New Watches of switzerland (UK) rules for Rolex

[MikePRT]

Just wanted to share some “rules” which Watches of switzerland are implementing to try and ensure the spread of watches around their customers is fair. Was advised of these new rules following a catch-up with my sales assistant yesterday to register my interest for a green OP41. Coincidentally Paul Thorpe has done a video on the same rules.

1) register of interest for models now only possible for existing clients. People with no purchase history will not be able to register their interest for any model
2) only 2 Rolex sales are permitted to a customer in a 12 month period
3) out of that two only 1 sports model is permitted.

I do think this is going to have a real impact and spread the distribution of watches to a wider customer base. My AD showed my a list of 5-6 hit watches that he literally is struggling to sell to people in his client list as the new rules knock a lot of people out of consideration. Talking about blue sky dweller, Batman, subs, 2 tone explorer 1 (well, not surprised that is a struggle). Obviously I tried to buy the blue sky but was told I need my register of interest approved by head office which would take a few months and by which time the blue sky would be gone.


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[Jack T]

Complete nonsense

[Bom]

Originally Posted by Jack T

Complete nonsense

Not at all......

[watchnut73]

Originally Posted by Jack T

Complete nonsense

I agree!


I know someone Very recently) registered for a classic piece...had it within two months then registered for another timepiece had that very soon after.. its all down to mangers discretion, who the client is etc... none of what OP mentions

everyone just gets dragged in and believes what they are told,

[RogerOP]

Originally Posted by watchnut73

I agree!


I know someone Very recently) registered for a classic piece...had it within two months then registered for another timepiece had that very soon after.. its all down to mangers discretion, who the client is etc... none of what OP mentions

everyone just gets dragged in and believes what they are told,

This is about sports models.

Confirmed again last weekend at Goldsmiths. Same rhetoric.

[Madison1]

Similar story with mine. They said I can have one sports model (be on the list) and one non sports. I originally had a longer list and had to chop it down. The theory is acceptable if it means watches go to a variety of collectors and not just the same person. I also found it a good way to pair down my options when forced to choose. They only issue I think is not selling to new customers. I think as a business model this is insane. New customers are key.

[Bom]

Originally Posted by Madison1

Similar story with mine. They said I can have one sports model (be on the list) and one non sports. I originally had a longer list and had to chop it down. The theory is acceptable if it means watches go to a variety of collectors and not just the same person. I also found it a good way to pair down my options when forced to choose. They only issue I think is not selling to new customers. I think as a business model this is insane. New customers are key.

Don't need any new customers at the moment, more than enough demand... sure when it drys up they will allow new customers

[gramo]

Originally Posted by MikePRT

Just wanted to share some “rules” which Watches of switzerland are implementing to try and ensure the spread of watches around their customers is fair. Was advised of these new rules following a catch-up with my sales assistant yesterday to register my interest for a green OP41. Coincidentally Paul Thorpe has done a video on the same rules.

1) register of interest for models now only possible for existing clients. People with no purchase history will not be able to register their interest for any model
2) only 2 Rolex sales are permitted to a customer in a 12 month period
3) out of that two only 1 sports model is permitted.

I do think this is going to have a real impact and spread the distribution of watches to a wider customer base. My AD showed my a list of 5-6 hit watches that he literally is struggling to sell to people in his client list as the new rules knock a lot of people out of consideration. Talking about blue sky dweller, Batman, subs, 2 tone explorer 1 (well, not surprised that is a struggle). Obviously I tried to buy the blue sky but was told I need my register of interest approved by head office which would take a few months and by which time the blue sky would be gone.


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Thank you the update, everything Watches of Switzerland have done over the last 5 plus years has not worked and all these most recent rules will also not work either. but Watches of Switzerland needs to be seen to be doing something to please Rolex.

[multimedia]

Similar post in the AP forum. And yes I agree with Jack = nonsense.

Cheers,
Joe

[padi56]

Originally Posted by multimedia

Similar post in the AP forum. And yes I agree with Jack = nonsense.

Cheers,
Joe

Complete and utter nonsense all ADs are in business for one thing only and thats to sell as many of there products to all that enters there retail store.

[multimedia]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter nonsense all ADs are in business for one thing only and thats to sell as many of there products to all that enters there retail store.

Yes, exactly this. :)

As I answered in the thread over on the AP section, I'm not sure how many times we've read here that "my AD told me this and that, I heard this from a friend who heard it from the milk man"... until one see any actual proof, it's just rumours. And why any AD would take this approach, is beyond me.

Edit;

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Not nonsense. Expect to hear more of this rhetoric moving forward.

