Rolex just terminated 6 US AD's

[kittansett]

My AD source won't divulge the names yet, but they already know. If any forum members find out locally, please post. Thanks.

[robk215k]

What for?? Selling to grey I hope!


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[7enderbender]

Originally Posted by robk215k

What for?? Selling to grey I hope!


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No, so they can open more stores in China and the Middle East.

[Goin2drt]

Originally Posted by robk215k

What for?? Selling to grey I hope!


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This right here 1000% I hope.

[doboy007]

Another my AD told me…

[MrGoat]

Did they tell you that you were next in line for a white or black Daytona at the same time?


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[brucethemanlee]

How is anyone supposed to answer such an open ended question without knowing what city or region?

[VegasBaby]

Originally Posted by kittansett

My AD source won't divulge the names yet, but they already know. If any forum members find out locally, please post. Thanks.

[ks58]

Did you ask when it would become public news? or do they have some time to try and sell more diamonds along with their watches etc?

[RealMadrid1988]

Sign of the times. Large, multi-location ADs in large metro areas are the future of the Rolex distribution network. Small- and medium-sized cities do not appear to be part of Rolex’s strategic focus going forward.

[RTG]

I see an AD in Missoula Montana is no longer on the Rolex dealer map. They were there a couple weeks ago

[vh2k]

Lux Bond & Green in the Northeast?

[Bozack90]

Originally Posted by vh2k

Lux Bond & Green in the Northeast?

they lost it from one a year or so ago but I would be surprised if all of their locations lost the brand

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by Bozack90

they lost it from one a year or so ago but I would be surprised if all of their locations lost the brand

Closing individual locations of big chain dealers “may” be at the company’s whims or a RolexUSA mandate, who knows.
Case in point: six years ago or so three Ben Bridges in Houston had Rolex. When the Deutsch owned Boutique opened around then in the upscale Galleria mall, both Ben Bridges and the now defunct Tourneau location in the mall lost their franchises.
Fast forward to around 2-3 years ago and the BB in Memorial City mall no longer had Rolex. The clerk there told me it was a corporate decision to consolidate their meager allocation to the Willowbrook store. But could the fact that a nicer free standing Thomas Markle AD was right across the street from the mall have been a factor? A little over a year ago that last BB store no longer sold Rolex joining indy store Karat22 that was dropped by Rolex several years prior.
So now the 4th largest city in the US with plenty of wealth and international ties has only six stores owned by four owners. Deutsch with a store and the Boutique, Thomas Markle with two stores, then indies IW Marks and Lewis Jewelers with one store each.

[Fleetlord]

Originally Posted by ArtNouveau

Closing individual locations of big chain dealers “may” be at the company’s whims or a RolexUSA mandate, who knows.
Case in point: six years ago or so three Ben Bridges in Houston had Rolex. When the Deutsch owned Boutique opened around then in the upscale Galleria mall, both Ben Bridges and the now defunct Tourneau location in the mall lost their franchises.
Fast forward to around 2-3 years ago and the BB in Memorial City mall no longer had Rolex. The clerk there told me it was a corporate decision to consolidate their meager allocation to the Willowbrook store. But could the fact that a nicer free standing Thomas Markle AD was right across the street from the mall have been a factor? A little over a year ago that last BB store no longer sold Rolex joining indy store Karat22 that was dropped by Rolex several years prior.
So now the 4th largest city in the US with plenty of wealth and international ties has only six stores owned by four owners. Deutsch with a store and the Boutique, Thomas Markle with two stores, then indies IW Marks and Lewis Jewelers with one store each.

I'm afraid that (6) doors for Houston is probably still too many for Rolex liking.

In comparison, AP and Patek only have one door respectively in the Houston market.

There are only (3) AP doors for the entire state of Florida!

Based on the appearance of their store front (unless they have dramatically renovated), I would be concerned that IW MARKS won't make the cut during the next round of eliminations.

Rolex USA wants less dealers. That is very clear.

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Based on the appearance of their store front (unless they have dramatically renovated), I would be concerned that IW MARKS won't make the cut during the next round of eliminations.

Very astute Mr Lord! They are an old school family owned store in a decently affluent part of town, but too close to the Deutsch stores. And perhaps more importantly the patriarch and namesake of the store passed away some time ago. The store had an ego and personality then that vanished when the next generation took over. Irv(IW) gained some notoriety years back when Ellen Degeneres(at the beginning of her watch collecting)lamented on her show how hard it was to get a SS Daytona. Irv heard, made contact with her, and presented one to her. That was a long time ago.

[RTG]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Rolex USA wants less dealers. That is very clear.

And they want beautiful dealers with immaculate shops.

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

I'm afraid that (6) doors for Houston is probably still too many for Rolex liking.

In comparison, AP and Patek only have one door respectively in the Houston market.

There are only (3) AP doors for the entire state of Florida!

Based on the appearance of their store front (unless they have dramatically renovated), I would be concerned that IW MARKS won't make the cut during the next round of eliminations.

Rolex USA wants less dealers. That is very clear.

I heard AP went to all inhouse boutiques. No external doors.

[RealMadrid1988]

Originally Posted by ArtNouveau

So now the 4th largest city in the US with plenty of wealth and international ties has only six stores owned by four owners. Deutsch with a store and the Boutique, Thomas Markle with two stores, then indies IW Marks and Lewis Jewelers with one store each.

So Dallas is the 4th largest city in the US?

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by RealMadrid1988

So Dallas is the 4th largest city in the US?

Houston is #4, Dallas #9. I never mentioned Dallas, only slightly familiar with their Rolex network.

[ks58]

As the smaller city ADs close, it'll only get harder and harder to get a watch. Not everyone is willing to travel a few hours to get to a big city. And those that do won't be high up any list to begin with.

[inadeje]

Sorry OP but the US is a big country. Without even a basic idea of north, south, east, west or even a hint of a region, I can’t see how anyone could assist.

[kittansett]

Time will tell.. I'm sure someone will notice that their AD is no longer.. Sad though. It's usually the smaller market that will be closed, or a market with more than one AD, and a Rolex boutique will be constructed. The others will be terminated, such as the case in Boston.

[doboy007]

My AD told me that I was their best customer, haha. Not!

[cerendigit]

My AD told me Rolex wants to reduce supply to drive prices higher.


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[Mr. K]

Originally Posted by cerendigit

My AD told me Rolex wants to reduce supply to drive prices higher.


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This is interesting. Would mean Rolex would actually have to raise their prices.

[Tavli3]

Originally Posted by Mr. K

This is interesting. Would mean Rolex would actually have to raise their prices.

Rolex doesn’t need to reduce supply to raise prices. They can at anytime. I don’t see how they can’t raise them in the next 6 months. Raw materials, labor costs, shipping costs are all skyrocketing higher.


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[Rado63]

Very plausible that Rolex ended some AD relationships. Continue to concentrate the watches in the hands of even fewer.

[ks58]

If your AD is in a smallish town and only has one store selling Rolex, you better get in there and beg for whichever model you've been dying for. I think those are most at risk. Unless they're willing to create a brand new beautiful boutique somewhere.

[Sub*Man]

I think a good baseline is this… If Rolex didn’t ask them to create a separate Rolex boutique… It’s a good sign they aren’t willing to invest in that AD moving forward.