell 10-12 a week...

I'm glad for the boutique so I can see the full range of watches and try before I buy elsewhere! :)

That's 1.5 watches a day, are you kidding me there's no way an Omega Boutique sells a watch a day....first, you got zero discount, they offer a free service 5 years down the road IF YOU FINANCE with them...secondly, the prices at full retail were very high. As I was looking around, I was thinking "heck I'll just buy another Rolex" lastly, you got another nearly 6-9% in sales tax depending on where you are.

1 a day seems highly optimistic in my opinion........

[MP5]

Originally Posted by azguy

That's 1.5 watches a day, are you kidding me there's no way an Omega Boutique sells a watch a day....first, you got zero discount, they offer a free service 5 years down the road IF YOU FINANCE with them...secondly, the prices at full retail were very high. As I was looking around, I was thinking "heck I'll just buy another Rolex" lastly, you got another nearly 6-9% in sales tax depending on where you are.

1 a day seems highly optimistic in my opinion........

Exactly, fat chance these are as attractive to buyers as Rolex. No way I'm paying new omega msrp for omega. They new watches are nice but they are only nice at heavy discounts. Omega is headed for a trail full of fail IMO

[Zirotti]

you guys do realize that there are people who buy watches outside of TRF/WUS/TZ right? lol

The MAJORITY of luxury watch buyers don't expect the kind of prices we do.

[TuonoRider]

I'm just basing my guess on how extremely busy Tourneau shop usually is...and the last two times I was in there, they just didn't seem to be struggling to sell watches in the least bit.

I would not be surprised they could average 1 to 2 watches per day...I don't know guys, its all speculation...I could be completely wrong.

[jnelson3097]

You could always check out the Omegas at Govberg at their new store in that area.

[dbphotos]

If I were the store owner, I'd be ticked that I can't keep them in my display case even before the boutique is opened.

From a business standpoint, running your own boutique is much more expensive than selling through AD's and may work in some markets, but I think it will eventually run its course in North America. I know there are all kinds of arguments about more profit when not offering discounts, but keeping a store in buisiness takes a huge investment up front and on a monthly basis. I could be proven wrong, but my guess is that 5 years from now we will see a turn back towards AD's again and boutiques will start closing.