Rolex, iconic thought they are, certainly have distribution problems. In answer to this they have bought Bucherer. A smart move given the current state of affairs.
Fantastic summary of the state of Rolex distribution. It used to be a brand one would associate with celebrating an achievement or a milestone in your life. Now I don’t even want to buy one. The brand values are tarnished. Great commentary as always. Look forward to seeing future videos on Guns and Watches !!
Here in the United States major second hand companies are suffering from overstocked supply. If the interest rate continues to hike, or even stays consistent in the next 2 meetings then purchasing power for luxury good will continue to fall.
Went to trade my explorer for an explorer 2 white dial. Been a customer for thirty years, bought several quality watches and other jewellery items from them over the period. Told I might get one in eighteen months, not interested in the unknown waiting period with no guarantee of getting a watch I want. Decided to get a Cartier Santos Dumont large which I picked up the following morning. Absolutely superb watch, a bit more discreet than the Rolex and rarely seen, which I like. No going back to Rolex for me, I've moved on. No regrets.
I'm a fan of breitling and bremont. love watches. I don't buy for investment. but rolex process is so bad I won't be buying from them. my friend been told she needs to wait about 4yrs for oyster steel datejust unless she makes a significant spend on other things at the same store to get the manager to bump her up on the list. terrible experience.
That is ridiculous! Please tell her to look at Cartier as they make beautiful ladies watches, also have a look at Omega too. One brand that I think she should exploire is Breitling, it is massively on the up.
Your missing a big factor here is that Bucherer went up for sale. Considering the long relationship and history it was a must buy. Can you imagine swatch group or LVMH.
You are 100% correct. The bubble has burst and there are a great many people out there with a Rolex watch, (and some others brands) that is falling in value day by day. Can they afford to take a hit of several thousand pounds? That must be the question they are asking themselves right now and the second hand or grey market is packed with watches that are over priced and under subscribed. . Ostensibly we seem to have returned to a time when a watch is an asset but not an investment but the problem is that the marker has risen and risen in the meantime to a level that for many enthusiasts and collectors is now unattainable. With the most recent price rises in the next week or so, a Submariner will cost £9K new. Almost funny if it wasn't so ridiculous. Rolex will still sell the lion's share of Swiss watches but there are many once loyal and potential Rolex customers who have been completely turned off by the way they had been treated over the past few years so winning them back is going to be a challenge and Rolex's latest attempt to control the grey market may be too little too late. I'm wondering whether the highs of the last few years will be matched with a matching low and prices will eventually tumble on the grey market. I see it as a very volatile situation but one that I don't have a financial interest in personally as my watches were all bought before the circus started. Great post!
Excellent video but let’s also not forget the CPO side. CPO seem to be offering a higher rate to buy back a rolex. So not just they are making money from selling rival products, they would also be taking business away from the grey market and setting the baseline price for pre owned. Why would I sell my hulk to a grey dealer when rolex are offering me more and a potential to start a long term relationship…
With about 1M wathces per year Rolex is not exactly a rare watch (yeah I know some are!). But a major part of the grey marktet already existed before the boom. But when it became a ponzi scheme many extra's jumped on the bandwagon to grab a part of the profit. However the behaviour of many AD (BTW not all, a friend of mine - although with some hassle, but without buying extra's - was able to buy a datejust at an AD) did help to establish that grey market. And IMHO that behaviour was there already a long time. And I think that this move by Rolex was not frivolous and has been going many years (e.g. the CPO thing) in the making. IMHO therefore much more a thing to get AD's aligned than anything else.
I haven't heard the more likely reasons for the purchase. Bucherer had put itself up for sale. Rolex bought it, not to develop further marketing tricks but as a defensive measure given that certain kinds of buyer (venture capitalists for example) might make things worse for Rolex. Bucherer has 50 shops which sell Rolex. There are over 2,000 ADs in the world and Bucherer only exists in Europe and the USA. It is absolutely not a move against the grey market.
Great move by Rolex, trying to control end user and customer experience in the AD. I wonder if “bundling” will go away? This for that is standard practice with these luxury brands, I heard. Good video and presentation, I feel like I am attending an interesting lecture. Thanks
Rolex lost the control of their brand and market. They don’t want to be associated with the hipster crowd. Rather want to associate with the successful, accomplished segment of society and I think that’s 1 reason for the move. One more thing. They got tired of the AD’s for peddling their allocation in the grey market without anyone finding out. Not good for your core customers.
At 3:55 Mr. B says as a result of Rolex buying Bucherer, "you won't see Rolex watches selling above list price". I disagree because we see that Rolex is selling CPO watches way above list AND the grey market!
I would not touch Rolex I would by something else. But very true words by Bassington here. Why buy a watch when they ask you to bend down first. If thats how they treat their customers. No thanks
Rolex make good quality watches. They have style, looks and charisma on more of their watches that others don’t have. This is why I believe they will always be no1… there will always be some more in demand than others, like say a Pepsi GMT rather than a datejust. I still believe your getting a free watch here if you get the watch at list price. If you sell it you will get your money back.. so this is an added attraction. Keep the videos coming 👍
Well said, thanks for the insight. You are right, I went to Omega and ended up buying a Rolex on the grey market. I do like the Rolex but honestly enjoy the Omega more.
if you throw in rolex's 32xx movement issues that are all over watch forums, they will have double the fire drill soon. i certainly declined a Wimbledon from an ad because of that. its now become just another corrupt company hiding their flaws.
You said it better than anyone! I've been a Rolex customer for over 40 years and 5 watches later. I can no longer go in and purchase what I want and desire for myself. It's become out of hand and I can't believe Rolex didn't head this off sooner. There is damage to the brand that is not going to be forgotten. I'm bitter on how they treated a multi generational customer! Went to Omega for two watches and now looking for my next IWC or Brietling. Cheers!
I can’t even buy an OP or DJ in any authorised dealer… so Rolex buys Bucherer… what does it really mean? Can buyers walk in the store and buy any Rolex watches?
Rolex has definitely become part of the Uniform for a lot of people, list prices need to drastically increase to reduce the margins available on resale to help re establish the brands value, the saturation on the grey market will continue while there is money to be made by the flippers. There is vast amount of popular steel sports models on the grey market which will not shift unless the prices fall closer to list which in turn, which will and I feel is ruining the brands value
What's really the point of a Rolex AD anymore - they have no stock on hand, paying a lease and salaries to sales people and pissing off loyal generational customers. Rolex needs to fix this broken model as it's causing more harm than good.
I don’t believe the bubble has burst on Rolex. There is nothing like a stainless steel Submariner out there. Rolex has always be worn by commoners as well as those in the upper echelons.
@@Bassingtons oh, that I definitely agree with. But I don’t think it’s over for the brand itself. And with the way things are going with Silver and Gold, in a few years the price for classic Rolex model may well be above retail.
@@Soulheads-yy3zq I do not think "it's over for the brand itself' and this is pretty much what I said in the VLOG. However they have problems in the short to medium term.
Shooting isn't exactly the sport of the masses though is it? Most people doing that will have expendable cash and enjoy doing country sports - the types of people who would wear a Rolex. Go to your local Bookies - how many Rolex will you see in there?
