Interesting article with AP CEO

[Reign]

Far more insightful than the run of the mill interview.

Looks like the CODE is doing okay and they’re doubling production next year.


https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/sty...demars-piguet/


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[uniqueMR]

Interesting

[stainwriststeel]

Thanks for sharing, interesting indeed.

[7sins]

Shows you the difference between public opinion and TRF opinion lol.

[mojomomo]

Careful, I can slap people pretty hard

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[edo]

Still got a lot of love for the brand, but just can't believe a word from a guy who sent instructions to bloggers journalist and vvips to photograph the watch from the better side...

[tcheeco]

I love this guy

[AK797]

He's still spinning about the Code and still trying to dismiss the very real design criticisms, much better to face up and admit they have made mistakes and are listening to how to improve on them, and the used watches not being about making money but about helping the customers, reminds me of Jerry McGuire's - help me help you, when really he just wants us to show him the money, not the greys.

[startrolexendrolex]

To be fair about the code 1159 is starting to grow on me.

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[fullofboats]

If it’s true that half of the code buyers are new to AP and age 25-35 that’s pretty impressive. Now...just who are these non RO 25-35 fans with 25k to spend on a gold watch I dunno...

[bruinmd]

Originally Posted by fullofboats

If it’s true that half of the code buyers are new to AP and age 25-35 that’s pretty impressive. Now...just who are these non RO 25-35 fans with 25k to spend on a gold watch I dunno...

Assuming he's telling the truth, my guess is that those young buyers are mostly silver spooned guys in Asia with tons of dad's cash to blow.
No way is it western buyers in that age demo who want this watch......

[lllouisv1126]

Originally Posted by bruinmd

Assuming he's telling the truth, my guess is that those young buyers are mostly silver spooned guys in Asia with tons of dad's cash to blow.
No way is it western buyers in that age demo who want this watch......

+1
Go to any luxury boutique in major cities and you can be sure to find mainland Chinese tourists buying whatever they can get their hands on.
For most of them, getting anything branded is more important than truly knowing what they buy. Like it or not, they are the new force to be reckoned with in luxury retail.
No offense here and I’m Chinese myself.

[kaiserphoenix]

Nice article thank you. Recently I was at the AP exhibition here in Tokyo and also attended the dinner they had there for Ap clients here. My thoughts are that the Code indeed seems to be selling well. In particular the QP for example is completely sold out here in Tokyo, though tbh they probably didnt even make many in the first place. Certain dial/metal combos are also on back order so i think they are doing OK, tho i havnt seen a single 25 year old wear a 1159. Surely for a younger demographic the Royal Oak makes more sense but ofcourse, you cannot walk into a boutique and get one.

[othertbone]

Thanks for sharing!

[GoingPlaces]

He has a pretty interesting story and tends to give colorful interviews, I've seen a few. Still can't conclude whether he is a great CEO or not.

It's a strong brand on auto pilot, with a can't miss one-trick pony. As for the code, I guess time will tell. If he puts it out in steel at 12-14K there will probably be a long waitlist. Then the Code becomes a hot commodity, PM's automatically become people favorites? This is of course theory. Thoughts?

[Reign]

Here’s another one in case anyone has access (I don’t).

Looks like they’re increasing production to 44k next year (of which 4K will be CODE) so we’re effectively back to before pre-CODE era. Now if only they’ll make enough to allocate me a 15407...

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/con...atches-in-2020


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[dcash0615]

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

[Helmi]

Originally Posted by bruinmd

Assuming he's telling the truth, my guess is that those young buyers are mostly silver spooned guys in Asia with tons of dad's cash to blow.
No way is it western buyers in that age demo who want this watch......

Mr. Wonderful would disagree with you

[Collector2019]

interesting read, thanks for sharing

[GreenLantern]

The Code 1159 stuff can be spun any which way, to be honest. And while I do like AP's CEO, he has no reason to be forthcoming about all the details. He can even lie in these interviews with no repercussions and no reason to not lie.

If 1159 was doing poorly, I wouldn't admit to it in public, to be honest. I'd make adjustments on our end, privately, without announcing why we did them.

I have yet to see anyone wearing or caring about the 1159, in many different circles (so it's not just us crazy hardcore collectors who frequent TRF).

[GreenLantern]

We always take the ‘feel’ of the market, and at the moment we’re seeing that more than 50 percent of the clients buying [CODE 11.59] are individuals who have never bought Audemars Piguet before. We see that the average age is between 25-35 years old, so the demographic is energetic, fresh and young.

Honestly, I could see that. I know enough people who hate the AP look that made AP successful (RO, ROO, ROC).

The 1159 is dramatically different enough that it would attract those customers to the brand. In that sense, AP nailed it.

What they didn't nail is existing AP lovers. But it does sound like that's not their goal. What's frustrating is when AP Boutiques try to force an 1159 bundle on a prospective RO buyer -- two very, very different looks that appeal to different folks.

[tcheeco]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

The Code 1159 stuff can be spun any which way, to be honest. And while I do like AP's CEO, he has no reason to be forthcoming about all the details. He can even lie in these interviews with no repercussions and no reason to not lie.

If 1159 was doing poorly, I wouldn't admit to it in public, to be honest. I'd make adjustments on our end, privately, without announcing why we did them.

I have yet to see anyone wearing or caring about the 1159, in many different circles (so it's not just us crazy hardcore collectors who frequent TRF).

I got info from reliable font that the thing is doing very well and we'll see some variations with different or new combinations of metals (not SS) by the next SIHH