Try these. I have said it before, Omega match and in many cases surpass Rolex, although at 38mm they may be a bit big. : https://www.omegawatches.com/en-gb/watches/seamaster/aqua-terra-150m/ladies-collection/product
rolex has never seemed to make sense, I don't know why they don't just increase their production numbers at least a bit or take orders. leaving money on the table to leave people to get price gouged in the grey market never made sense to me from a business perspective.
same reason Hermès doesn’t make enough Birkin bags for everyone that wants one
The same reason Burberry used to intentionally destroy approximately $40 million in merchandise every year as part of it’s “strategy to preserve its reputation of exclusivity” (until they were shamed into instead simply reducing production so as not to be blamed for “waisting” product)
The same reason Nike’s hottest sneakers are made only in the thousands per size (rather than the tens of thousands per year for their pedestrian models)
List goes on.
absolutely the central premise of any luxury goods manufacturer is to NOT meet demand
The higher over MSRP they’re selling for on grey, the better they sell at MSRP
it’s pretty simple.
rolex has never seemed to make sense, I don't know why they don't just increase their production numbers at least a bit or take orders. leaving money on the table to leave people to get price gouged in the grey market never made sense to me from a business perspective.
"Just increase their production"???
They produce between 800K - 1M watches a year and have stated:
"The scarcity of our products is not a strategy on our part. Our current production cannot meet the existing demand in an exhaustive way, at least not without reducing the quality of our watches – something we refuse to do as the quality of our products must never be compromised, this level of excellence requires time, and as we have always done, we will continue to take the necessary time to ensure that all our watches not only comply with our standards of excellence, but also meet the expectations of our customers in terms of quality, reliability and robustness. Rolex does not compromise on what it takes to produce exceptional watches."
S ShayIs the number of 800-1m a fact or is it an assumption? The AD I spoke to keep saying they have a supply issue.
it’s not quite a like for like comparison, you can buy 101+ other Hermès and Nike products. The idea is that the exclusivity of a few items improves brand recognition and sells the rest of their collection. Rolex have got to such a point that effectively they sell out their entire collection, a normally traded company would use this to increase production and sell more units, maybe not the exclusive models but cash in on the bread and butter. Datejust, Explorers etc. but as far as I can see that isn’t the case.
you’re assuming Hermès prefers its current state; also, the relatively “obtainable” Hermès purses are simply their Tudor lines
luxury brands would be lined up around the block to accomplish what Rolex has accomplished across its entire catalogue
Fair point, not many brands in the world wouldn’t be envious of what Rolex do.
except the people making the most money on Rolex products isn’t Rolex, but the gray market. Not sure any luxury brand would be too envious of this.
Yeah but zero unsold stock and zero discounting plus a staggering waiting list. It’s a pretty envious position to be in. Plus the grey market merely enhances the reputation of a Rolex as an investment vehicle, often displaying inflated prices that I’m never sure are always achieved.
So far they are not capitalizing on it by raising prices significantly closer to grey market. This tells me that they don't believe this is sustainable.
So far they are not capitalizing on it by raising prices significantly closer to grey market. This tells me that they don't believe this is sustainable.
Yes but when they do increase prices then that just pushes grey market prices even higher. The only way to bring grey prices down would be to increase production but if they believe the market isn’t sustainable then why would they invest huge sums doing that. Damned if they do, damned if they don’t.
Rolex is not over-extending itself in either unit pricing or unit production.
Hermès’s premier bags are also impossible to get at retail, and also trade in the grey at 2X to 20X+ … yet Hermès doesn’t double its MSRP.
Nike’s premier limited edition sneakers are also impossible to get at retail, and many trade in the grey at 2-20X+… yet Nike doesn’t double its MSRP.
Same goes, of course, for the few non-Rolex brands with crazy multiples on their resale values.
The reasons these luxury brand companies don’t over-extend either their unit numbers or their MSRP seems obvious - while conversely it’s unclear why someone might think they should instead quickly “chase” secondary market prices, as though these companies are selling commodities.
The value of these companies is not in their product MSRP, it’s in the brand equity they’re develop.
