AP CEO : « I don’t need four walls to sell you a watch tomorrow »

Martin_J_N · Aug 12, 2020

kov
Audemars Piguet CEO François-Henry Bennahmias is planning for a “dematerialization” of retail where you do not need four walls to sell a watch.

Mr Bennahmias is convinced that some of the behavioral changes among consumers during lock down will be permanent, and is looking at how AP can adapt to the new normal.

source : https://usa.watchpro.com/audemars-piguet-ceo-says-watch-retailers-do-not-need-stores/

My take on that is that it’s easy to come up with whatever game changer BS, when you don’t need to sell your products as the demand is higher than the offer, by far. 😒

Omega, IMHO, could certainly not afford closing down their boutiques and shifting sales over the web exclusively - what do you guys think?

The thought of buying an expensive watch on line, never having tried it for size or established how it looks on my wrist would terrify me, still if AP are going that way it wouldn't be an issue as my little pot of money won't stretch to the stratospheric price of an AP.

If everyone else went the same way, then I think my watch collecting days would be over as I cannot see me buying without trying.

queriver · Aug 12, 2020

Archer
It's already happened - Richemont bought out Watchfinder 2 years ago I'm sure some do this in other ways that are not so open, but this isn't all that new either.

Do Richemont's brands at the retail level have end-to-end integration across all their brands including Watchfinder and full visibility of their customers? I'd be surprised if they do but I don't have specific info. A better analogy of what the future might be is a brand car dealer that, in a one-stop shop, sells new vehicles, buys and sells pre-owned vehicles, finances them and services them, and the customer service rep you interact with has full visibility of all of your business with the group.

Lonestar · Aug 12, 2020

JwRosenthal
I had a ‘73 BMW 3.0cs for many years. I drove it to my local dealership around 2006 to pick up some parts while I was in the area. Parking was full near the service department so I pulled it right into an empty spot in front of the showroom. When I came out about 20 minutes later, there was a salesman and customer standing in front of my car, the salesman pointing to a new 3 series coupe, and the customer was pointing to my car. There was no way that salesman was going to win that sale.

did you sell? 😁

Archer · Aug 12, 2020

queriver
Do Richemont's brands at the retail level have end-to-end integration across all their brands including Watchfinder and full visibility of their customers?

Sorry, no idea what this actually means. I no longer speak corporate buzzword...gave that all up many years ago. 😀

queriver
A better analogy of what the future might be is a brand car dealer that, in a one-stop shop, sells new vehicles, buys and sells pre-owned vehicles, finances them and services them, and the customer service rep you interact with has full visibility of all of your business with the group.

Maybe, but limiting this idea to just your brand or group is not taking full advantage of the secondary market. Watchfinder sells more than just Richemont brands, so they are able to tap into a much wider market than if they were just reselling their own watches.

Controlling the servicing is already done through parts restrictions, and Richemont is very good at that. People whine and complain about Swatch, some complain about Rolex, but Richemont is far more restrictive than either of those and yet no one bats an eye lid over it for the most part, which is puzzling. But for modern watches you have little choice if your watch needs parts.

No idea if these companies want to get into the financing end of things, but with service all but taken care of, the only real place left is retail. The move to the boutique model was the first step (that started what, 15+ years ago now?), but now with companies selling on-line, I think the regular independent AD is going to be in trouble, and most likely will be a thing of the past in time.

AP is small, so if they go in a different direction, that in itself is not a big deal IMO. The only question is if others will follow Richemont's and AP's lead. JLC already sells through their web site, as do many other who were just in person sales, so the trends have been shifting this way for years already.

JwRosenthal · Aug 12, 2020

Lonestar
did you sell? 😁

Not then- sadly I did 2 years later to appease a failing marriage (it was a matter of principle to her, not money)....which ended yet another 2 years later. Biggest regret of my life and one I will never repeat. Yes, just a material object, but I had wanted one since age 12 and was finally able to afford one at age 30....I couldn’t afford one now.

Ritzwatch · Aug 12, 2020

JwRosenthal
Not then- sadly I did 2 years later to appease a failing marriage (it was a matter of principle to her, not money)....which ended yet another 2 years later. Biggest regret of my life and one I will never repeat. Yes, just a material object, but I had wanted one since age 12 and was finally able to afford one at age 30....I couldn’t afford one now.

Hey, it is in CT! And, as the ad says, it even comes with "finely aged patina!" - perfect for a watch guy!

