didn't Boris stop by the shop last week to ask if he could get on "the list"?
What was the Rolex window is now Mont Blanc.
No longer listed as an AD on the Rolex site either, though their Sheffield shop still is.
Wonder why? Not enough sales to satisfy Rolex maybe?
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
didn't Boris stop by the shop last week to ask if he could get on "the list"?
I hear Fraser Heart of Solihull have blown theirs....
that’s what Goldsmiths told me
Presumably they can now become "Grey" Dealers!! and have some bloody stock at last
I only go to Donny for the train to King's Cross,
One hour twenty seven minutes, sod you HS2.
Last edited by number2; 17th September 2019 at 17:54.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I'll be up there on Friday, visiting my 96 year old Mum - maybe they will be selling off their Rolex stock at liquidation prices!!
I heard that Rolex are demanding a large investment from each AD to create a dedicated Rolex area within each store which costs around £150k to do.Takes a bit of making back with limited inventory to sell.Rolex say do it or lose the AD status.
Old news, Nicky has moved to the Sheffield branch & customers from Donny move over on lists to Sheffield branch.
Our local Rolex AD told me the same thing. Their budget was significantly higher than 150k though.
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Does anyone have any pictures from before and after one of these £150k refits ? Sounds like a made up figure.
A London AD for Omega told me that they wanted him to build a dedicated Omega area within the store at his own expense in order to retain AD status. He reckoned it could cost up to £200K...
That explains the large Sheffield HL browns refit then and the new lady looking after lists. I was told on release I'll get pepsi within the first 18 months of release. Now expected another 2 year wait
All part of The Masterplan
RIAC
Whittles in Preston have built a dedicated Rolex room to their premises. Opened last year IIRC.
Such a shame that it won't be Goldsmiths that go.
I heard the same thing from Tarrat's in Rugby; apparently rolex are demanding a minimum square footage dedicated entirely to their watches also. The rugby store was smaller than the area demanded. That store closed in the end because I think Rolex made up the vast majority of the revenue for them - they only had Longines, Tudor and modest range of jewellery
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Rolex is a hard-nosed business; it will make tough commercial decisions. Same, on a smaller scale, with Rolex ADs. Some will disappear, other stores may open. It makes little difference to the likes of us. In fact I rarely go into a Rolex store these days.
Nothing to buy, and I’m not expecting favours from the staff.
Last edited by paskinner; 18th September 2019 at 09:03.
Eh? So with product seeming to go out of the door within days what the hell do Rolex display in these new areas - empty stands, posters for watches that aren’t available to buy, 3d holographic spectacular which almost makes that watch look real, maybe some ‘dummy’ display models?? Strange & bizarre..
It is strange all that upfront outlay fitting out the stores only to have the cabinets mostly empty. Seems more like Rolex are pushing the AD’s to toe the line in terms of flipping. If I forked out that expenditure I would worry for my Rolex license if one of the BLNR’s ended up at a grey. The AD’s which recently lost their status is a reminder to AD’s of what could happen
Wonder what support Rolex give their dealer network, if any at all ?
£150k refurbishment will take a lot of sales to pay that sort of outlay back.
Added to which there would be no guarantee of official dealership on going in the future.
Maybe Milton could enlighten us all ?
We’re often shop fitting from an electrical point of view but can assure you the cost of the furniture is astronomical!, the last store we did in Westfield’s was only 100m2 and the furniture alone ran to 150k very bespoke and Italian and didn’t look like much lol. We also did one of the Bremont boutiques in the royal exchange Again display cabinets don’t come cheap.
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You get to :
- sell those watches we decide to supply you with
- enjoy the halo effect of the Rolex brand around your business
....at least until we make the next shop-fit demand / insist you employ a watchmaker / take all this month's allocation of models that you don't really want.
With regard to main agents, all the power in the relationship seems to lie with Rolex.
If you haven't noticed, many independents who lose the Rolex agency then wind up altogether soon afterwards.
Why Goldsmiths --- often the unprofessional joker among retailers with its clone production-line of box-shifting, shiny-trousered, perma-smiley nincompoops --- should seemingly be championed I have no idea.
I wonder how hatman14's sales from the back door are going? I'd imagine Lee B still lurks here and often wonder about calling in to the Bullring showroom to create some excitement.
H
Last edited by Haywood_Milton; 18th September 2019 at 12:30.
It's purely a business decision. If it is worth their while, the AD will stomp up the money and refit. If it isn't, he won't bother and lose the franchise. It is the ADs decision and this type of thing has been going on ever since the inception of the francise system.
It must be worthwhile for the ADs to maintain their Rolex dealerships. Otherwise they would quit on their own. People seem to forget that Rolex does not require maintaining a dealership or force people to buy their products at gunpoint. Both are purely voluntary.
Probably what is happening is Rolex feel they have enough equity in the bank to flex their muscles more and are making demands they never made before.
I like this dichotomy- wannabes always say that Rolex is a mass produced non-exclusive watch but there are never enough to please the ADs and the customers.
Last edited by RAJEN; 18th September 2019 at 12:55.
The retailers mark up on Rolex watches must be good to make this investment worthwhile
Having a guess - RRP = £5,750 - buy in price from Rolex = £4k max - dealer margin £1,750 I would think minimum - how many watches do they have to sell just to break even on their investment?
So the next time you buy a 'Hulk" for £14k - it probably only cost the dealer £4k or £5k - cheap watches Rolex!!
Rolex annual production - Official figures are not known but industry "experts" (they appear all over the show), reckon it is 800,000 units and maybe up to a million with Tudor contributing maybe 200,000 units.
Most people love Rolex ........ and they seem to have mesmerised the mid range luxury watch market - they are really sought after worldwide ......... but they are a volume producer and if you want something special and individual isn't it better to look elsewhere?............ just a question
the only "new" Rolex I could buy because they are the only ones that are available at shortish notice at a reasonable price, (around RRP), would be an OP........... if I was looking for a Sport Stainless, there are lots of very well kept used models out there from other manufacturers for 50% to 60% of their current RRP.......... and if you want a Pepsi ....... well there are a few for under £1k new.
interesting - I was hoping someone would have a better idea of the Retail margin - (I aimed on the low side, as I did not really have anything to go on) - but with the little Retail knowledge that I have I would have expected the RRP to be twice the Retailers buy in price, adjusted for VAT and taxes in overseas markets.
Less Rolex retail outlets means more supplies of watches for those still punting out Rolex's.
So if you can’t source a Rolex, consider buying something else.
What a revolutionary idea! How come no one thought of it before?
You must refurb your entire shop to display nothing of interest.
I really like certain models but the whole charade is an absolute joke.
Fraser Hart Solihull is losing their AD status?!Sent from my SM-G965F using TZ-UK mobile app