There is no Rolex shortage

[RyanJ]

I think they will start selling hot models by using the Willy Wonka strategy. Inside random DayDates, DateJust, and Oyster Perpetual models will be a golden ticket which will put you on the list for a chance at an SS model.

[Tavli3]

Lol


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[Rolextellstime]

Originally Posted by Jacobson

This store is more interested in selling PM rather than SS.

Not only this store but Rolex themselves. I firmly believe Rolex has made a shift producing more PM timepieces as compared to SS. A production reallocation has happened and that is the cause for SS shortage. It makes so much sense and it will not change any time soon.

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[101031-28]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Rolex WANTS to sell PM. The AD PREFERS to SELL PM. The general public will BUY PM.

Rolex has been underselling its brand for a while. As hard as that is to believe, the market is showing what people will really spend on Rolex.

I think that the potential was always there, but when offered pieces priced lower than their expectations, people bought those instead.

Now the availability of lower priced options are greatly reduced and the general public are spending MORE on Rolex...which makes everyone happy, except the WIS...

Nailed it

[BrazenC5]

Datejusts galore!

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[MercedesHand]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

Agree Rolex and their ADs want to sell PMs. Only makes sense, bigger sale bigger profit.
But the public wants to buy PM? Not too sure about that. Why are the PMs sitting unsold in the cases and why don’t you see very many PMs in the wild?

So maybe it will be two stories full of PMs.


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Most of the public does NOT want PM if lower priced SS is available.

However, constrain the SS supply to where it's bid up very nearly to PM price and presto, "it's only another X thousand and it's available now" mentality.

White dial ceramic Daytona is pushing 30k. PM are not too far from that. Rolex has indirectly induced the public (who have the means) to consider PM
watch where their margins are MUCH higher.

Brillant!

I refuse to pay nearly 3x MSRP for white Daytona but some of the PM Daytona are starting to attract my attention. That would have not been the case previously. It's not that people dont like PM, steel generally speaking is simply more practical. And less expensive

It's not a question of $ (if you have it) It's a question of availability and fomenting FOMO

Classic sales techniques.

[AK797]

It's not really a boutique, it's just a warehouse for half the residents of One Hyde Park across the road.

[Explorer2Guy]

Originally Posted by CharlesN

I hear what you say .. And the store has many cabinets and they are all full of SS Daytona's and the new GMT II.

Now, If you believe that you will believe anything.

The refurbished store is quite a bit nicer than its previous incarnation.

I was fortunate enough to be invited by Rolex to the opening of the old Bucherer store on the same site. A fabulous champagne opening.

The store is in a VERY prestigious spot. Not where one would expect though. Most of the watch brand boutiques are on Bond Street in Central London.

This new store is on Knightsbridge almost opposite Harrods (A world famous upmarket department store).

I am sure they will do VERY well in that location.
The only problem is that area is very much so a tourist area (because of Harrods) and the vast majority of the customers will be tourists. It certainly was with the old butcherer shop on that site.
I pity the sales staff there as they are going to get asked literally 100's of times if they have the hard to get models. They are going to get driven nuts.

The Rolex Boutique in Bond Street is quite small in size, much small er than this new Bucherer and they get dozens of people in every day asking for the rarities.
I have suggested to them that they run a weekly sweepstake in store to see which sales member guesses nearest to the number of enquiries they get in a week. They should each put £1 in the kitty and winner takes all. That'll make some fun in-house.

Personally, I will carry on going to the Rolex Boutique - its a very friendly store and you get to become "friends" with the staff where there is little change in personell.

Harrod’s and Knightsbridge should just be called Dubai North or New Dubai

Saudi playground and if you’re a sheikh, you’ll get treated well.

It was very disappointing to realize that London is basically just a parking spot for Saudi and Russian money.

[Fleetlord]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

Not if they’re not selling. My AD has a rose gold oysterflex YM sitting the case for over a year now. What good is high margin if you don’t sell it. No sale equals zero margin.

And by the way it was offered to us at substantial discount and there’s another point against bigger margins.

By the way I think Rolex knows exactly what they’re doing. You don’t get to be king of the mountain by being stupid.


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Is this an independent AD or part of a chain?

[Tavli3]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Is this an independent AD or part of a chain?

An independent. I avoid mayors like the plague!! The AD I deal with is a gem!


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[Steerpike999]

I think there is a difference between a shortage of watches to buy and a company making and selling as many watches as it chooses to. The two are NOT mutually exclusive.

[DoctorA]

By numbers, Rolex is selling more! The issue is the demand increased significantly which lead ADs to be “selective” who to give the watches to and created the grey market we have today

[Jamie1111]

I think the general public love pm, djs and dds, after all general public listen to pop and whatever music is on tv. A lot of the people making music nowadays love their gold Rolex and iced date just. I don’t think they even know what gmts and subs are let alone Daytona’s. I could be wrong but everytime (rarely to be fair) I see a mainstream rapper or pop artist it’s all classic models, so I assume that’s what most people want and know to be Rolex. Just an assumption, not into tv music but am pretty good at understanding trends (backing myself by saying, yes everyone wants steel sports)


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[bonovox]

Not this again

[peterpl]

Rolex may want people to buy PM but once the price hits $25k or above doesn't matter if its PM or SS - market size drops bigtime.

Don't forget the fundamental target audience of their customers - they are the working class masses. Buying a $10k watch was an aspiration saving up many years to get one. Not easy going from $10k to $20k+.

$25k on a watch is big big money for majority of people. In some countries its multiples of the average YEARLY wage.

[Nikrnic]

I'm glad I hustled up a modest but decent collection in the last few years. I'm content enough where as I can enjoy what I have while not getting peed off at what's been going on with this so called shortage that Rolex created ?