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/bmw/3-0cs/2407432.html

VjaceCZ · Aug 12, 2020

janice&fred
I couldn't agree more. Why spend on maintaining boutiques when there's people in line to buy already? Who will be next? Rolex? Patek?
Sounds like the world pandemic crisis is merely a convenient way to alter the way they do business and cash in.

I can’t agree with this statement because they stand in line just for specific models. If you visit PP or Rolex boutiques (I’ve been in both two weeks ago) they have watches to be sold. The only thing is people don’t stand in line for these watches. And on the other hand watchmakers have way bigger margins on these gold and diamonds watches on stock. And you don’t buy 100.000$ watches on eBay. At least I suppose you don’t as I didn’t buy such an expensive watch. Yet 😀

In my opinion the statement from AP CEO is quite strong. And I’m not sure this is happening in near future. Same as I don’t believe cars will have full autonomous driving modes working perfectly on at least 90% of roads. Not in 10 or so years.

But it’s just my opinion, I respect yours, guys. 👍

arturo7 · Aug 12, 2020

Capt Cave Man
Agree to some extent i.e. Which, I'm fortunate to have access via work...

There is also, in general, a huge amount of freely available reviews on-line as well... just like buying a watch, you do your homework on the item and then the best price.

Cap'n C, I guess I wasn't very clear, my bad. By "pay to play" was probably the wrong description.

My point is that the review sights, especially the free ones, are ebusinesses; they are funded by the sellers of the products that are reviewed. Along with the review there is a link to buy the product. If you click that link and buy the product, the "review" website gets paid. It's basically just advertising and, for my money, cannot be trusted.

take57 · Aug 12, 2020

abrod520
Sorry, I'll need to try them on. There have been so many watches I would not have even considered if it were not for them catching my eye during a swing through a Boutique or AD.

Warby Parker got around this by sending samples of their eyeglasses (up to five pair) to the customer to evaluate. Granted, a pair of glasses doesn't cost several thousand dollars like a lux timepiece but on the other hand they are as much if not more an item that has a high degree of intimacy to the wearer.

I could certainly imagine a manufacturer producing 3-D printed versions of their watch cases that didn't contain movements that could be sent out to folks for a "hands on" experiance.

abrod520 · Aug 12, 2020

take57
Warby Parker got around this by sending samples of their eyeglasses (up to five pair) to the customer to evaluate. Granted, a pair of glasses doesn't cost several thousand dollars like a lux timepiece but on the other hand they are as much if not more an item that has a high degree of intimacy to the wearer.

I could certainly imagine a manufacturer producing 3-D printed versions of their watch cases that didn't contain movements that could be sent out to folks for a "hands on" experiance.

Still, I don't think that's gonna work. A lightweight watch case without any of the functionalities or dial details isn't enough to get an idea of the wearing experience. I don't think a mockup will work in this situation

take57 · Aug 12, 2020

abrod520
Still, I don't think that's gonna work. A lightweight watch case without any of the functionalities or dial details isn't enough to get an idea of the wearing experience. I don't think a mockup will work in this situation

I don't know, there's some remarkable stuff being produced on 3-D printers. They could produce it in metal to match the hardness and weight, do a bit of finish work and other than spinning the hands you'd get a pretty reasonable user experience for evaluation. Even if they sunk several hundred dollars in constructing evaluation pieces, that's several hundred dollars not being paid in non-recoverable four walls expense.

OmegaP99 · Aug 12, 2020

take57
I don't know, there's some remarkable stuff being produced on 3-D printers. They could produce it in metal to match the hardness and weight, do a bit of finish work and other than spinning the hands you'd get a pretty reasonable user experience for evaluation.

Maybe simpler and more realistic to use an actual case but with non-functioning movement like some test watches have that are given to watch reviewers?

take57 · Aug 12, 2020

OmegaP99
Maybe simpler and more realistic to use an actual case but with non-functioning movement like some test watches have that are given to watch reviewers?

Exactly. It's not an insurmountable problem.

kippyk · Aug 12, 2020

I am surprised no one has brought up millennial buying preferences. The whole economy is reorganizing to pander to these delicate and sensitive consumers. This relates to the Ebay Authentication thread as well.

Millennials want to order stuff with their mobile phones and to be able to return without hassle. Casper, Carvana, Grubhub, Robinhood, etc. etc. etc. Millennials prefer social influencers and Reddit chatter over a knowledgable salesperson. No need for a store. Product placement in hip-hop videos should be the only line item in future marketing budgets for luxury watch companies.

abrod520 · Aug 12, 2020

kippyk
I am surprised no one has brought up millennial buying preferences. The whole economy is reorganizing to pander to these delicate and sensitive consumers. This relates to the Ebay Authentication thread as well.

