Brands implement new sales strategies, "one watch is hard to find" in specialty stores, industry reminder: beware of blind investment

  A few days ago, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily visited the market and found that multiple models of Rolex watches are "hard to find" in specialty stores, and their prices have also risen in the secondary market.

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  Specialty store window products "can only be seen but not bought"

  "We will help you line up for the styles that may arrive. We can't help you line up for this one you asked, and we don't know when it will be in stock." On February 26, a Rolex monopoly in Wangfujing, Beijing The shop, the shopping guide said so.

A reporter from Beiqing Daily noticed that there are several different styles of watches in the window of this specialty store, and there are also different series of watches displayed in the counter area by area. When customers enter the door, the shopping guides immediately show all the watches in the store. All are for display only, not for sale.

  "Entry-level" Datejust watches also have to wait.

"You can go to other Rolex stores to see, but it is very unlikely that you can get the spot." The store's shopping guide explained that Rolex is stocked every month, and even if there is stock, it will give priority to customers who have already booked.

  A customer told the Beiqing Daily reporter that he had booked a popular Rolex model four years ago, and has not yet received a phone call from the shopping guide.

Every time he called to ask, he was told that it had not arrived yet.

Some netizens said that they are lucky to be able to line up. Now when they go to a Rolex store, popular models such as the Submariner and Daytona series are not allowed to line up.

  An old customer said that in 2020, he bought a watch in a Rolex store in Beijing, and some models have a 10% discount.

Today, let alone discounts, even non-popular models or expensive models of hundreds of thousands are not in stock.

  Why are there watches on display in the store, but consumers still have to line up?

One of the reasons is that Rolex has implemented new regulations from this year, including "newly arrived goods cannot be opened for sales within ten days", "each counter must be forced to display at least ten watches", "displayed watches shall not be sold", "real-time inventory requirements". Reach 60" and "20 to 30 monthly card openings" and so on.

A reporter from Beiqing Daily confirmed from a number of Rolex stores that some of the new policies have indeed been implemented.

  Regarding Rolex's new sales strategy, some commentators said that its original intention was obviously to increase the time customers spend in stores and allow more customers to try different models of watches.

After all, Rolex stores were frequently empty before, which affected the shopping experience.

However, the actual effect of this has invisibly increased the hidden cost of purchasing a watch, making it difficult for consumers to purchase a watch.

  In addition, due to the impact of the epidemic, Rolex once suspended production in European factories.

At the beginning of this year, Rolex announced that some of its watches will be adjusted in price, among which the price of steel Daytona, steel Submariner Oyster and other watches will increase by around 10%.

  Due to the decline in production and the official price adjustment, many consumers turn to the secondary market when they can only try on in the store but cannot buy it.

After the Spring Festival, the price of popular Rolex models in the secondary market has skyrocketed.

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  Second-hand prices "hurricane" with styles up nearly 100,000 yuan

  There is a joke circulating on the Internet: spend more than 40,000 yuan to buy a piece of "green water ghost" (submarine series 126610LV or 116610LV), wear it for a few years and change hands, and even earn a car.

  According to data from Bob's Watches, an e-commerce platform for second-hand Rolex and luxury watches, the price of Rolex watches in the secondary market has risen more than stocks, bonds, real estate and gold, with average sales from less than $5,000 in 2011 (about 31,667 yuan). It rose 160% to more than $13,000 (about 82,334 yuan) in 2021, and the increase during the epidemic was almost equal to the increase in the previous five years.

  "This round of sharp rise may still be related to Rolex's policy and price adjustment, and it is currently in a blind period of price increases, and prices even change from time to time." Mr. Wang, who is engaged in the second-hand luxury business, said that if there are customers calling for inquiries now , Before the quotation, you have to say that it is the real-time price, and there is no guarantee that it will still be this price when you arrive at the store.

  In fact, not only the "green water ghost", but also Rolex's "Coke Circle" and "Panda Di" and other styles of watches have also increased significantly.

Among them, the higher-priced Daytona series even has styles that have risen by nearly 100,000 yuan in the past two months.

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  Entry investment risk is high, beware of "high-level takeover"

  Mr. Wang said that Rolex watches have always been a common commodity in his store.

  Mr. Wang recalled that the second-hand price of "Green Water Ghost" was still lower than the official price of about 70,000 yuan in 2015, and one can be bought at a minimum of about 45,000 yuan.

By the end of 2017, the price of "green water ghost" began to soar for the first time.

"At that time, there were rumors that production would be discontinued, so the price immediately rose to more than 70,000." Mr. Wang said that the second-hand price was relatively stable after that.

Until the release of the third generation of "Green Water Ghosts" in 2020, the dial changed from green to black, which led to the price of the second generation with all green dials and circles suddenly rushing to about 90,000 to 100,000, and as the second generation stopped production , the price of this watch has been rising steadily.

  In December last year, he sold a piece of "green water ghost", and the transaction price at that time was 115,000 yuan.

After a period of time, when eating with friends, he said that his peers bid a price of 200,000 for a full set of the second-generation "Green Water Ghost".

I didn't expect the joke to become reality, it only took two months.

  The Beiqing Daily reporter noticed that on some auction websites, the starting price of the second-generation "green water ghost" was 198,000 yuan, and the lower starting price was 159,800 yuan.

Based on this calculation, the "green water ghost" has increased by 40% to 70% in the past two months.

  Although Rolex watches are hard to find in specialty stores, and the price of the secondary market has been rising, but in the eyes of many enthusiasts or people who are engaged in the industry, it is not a good time to blindly invest in Rolex.

  In fact, the market of Rolex has not been strong all the time. In 2021, the year after the release of the three generations of "Green Water Ghosts", its second-hand market once fell by more than 10,000 yuan within half a year.

Another quotation shows that in the past week, the price of "Panda Di" has dropped from 410,000 yuan to 360,000 yuan, and the price of three generations of "green water ghosts" has also dropped by 3,000 yuan.

  "The current wave of 'green water ghosts' has been experienced by Cartier a few years ago or Omega earlier." Chen Haijun, a famous watch enthusiast and once engaged in the famous watch business, told the Beiqing Daily reporter that the sought-after watch back then Most of the Cartier "Blue Balloon" models on the second-hand market have also fallen below their official prices.

  In his view, the properties of watches are similar to those of cars. They are essentially consumer goods and do not have the function of preserving and increasing value.

"After a while, everyone will have it, and the pursuit of Rolex will fade away. If the manufacturer continues to stock up, the second-hand price will definitely cool down. Now that blindly enters, it is very likely that it is the pick-up man."

  Text / reporter Zhang Xin