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[train-time]

Originally Posted by peterpl

Rolex may want people to buy PM but once the price hits $25k or above doesn't matter if its PM or SS - market size drops bigtime.

Don't forget the fundamental target audience of their customers - they are the working class masses. Buying a $10k watch was an aspiration saving up many years to get one. Not easy going from $10k to $20k+.

$25k on a watch is big big money for majority of people. In some countries its multiples of the average YEARLY wage.

I seriously doubt this is the audience Rolex is marketing to. Just look at the events they sponsor and feature in their catalogs and publications. They include the top 4 world tennis championships (French Open, Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open), the Masters Golf championship, Major Yachting events, Formula 1 racing, the Rolex Monty Carlo Grand Masters Tennis championship, major equestrian events, etc. They don't market to the NFL, NBA, NASCAR and the like. Those are the events of the working class masses.

[rjstuf001]

This store will sell BOATLOADS of TT Datejusts, which are Rolex's bread and butter.

[Tavli3]

Originally Posted by peterpl

Rolex may want people to buy PM but once the price hits $25k or above doesn't matter if its PM or SS - market size drops bigtime.

Don't forget the fundamental target audience of their customers - they are the working class masses. Buying a $10k watch was an aspiration saving up many years to get one. Not easy going from $10k to $20k+.

$25k on a watch is big big money for majority of people. In some countries its multiples of the average YEARLY wage.

+1
The disturbing issue about this whole situation is the fact that ADs are the problem. All watches originate from an AD.

So to have as many new watches on the grey market within less than 60 days of them being shipped from factory means there is a preset distribution network from ADs to Gray sellers.

So average Joe can’t get access to one or can’t afford Grey markups.

I have no problem with free market but this is market manipulation. This is what people are so called whining about. The system is corrupted. The Greys have more access to product than regular customers.

BLNR went from 2 watches less than 60 days ago to 150 on Chrono24. Please don’t tell me that most don’t have the watch. This is not a watch there going to find so fast. So how is it more greys are getting watches than Rolex customers?? The answer is there are ADs doing shady deals. Until Rolex ends it nothing will change.

I suspect Rolex will have as much success as music industry has with stopping ticket scalpers. Not matter how much they try the scalpers always manage to have the majority of the tickets. And the Greys will always have the majority of watches it seems.


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[Rock]

I guess what is suggested here is that the Grey Dealers have become an additional level in the supply chain - an intermediary - or a perhaps the new "retailer" where the AD has become a sort of 'wholesaler'?? This is consistent with the situation where the prices rise to accommodate the additional link in the sales chain.
This idea would be supported if we knew what proportion of Grey offerings were for new watches. My assumption was that the majority of Grey offerings were 'second-hand' watches but it's sounding like this is not the case?

[pepsiretail]

There is no shortage of Rolex shortage threads

[zion_rasta]

Spend $200k so you can get a $8k watch is the biggest delusional business model ever in the history of marketing.

[Oldfellow]

[QUOTE=Tavli3;9781950]+1
The disturbing issue about this whole situation is the fact that ADs are the problem. All watches originate from an AD.

So to have as many new watches on the grey market within less than 60 days of them being shipped from factory means there is a preset distribution network from ADs to Gray sellers.

So average Joe can’t get access to one or can’t afford Grey markups.


Makes a lot of sense to me.

[Greg 59]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

+1
The disturbing issue about this whole situation is the fact that ADs are the problem. All watches originate from an AD.

So to have as many new watches on the grey market within less than 60 days of them being shipped from factory means there is a preset distribution network from ADs to Gray sellers.

So average Joe can’t get access to one or can’t afford Grey markups.

I have no problem with free market but this is market manipulation. This is what people are so called whining about. The system is corrupted. The Greys have more access to product than regular customers.

BLNR went from 2 watches less than 60 days ago to 150 on Chrono24. Please don’t tell me that most don’t have the watch. This is not a watch there going to find so fast. So how is it more greys are getting watches than Rolex customers?? The answer is there are ADs doing shady deals. Until Rolex ends it nothing will change.

I suspect Rolex will have as much success as music industry has with stopping ticket scalpers. Not matter how much they try the scalpers always manage to have the majority of the tickets. And the Greys will always have the majority of watches it seems.


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I totally agree with all you say.

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[mactruck]

Well there is no shortage of GMT Rootbeer PM. Every AD I shop from has one.

I would have bought it but already in for a PM Rolex this year.

[peterpl]

Originally Posted by Tavli3

I have no problem with free market but this is market manipulation. This is what people are so called whining about. The system is corrupted. The Greys have more access to product than regular customers.

I have been saying this for ages as well. I just completed a course on cartel behavior and market manipulation etc.....problem is this is not a regulated industry.

If this was going on say in the telecommunications or building industries with suppliers, contractors - shit would hit the roof. There would be internal investigations, inquiries and MASSIVE fines going everywhere.

[peterpl]

Originally Posted by zion_rasta

Spend $200k so you can get a $8k watch is the biggest delusional business model ever in the history of marketing.

LMFAO!

Absolutely

[Tavli3]

Originally Posted by peterpl

LMFAO!



Absolutely

Irrational exuberance to the extreme or maybe better yet to infinity and beyond!


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[sdh1980]

Its not what you know, its who you know...

A friend of mine has had a Hulk, 3! sub dates and a Pepsi in 6 months. Brown envelope to the store manager each time. He's been promised a daytona and a blue sky dweller before the end of the year too

[strafer_kid]

Originally Posted by fsprow

Agree 100%

Same here....I doubt that the ongoing displeasure vented by SS enthusiasts will have much impact upon Rolex as company in terms of the bigger picture. They clearly know what they are doing and will happily continue!