Of course if you are a whale, the world wont change for you - c'est la vie

I'm sorry for maybe spinning this further along now, but why should we expect to hear more about this? Hearing is one thing, yes. But this actualy happening. Well... again, why?

Cheers,
Joe

[watchmaker]

This is the latest brainwave to try to curb flippers and get product to a wider audience. As WOS is the UK's largest account, they will be the vanguard. The rest will follow.

It will fail on the first point (there will simply be more unique flippers instead of fewer/higher volume ones), but will succeed on the second.

The days of retailers having any autonomy over how they market and sell Rolex are long gone. You can be sure new policies have either come from above or have been green lit. And expect uniformity, customer experience should be the same regardless of what door you walk through.

[multimedia]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

This is the latest brainwave to try to curb flippers and get product to a wider audience. As WOS is the UK's largest account, they will be the vanguard. The rest will follow.

It will fail on the first point (there will simply be more unique flippers instead of fewer/higher volume ones), but will succeed on the second.

The days of retailers having any autonomy over how they market and sell Rolex are long gone. You can be sure new policies have either come from above or have been green lit. And expect uniformity, customer experience should be the same regardless of what door you walk through.

So be it, but as stated in the video (I just browsed through it) it's all the same stuff we've heard here trough the years = (again) "My AD told me this and that" = nothing concrete, no press releases, etc. So it's all speculations.

Don'g get me wrong, I'm all for watches being available to the broader audience again = like it used to be = we don't need to rewind the tape more than a couple of years when you could actually go into an Rolex AD in Hong Kong (of all places) and they would offer you the standard 8% discount on a 114060 (I'm a living proof of this).

But again, what is mentioned in this video, are just hearsay, and personality I take this very lightly (right way to say it in English?) before I actually see any proof. Before that, it's just speculations. Speculations about AD's, which we've heard over and over and over again.

Cheers,
Joe

[Njkdog]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter nonsense all ADs are in business for one thing only and thats to sell as many of there products to all that enters there retail store.

But Rolex has proven they’re not at all shy about taking away AD status from dealers who don’t follow their rules.

[bluestreak]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter nonsense all ADs are in business for one thing only and thats to sell as many of there products to all that enters there retail store.

It’s a store. What other purpose does it or should it have?

[Game Hunter]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter nonsense all ADs are in business for one thing only and thats to sell as many of there products to all that enters there retail store.

I think you might have jumped in a bit early without understanding the principle at work

AD's maximise revenue by treating their VIP customers differently. They do this is the same way airlines provide benefits for frequent flyers. They sell desirable watches to people who have proven to support their revenue model over time.

You might have missed that.

[Darcey]

Originally Posted by padi56

Complete and utter nonsense all ADs are in business for one thing only and thats to sell as many of there products to all that enters there retail store.

This is simply not true. Not even close. Rolex dealers don't operate on the absurd model built on the randomness of some suburban meat raffle. There will be isolated exceptions but dealers work to reward VIPs, not give some schmuck a lottery win by handing out Daytonas at retail to unknown walk-ins.

Originally Posted by Game Hunter

I think you might have jumped in a bit early without understanding the principle at work

AD's maximise revenue by treating their VIP customers differently. They do this is the same way airlines provide benefits for frequent flyers. They sell desirable watches to people who have proven to support their revenue model over time.

You might have missed that.

Agreed.

There is no sane Rolex dealer who would roll out a Daytona or a GMT for the next customer randomly walking through the door who happens to ask for it. That bears no relationship to the real world experience of anybody on this board is having and anybody who tries to buy such a watch will experience this directly in 98% of cases. It would be self destructive for any dealer to mindlessly do that. They choose customers to receive in demand watches who have shown evidence that they have the resources and commitment to being loyal and consistent in buying.

[rockysw]

Originally Posted by Game Hunter

I think you might have jumped in a bit early without understanding the principle at work

AD's maximise revenue by treating their VIP customers differently. They do this is the same way airlines provide benefits for frequent flyers. They sell desirable watches to people who have proven to support their revenue model over time.

You might have missed that.

the difference is transparency. So I dont think it is the same. With an airline, I know what my points are where I stand. With ADs, I have no idea where I am on the list (if at all) or if they are selling it to customers who spend less than me (just because they like them more than me :D) or selling directly to gray.

[Game Hunter]

Originally Posted by rockysw

the difference is transparency. So I dont think it is the same. With an airline, I know what my points are where I stand. With ADs, I have no idea where I am on the list (if at all) or if they are selling it to customers who spend less than me (just because they like them more than me :D) or selling directly to gray.

