Which Mom and Pop AD gets the letter next?

[Ferrari-F430]

One thing is for sure, whether the AD deserves it or not.. this has to be absolutely devastating for a lot of these small dealers. Seems like most of them just used Rolex to generate sales aka "spend history" from customers with the lure that if they spend enough money, they just might get a Rolex. Spend a lot and win the prize of a Daytona!! Most of us know this game if you've been on any watch forums.

On top of that, it gave them the ability to mistreat customers because with the Rolex program, when a supplier has something that has a huge waiting list, they can either have integrity and treat everyone right or they can act like you don't matter (hence the post in this thread about Bigham) since they have the "power" of possessing the product you want so badly. Us as customers have to "take it" if we want to stay in the running for a watch. Sounds ridiculous, but that's how it is/was!

With all that said, I hope Rolex cracks down on the mistreatment of customers regardless of whether they can keep up with supply.

[EmilA]

Noticed Ruddells in the UK is no longer a Rolex AD. Only two years ago they expanded and made one entire shop just Rolex.

[1William]

It is what it is. The back in the day discussions are great but the world moves on and Rolex is a business that knows what it is doing and why.

[GreatScott]

Once the market flips, and it's tending that way, Rolex will add more locations to sell more watches. It's the circle of watch life.

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[rockmastermike]

Hypothetically, if I have a watch out for service via a mom and pop AD and they get axed while the watchn is in Dallas or NYC, what is the contingency for recovering said watch?

[train-time]

Originally Posted by rockmastermike

Hypothetically, if I have a watch out for service via a mom and pop AD and they get axed while the watchn is in Dallas or NYC, what is the contingency for recovering said watch?

I recall speaking to an AD that got the infamous letter ending their relationship. They were in a small city in PA and they had many customers who brought their watches in for service from time to time. The termination letter granted them a fairly significant timeframe to send in watches for service even though they were no longer an authorized sales agent for Rolex. I don't recall exactly how long it was that they still had the account to do this, but it was something like six months or even perhaps a year.

[gerry100]

Originally Posted by casadecamporolex

Just visited Saratoga Springs, NY-small town famous for the race course.
On the tiny Main Street sits an old school jewelry store, Fox Jewelers; they are the prototype of the soon to be extinct AD….family business built on quality and service. I used to deal with 3 ADs just like them.
Nice people, but definitely not the current vibe required. They remind me of the way stores were. These type retailers must hold their breath every time a letter comes from RolexUSA.

30 miles south is Frank Adams, a 100 year old family operation with long history with Rolex. They have made the investments Rolex required ( and moved to a new building).
One the other hand Saratoga is a big money town especially during the Thoroughbred racing meet.
Will be interesting

[Oystersteel92]

Originally Posted by 1William

It is what it is. The back in the day discussions are great but the world moves on and Rolex is a business that knows what it is doing and why.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...holds-in-china

30 years ago Rolex was EVERYWHERE in the United States. My home town had a long time AD on Main Street. My tiny college town had an AD on the square (one case, 20-30 watches at any given time).

Then China grew an upper middle class and it was off to the races. Throw some social media gasoline on the fire and you've got what we have here today.

Rolex availability isn't greed on their part, it's simply inability to meet current demand.

[Krash]

How many new ADs are added per year? I’m sure there are some. Maybe not enough to offset the number of ADs that are cut, but there has got to be some new ones (I would think).


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[Rollieo]

Which store do you think Rolex wants their customers to see and experience their watches through?

If the AD looks like the first picture, it’ll probably get cut within the next few years. Either that or they’ll undergo extensive remodeling.

[cascadez71]

Originally Posted by ArtNouveau

Don’t live there anymore but saw four Rolex ADs in the Houston area have their franchises revoked over the last 6 years. Ben Bridge at one time had three Rolex doors in the city. First store lost Rolex when another area dealer was awarded a Rolex only Boutique in the same upscale mall. Second store quit carrying and told me they wanted to consolidate inventory at their third store, a year later no more Rolex at BB although the stores are still open.
Second store was closed due to alleged hanky panky that I witnessed first hand. I was offered a new 116500 at $5K over with a convoluted story of how they had traded with another AD for over MSRP. Similar stories were spread and they were gone within months of my experience.
Third store was an old school mom and pop that perhaps had become too dowdy over the years. They retired and closed their store within a year of losing Rolex.
Last but not least was another case of hanky panky. AD never seemed to have any new Rolex yet always had a well stocked pre-owned section of pretty much unworn watches. Seems they did “straw buyer” deals where they sold then bought back their new watches so they could charge over MSRP.
It’s worth noting that the two that basically broke their contract were terminated immediately whereas the others seemed to get to at least finish their year out.

A salesperson in Ben Bridge/Bellevue WA was the epitome of rude the other day, refused to discuss ordering a simple Tudor, throwing watches in your face, take it or leave it attitude. It was not a busy morning at the store either.

To top it all off, they refused to ship in a Rolex within warranty period for repair unless I had "sales receipt" on my person. And this is the Ben Bridge location noted as RSC on the website. I did give them the warranty card at the time of request.

Meanwhile the Tudor Boutique in Honolulu (also Ben Bridge) was very polite and apologized for not having the Tudor my wife was looking for in stock, they were happy to get it for us, but it wouldn't arrive before we left the island.

[rich-96db]

Sheiban's in Northeast Ohio just lost it's Rolex AD status. Pre-COVID, there were 3 Rolex dealers in the Cleveland area, now only 1.

[jdcdpm52]

Originally Posted by rich-96db

Sheiban's in Northeast Ohio just lost it's Rolex AD status. Pre-COVID, there were 3 Rolex dealers in the Cleveland area, now only 1.

Wow, I wonder if that is one of the reasons why Alson just finished a huge remodel of their whole store. I know they added Panerai, Chopard, and did a nice Cartier remodel at the same time; but the store was nice before the remodel I thought. Maybe Rolex drove the expansion of the whole business.

[rich-96db]

Originally Posted by jdcdpm52

Wow, I wonder if that is one of the reasons why Alson just finished a huge remodel of their whole store. I know they added Panerai, Chopard, and did a nice Cartier remodel at the same time; but the store was nice before the remodel I thought. Maybe Rolex drove the expansion of the whole business.

It's certainly possible. About 3 years ago, I was talking to the manager of The Diamond Cellar in Columbus (Easton location). He told me back then that Rolex was trying to get down to 1 location in each market. I didn't think much of it back then, but I guess he was right.

[train-time]

It's pretty easy to predict who will be next to get the axe. Timing isn't easy but they all look alike -- in my experience over the past several years the ones that were cut were all independent, one store locations. Most of which put Rolex on the map in their communities. Too many medium sized cities have too many locations. Rolex is consolidating locations and pushing exclusivity.

When we first moved to our current state there were 13 ADs, now there are 2! And the state is always near the top of the list as the wealthiest and having the highest per capital income in the US.

There are still many medium sized cities in the US that have more ADs in their city that we have in our entire state, not to mention the small towns who still have an AD. One by one they are disappearing.