Ware Jewelers ~ Alabama

[Richard Carver]

Small steps on the march to eliminate the Gray Market;

[teck21]

Originally Posted by Richard Carver

Small steps on the march to eliminate the Gray Market;

Gray market is simply the market for resale watches, it can’t be eliminated.

What can be eliminated is watches being sold there by profiteers. Take away the economic incentive for buyers from ADs to profit from their purchases and everyone will be happy again.

This includes genuine watch lovers who find out shortly after their purchase that their Pepsi doesn’t ‘speak to them’. Lol


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[Jack T]

This is just the beginning, Rolex trimming its distribution is a pimple on the a$$. The Covid situation, now closing in on one year is, in my opinion, going to result in a dramatic transformation in how virtually all retail sales in the US and major western economies are conducted. Not to mention commercial real estate, the hospitality industry, business travel, the list will be long.

[Big J]

I was told this by the sales associate from Ware that I have worked with back in January. I purchased my GMTs from her at Ware.

[fivedime]

Originally Posted by RealMadrid1988

Wouldn’t be surprised if Birmingham is ultimately the only city in Alabama that is able to do so.

I suspect the Huntsville AD will be around for quite some time...for several reasons...

Originally Posted by ganiccus

how the hell did a a sub-100k city manage to have a Rolex AD to begin with? About time Rolex starts to trim out the weeds and re-allocate their watches to bigger markets, freaking US have WAY too many dealers in the middle of nowhere jesus.

Auburn is a college town...a pretty big college at that. And while *most* college students can’t afford a Rolex, many have parents that can. Parents who may live in even more backwood locations with no AD, or larger cities with ADs who don’t have what they want. Go visit the kids...and pick up a new Rolex. Decent weekend goals. And let’s s not forget football...and other athletics...huge...HUGE programs, second only to the little school over in Tuscaloosa...with lots of rich alumni coming in every weekend to watch football...basketball...baseball...

[Bozack90]

Originally Posted by Jack T

This is just the beginning, Rolex trimming its distribution is a pimple on the a$$. The Covid situation, now closing in on one year is, in my opinion, going to result in a dramatic transformation in how virtually all retail sales in the US and major western economies are conducted. Not to mention commercial real estate, the hospitality industry, business travel, the list will be long.

its going to be interesting to see what becomes the new norm, also I won't be surprised if due to the financial challenges many will reassess their spending, already it sounded like Watch companies were bracing for the new reality that many weren't buying milestone luxury gifts and remaining content with Apple watches, with Rolex and other luxury watches being purchased by higher income buyers and or enthusiasts.

Business travel I figure will never be the same as it was before, along with requirements to be in the office.

[superpop]

Rolex is going where the money is, in the USA. That is on the coasts, Texas and Chicago. It is not Alabama or Oklahoma. No offense to these lovely states but the reality is that the real money is concentrated in a few areas. I am frankly surprised they have as many AD's in the flyover states as they do. Won't be surprised to see this consolidation continue.

[Zaslice]

I’m seeing some ridiculous reno numbers being thrown around. 100k? 250k??? This is crazy money for retail branding and some display cases (which will be all but empty) Who are the contractors getting these bids? They must be licking their chops lol

[hambone1983]

Originally Posted by Geckobros

That's a free market for you.

how so?

[teck21]

Originally Posted by superpop

Rolex is going where the money is, in the USA. That is on the coasts, Texas and Chicago. It is not Alabama or Oklahoma. No offense to these lovely states but the reality is that the real money is concentrated in a few areas. I am frankly surprised they have as many AD's in the flyover states as they do. Won't be surprised to see this consolidation continue.

Rolex is going where the money is, Asia. That is China, India and Vietnam etc. It is not USA or Western Europe. No offense to these lovely regions but the reality is that the real income growth is concentrated in these new areas.

There’s no culling of ADs in those parts of the world.


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[RealMadrid1988]

Originally Posted by teck21

Rolex is going where the money is, Asia. That is China, India and Vietnam etc. It is not USA or Western Europe. No offense to these lovely regions but the reality is that the real income growth is concentrated in these new areas.