Millennials want to order stuff with their mobile phones and to be able to return without hassle. Casper, Carvana, Grubhub, Robinhood, etc. etc. etc. Millennials prefer social influencers and Reddit chatter over a knowledgable salesperson. No need for a store. Product placement in hip-hop videos should be the only line item in future marketing budgets for luxury watch companies.

JwRosenthal · Aug 12, 2020

kippyk
I am surprised no one has brought up millennial buying preferences. The whole economy is reorganizing to pander to these delicate and sensitive consumers. This relates to the Ebay Authentication thread as well.

Millennials want to order stuff with their mobile phones and to be able to return without hassle. Casper, Carvana, Grubhub, Robinhood, etc. etc. etc. Millennials prefer social influencers and Reddit chatter over a knowledgable salesperson. No need for a store. Product placement in hip-hop videos should be the only line item in future marketing budgets for luxury watch companies.

I think we need be careful branding an entire generation. I know many millennials who support B&M shops because they reject the impersonal online culture and want a human experience- but I get where you’re coming from in terms of frustration with the power of social media influence and how it’s changing our world experience.

There is a very hip and trendy Korean-fusion style take-out restaurant that opened in a very hip and trendy neighborhood not far from me. I wanted to try it as the menu online looked interesting, but I had some questions about food allergy issues. I called and the phone just rang and rang. I figured I would just drive down there and place my order in person since it wasn’t far and it’s a take-out type place.
I walked in and stood there for a solid 3 minutes before anyone acknowledged me (granted- the kitchen was busy). Finally a 20-something young woman with multi-colored hair and lots of body ink asked my name for a pick-up order. I said I hadn’t ordered yet and had some questions. No sooner than I got the words out she blurted our very abruptly “you need to order on the website or with the app”. I said I tried to call to place my order and she repeated “no, you need to order on the website or with the app”. I replied “ I am standing here, in front of you- can you take my order?”.
“No, you need to order on the website or with the app”.

There was excitement over trying this food at home, so I couldn’t just give the finger and walk out like I normally do. I went out to my car, placed my order on the website from my phone, and then sat there for the next 40 minutes while they were “processing my order”.

I’m not that old, my generation pioneered punk, goth, and the industrial music scene, fυck-you style is what we did. But we were never rude, we were never glib, and we knew how to interact with people.

vbrad26 · Aug 12, 2020

@abrod520 gets a like for a solid Simpsons reference.

take57 · Aug 12, 2020

JwRosenthal
I think we need be careful branding an entire generation. I know many millennials who support B&M shops because they reject the impersonal online culture and want a human experience- but I get where you’re coming from in terms of frustration with the power of social media influence and how it’s changing our world experience.

There is a very hip and trendy Korean-fusion style take-out restaurant that opened in a very hip and trendy neighborhood not far from me. I wanted to try it as the menu online looked interesting, but I had some questions about food allergy issues. I called and the phone just rang and rang. I figured I would just drive down there and place my order in person since it wasn’t far and it’s a take-out type place.
I walked in and stood there for a solid 3 minutes before anyone acknowledged me (granted- the kitchen was busy). Finally a 20-something young woman with multi-colored hair and lots of body ink asked my name for a pick-up order. I said I hadn’t ordered yet and had some questions. No sooner than I got the words out she blurted our very abruptly “you need to order on the website or with the app”. I said I tried to call to place my order and she repeated “no, you need to order on the website or with the app”. I replied “ I am standing here, in front of you- can you take my order?”.
“No, you need to order on the website or with the app”.

There was excitement over trying this food at home, so I couldn’t just give the finger and walk out like I normally do. I went out to my car, placed my order on the website from my phone, and then sat there for the next 40 minutes while they were “processing my order”.

I’m not that old, my generation pioneered punk, goth, and the industrial music scene, fυck-you style is what we did. But we were never rude, we were never glib, and we knew how to interact with people.

I guess there are never any examples of rude, glib or variable attention to service based on demographic appearances found in the lofty and cultured environments of AD's or boutiques.

JwRosenthal · Aug 12, 2020

take57
I guess there are never any examples of rude, glib or variable attention to service based on demographic appearances found in AD's or boutiques.

Just hip restaurants.
AD’s and boutiques have done a damn fine job sealing their own fates.

michael22 · Aug 12, 2020

I think luxury brands will try to be different to the common generational experience. Bricks & mortar with personable service sounds like a good differentiation. Poor service won't cut it.
It may just come down to price: retail rents will drop, retailers will reopen.