I agree with some of your point about transparency. Up to a point. My frequent flyer program tells me how many points to get a toaster and I can do that any day. To get a business class seat or an upgrade to first class, they are not transparent at all. Receiving those benefits are hit and miss for even the highest tier flyer based on load, seasonality and the goodwill check in agents and lounge staff.

But my level of frequent flyer membership makes me the most likely person on any given flight to score those benefits. Airlines don't upgrade the first three people who check in that day from their $165 holiday ticket. Same at the AD. No guarantees but VIP customers are the most likely out of heir client pool to score the Daytona.

Any yes, that doesn't factor them selling to greys but for the really elite spenders, they'd be crazy not to make accommodations for them on watches they want. AD's factor overall spend, longevity of relationship, the mix of spend on diamonds, watches and such. Some product lines deliver super margins.

The idea put forward by the guy claiming the first person who walks in the door is going to get the prize as a revenue maximising strategy is absurd and bears no relationship to the real world economics of servicing high net worth customers with a limited pool of product.

[Innocenti]

Only register interest if your an existing client .
So you have to buy something else before they will even put your name down for a Rolex.

That right there is enough reason for me to never step foot in one of their shops again.

[rootbeer7]

OP is partially correct. I was told you do not need to have any purchasing history when I registered my interest. Whether or not I get the watch I want is another story!

[MikePRT]

Originally Posted by rootbeer7

OP is partially correct. I was told you do not need to have any purchasing history when I registered my interest. Whether or not I get the watch I want is another story!

Apologies, was meant to say that sports models will only be available to existing clients. No prior purchase history is required for non-sports.

As for the people saying this is nonsense…this is what my AD told me. Why is it nonsense? Two separate sales assistants said the same thing. I have decent spend at my AD (Tudor, Cartier, TT DJ41 and 18k sub) all in the last 12 months so would like to think they aren’t fobbing me off.

Given that others are now saying they have been told similar things in my mind it seems to true.

Not sure if UK wide or just WoS.


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[petay993]

Originally Posted by MikePRT

Apologies, was meant to say that sports models will only be available to existing clients. No prior purchase history is required for non-sports.

As for the people saying this is nonsense…this is what my AD told me. Why is it nonsense? Two separate sales assistants said the same thing. I have decent spend at my AD (Tudor, Cartier, TT DJ41 and 18k sub) all in the last 12 months so would like to think they aren’t fobbing me off.

Given that others are now saying they have been told similar things in my mind it seems to true.

Not sure if UK wide or just WoS.


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It is not nonsense it is correct for the WOS Group in the U.K

Applicable to Rolex Professional models.

Some big spenders will be exempted because that's the nature of capitalism.

[Goodfella54]

Originally Posted by Innocenti

Only register interest if your an existing client .
So you have to buy something else before they will even put your name down for a Rolex.

That right there is enough reason for me to never step foot in one of their shops again.

This.

[Retlas]

Bucherer (London) dont require you to be an existing client but you are also limited to 1 sports / 1 non-sports model within a 12 month period.

[Jay2101]

I thought the 1 sports model was only a Japan thing, but it looks like other countries have caught on. Japan also limits them to those with residence status as well. So no sudden tourist buys (not that tourists could enter Japan in the last couple of years anyway).

[watchmaker]

Not nonsense. Expect to hear more of this rhetoric moving forward.

Of course if you are a whale, the world wont change for you - c'est la vie

[Innocenti]

Originally Posted by watchmaker

Not nonsense. Expect to hear more of this rhetoric moving forward.

Of course if you are a whale, the world wont change for you - c'est la vie

Don’t need to be a whale, but we do have choice.

For many people stuff like this makes the brand less attractive.
Personally there are a perhaps couple of Rolex watches I like enough to walk into a store and buy at the inflated list price.

But none that I like enough to feel I have to build a relationship or somehow qualify to give them money.

[multimedia]

Originally Posted by Innocenti

...or somehow qualify to give them money.

I agree 100% It's utterly bonkers (actually, appalling) that one should feel this way.

Cheers,
Joe

[watchmaker]

Originally Posted by Innocenti

Don’t need to be a whale, but we do have choice.

For many people stuff like this makes the brand less attractive.
Personally there are a perhaps couple of Rolex watches I like enough to walk into a store and buy at the inflated list price.

But none that I like enough to feel I have to build a relationship or somehow qualify to give them money.

More power to you, and I agree with you. But that's the nature of luxury retail.

Unfortunately for a lot of people, the smoke and mirrors and exclusivity (perceived and real) is an attraction.

A lot more people than the population of this forum would have to change their point of view for it to be a blip on the radar of the luxury goods industry.