There’s no culling of ADs in those parts of the world.


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GDP Per Capita Rank:

7. United States
73. China
106. Vietnam
124. India

Yeah, makes sense.

[superpop]

Originally Posted by RealMadrid1988

GDP Per Capita Rank:

7. United States
73. China
106. Vietnam
124. India

Yeah, makes sense.

Exactly, not taking anything away from China but I doubt Rolex is ready to abandon the USA as a market to focus on India and Nam. My point was that in the USA Rolex is going where the money is.


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[Oystersteel92]

Originally Posted by ganiccus

how the hell did a a sub-100k city manage to have a Rolex AD to begin with? About time Rolex starts to trim out the weeds and re-allocate their watches to bigger markets, freaking US have WAY too many dealers in the middle of nowhere jesus.

Before Asia really took off in terms of producing great numbers of upper middle class people, Rolex was in a lot of small towns in the United States. My home town of 40,000 people had a long time AD until 8 or 9 years ago, and the college town I lived in in the mid-90's had an AD and only 17,000 people and was quite literally in the middle of no where. Rolex was an aspirational brand for the middle class for a long time. You worked hard, got to a decent place, and generally bought one Rolex and wore it for the rest of your life.

[justin81]

Originally Posted by jlovda

This sounds exactly like Gasser in downtown Canton, OH. The closest Rolex AD is now over 50 miles away near Cleveland. I've never bothered to go there.

Greetings from Jackson Township. I remember Gasser’s from when I was a kid; didn’t know they were a Rolex AD back then.

I’ve been to the 3 ADs near Cleveland several times. Cases are almost totally bare now. It will be interesting to see what happens with them.

[teck21]

Originally Posted by superpop

Exactly, not taking anything away from China but I doubt Rolex is ready to abandon the USA as a market to focus on India and Nam. My point was that in the USA Rolex is going where the money is.


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Ah for sure America is likely still Rolex’s biggest market, and remain so for some time still.

But yeah, it’s all part of the same consolidation theme I suppose. Rolex no longer considers these small dealerships core to their distribution network.

They served their purpose well for decades, but times have changed. There’s no point keeping them on if Rolex has no intention of keeping them adequately supplied.


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[MILGAUSS88]

Originally Posted by RealMadrid1988

I wonder if the next step will be trying to dictate what brands it can and cannot be sold beside.

I was told 20 years ago, that a larger jewelry store was given the choice, Omega was not allowed in the store, or no Rolex, so that is nothing new.

[Manamana]

Originally Posted by teck21

Small independent chains that don’t move enough product to move the needle are going the way of the dodo.

Rolex does not need so many ADs to move their inventory. They could cull every single one of these independents and make life administratively much easier for themselves.

And when these are removed leaving only the large chains and high volume movers, the distribution of popular models will become much fairer because everyone will then be forced to bundle or build a purchase history.

All unhappiness removed! No more jealousy at people who get them for free. What could be better right.


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Exactly, you hit the point with your post

Someone posted that he got a Milgauss and Explorer for more than 30% off from this AD which means they practically sold them to him at a loss or break even. They also gave him a white ceramic Daytona and a BLNR Batman without much spend history, meanwhile in other countries or US cities people spend hundreds of thousands at their AD's and may not even get a chance at getting a Daytona or BLNR, or even worse in some countries they have to pay over list to get them.

[Hardhat]

[QUOTE=fivedime;11269872]I suspect the Huntsville AD will be around for quite some time...for several reasons...

I sure hope you are right! Loring & Co is not only a great dealer, they are great people. The whole industry could take a few notes from these guys.
With the influx of Toyota-Mazda and all the supporting businesses, Huntsville seems to be booming.

[Cauhauna]

Sad to see it. I bought my first Rolex from Ware and my SA told me this same thing when I visited a few weeks ago.

[joli160]

Originally Posted by goodolejr

Dumb question (forgive me): if the cases are empty, doesn't that imply inventory is being sold and thus profit being made?

Correct and even more than before because discounting days are over.
It’s a gold mine for AD owners, selling every watch without any effort

[Geckobros]

Originally Posted by hambone1983

how so?

?

[rolexjackson]

I wonder how many watches they provided to the grey market? My ad told me and has always told me that Rolex is really cracking down on those types of dealers.

[Boaters]

Originally Posted by teck21

Gray market is simply the market for resale watches, it can’t be eliminated.

What can be eliminated is watches being sold there by profiteers. Take away the economic incentive for buyers from ADs to profit from their purchases and everyone will be happy again.

This includes genuine watch lovers who find out shortly after their purchase that their Pepsi doesn’t ‘speak to them’. Lol




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So true it seems to only be about money and greed not what you put on your wrist but what you put in your wallet.

[77T]

Originally Posted by RealMadrid1988

GDP Per Capita Rank:



7. United States

73. China

106. Vietnam

124. India



Yeah, makes sense.

I’m sure those numbers are correct for the entire countries noted. GDP is produced in different locales within each.

Any new ADs opening in China, Vietnam and India will be located in cities with better local numbers. Including other demographics like better disposable income.

Even in US, the small ADs may be losing their ranking as retail transformation and income shifts occur. In other words, the high disposable income customers are shifting location while internet sales of “BNIB” grey marketers undercut local retail sales.


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[Razorsedge1]

Originally Posted by superpop

Rolex is going where the money is, in the USA. That is on the coasts, Texas and Chicago. It is not Alabama or Oklahoma. No offense to these lovely states but the reality is that the real money is concentrated in a few areas. I am frankly surprised they have as many AD's in the flyover states as they do. Won't be surprised to see this consolidation continue.

Given mass exodus of wealthy from large cities and states like California and New York concentration of wealth areas may change.

[fsprow]

Originally Posted by Richard Carver

Small steps on the march to eliminate the Gray Market;

There is likely to be a gray market for any good where the price numerous people are willing to pay substantially exceeds the manufacturers suggested retail price.

[GSDLover]

Originally Posted by teck21

I don’t know about 99%, but hey, might as well make 100% right.

People don’t complain about not being able to afford a Ferrari because people know whether they can. Or more likely, cannot.

Rolex on the other hand, people get all upset because they feel they can afford one, and even deserve one but cannot get one. Hence the unhappiness.

Standardise the procedure and create consistency in some extent.



Is a Ferrari or Bentley worth that kind of money? I didn’t think so either.


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I just got back from a morning drive. Yes, my Ferrari is worth that money.

[1William]

Sorry to see an AD lose the status as a dealer. Many good references here for the AD but this is business and I am sure Rolex did this for a reason and is moving on without looking back. No impact to Rolex as they will sell every watch they make and still have demand. I do not know what other brands the AD carries but now maybe the time to pickup on the displeasure many of us feel toward Rolex and bring in Omega, Grand Seiko/Seiko, etc. I wish them the best moving forward.

[Rolxism]

Let me sum it up for you guys. Charge twice as much for a watch. Cut inventory in half. Cut employee's in half. Why need stores, cut stores in half. That is all that is being done. Why make twice as many watches at half cost. There is however a lot of luxury items shifting to china. That is true.

[jmed]

Originally Posted by jdg443

I wonder how many watches they provided to the grey market? My ad told me and has always told me that Rolex is really cracking down on those types of dealers.

I would be surprised if any, in my dealings with them, they never seemed like “that” kind of jeweler. At the end of the day Rolex will and can do what they want , I get it, but it’s a shame for all the dealers that help put Rolex on the map. Many many years ago It was family run jewelers where Rolex put their inventory to get their name out there, small town or not, it was the brand that many professionals felt accomplished enough to go to their local jeweler and spend money on such a purchase. Fast forward to now and I’m betting most of the “grey market out the back door sales “ have actually come from larger chain stores and not the independent family owned jewelers.