UK Price Rise

[dysondiver]

Hi ,,
not a discussion , just a FYI sort of post ,
i dont even know how true it is , but i was in with my local AD yesterday , and he told me that in four weeks time threre was a serious price rise on the way , in the 10 to 12% range , now weather it was mentioned as a buy now prompter or not , and i really dont think it was ,,,, just thought id mention it.

[beer]

makes sense

[D111s]

Sadly not to surprising when you look at how much the Pound has suffered!

[oscarostlin]

Do any London Ad's have ss models in stock? Would be very interesting to buy a couple subs/gmt etc.

[sholzer]

Sounds like a sales tactic to me. I haven't been around the rolex market for long but always hear the "better buy now, the price is going up in XXX days"

[Ruud Van Driver]

Under the present circumstances, I would cautiously believe that a price hike is on the way. Since the referendum to leave the EU, the £ has tanked against the US$; it's now about £1.32 to US$1, which is the lowest I can ever remember.

I get paid in Singapore $ and the £ has suffered heavily there too. It's hovered around S$2 to £1 since I've been here but it's now S$1.75 to £1.

What I'd like to know is if Rolex will reduce the prices when the £ recovers.

[Benjo74]

Originally Posted by Ruud Van Driver

Under the present circumstances, I would cautiously believe that a price hike is on the way. Since the referendum to leave the EU, the £ has tanked against the US$; it's now about £1.32 to US$1, which is the lowest I can ever remember.



I get paid in Singapore $ and the £ has suffered heavily there too. It's hovered around S$2 to £1 since I've been here but it's now S$1.75 to £1.



What I'd like to know is if Rolex will reduce the prices when the £ recovers.

This is true but remember that Rolex prices in the uk will not be influenced by GBP/USD rates. The fx rate to think about is GBP/CHF. Sadly, the pound has also tanked vs the Swiss franc, so the result is the same - a price increase would not be unexpected.

I was in the Heathrow T3 AD yesterday and the sales lady told me the same story about Rolex prices about to go up. However, as noted above, they always say that and I doubt the sales staff have any insight.

As for them reversing the price increase when the pound recovers, it would be nice but I suspect we will be disappointed!

It is currently good news for US visitors to the UK right now though, if you're looking to buy.


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[dysondiver]

hasnt been a price rise in my ad for four years ,,, that sales tactic was my first reaction too ,,,, but told it in good faith , i actually believed him,,, time will tell.

[japenney]

Authorized dealers are not made aware of price increases until a day or two beforehand. If there was a case where an AD was in the "know" I doubt they would be sharing that information with random customers. It is most likely a sales tactic. I also doubt that Rolex would make a price adjustment for the pound so quickly. They will likely wait to see where it settles in the coming months before taking action.

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by japenney

Authorized dealers are not made aware of price increases until a day or two beforehand. If there was a case where an AD was in the "know" I doubt they would be sharing that information with random customers. It is most likely a sales tactic. .

That was true until the last increase in Europe, when ADs where informed weeks before and even the % where well known.

I can't say that it will happen like that in the UK but it happened.

Never say never

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

hasnt been a price rise in my ad for four years ,,, that sales tactic was my first reaction too ,,,, but told it in good faith , i actually believed him,,, time will tell.

I think you're right Tom.

[ming the merciless]

That wouldn't surprise me at all, given the way the £ has collapsed recently. I sent my Zenith away to the makers for a quote regarding a service a while back. I'm still waiting for a response. I expect it to be significantly higher than it would have been a month or two back.

[Scapegoat]

Time to whack and think later!

[Haywood_Milton]

Every AD I speak with, both the grey importers I know and I myself all believe a UK price rise will come over the summer. All the triggers which the former General Manager of Rolex UK said were needed are very strongly in place and a correction is now needed. Whether you think of it more as a currency devaluation than a price rise, it makes no difference; it is coming.

One thing that has no relevance is "how long it is since the last rise." When currencies and commodities move the other way, as they did from the time of the last rise in June 2012, Rolex UK simply freeze prices until inflation, currencies or commodities catch up. Thus one can see from this graph of UK prices, which I compiled for a talk to the UK trade in 2013, that a number of sample models retained the same RRP for as long as seven years or more in the late 1990s :



If I were to update the graph, extending the data to the right, all would have completely "flat-lined" at the prices set in June 2012, perfectly reflecting the policy when currencies and commodities reversed as they did. What happened last month, whatever one makes of it, has seen the pound drop susbtantially and there is market imbalance to be corrected.

Surviving ADs here will continue to thrive, as they did during the astonishing period of UK rises from 2008 to 2012. Their numbers have been reduced significantly and Rolex has complete sector dominance in the UK, the top 20 watches over £5,000 sold by volume, drawn from all brands, being Rolex --- every single one.

Haywood M

[KarlS]

There will be.

[Haywood_Milton]

Indeed, the GBP relative to SFr was what Rolex UK's GM always said to watch.

As for prices being reversed when circumstances do, I trust that my graph above shows that this is not what we should expect.

Haywood

[KarlS]

If one just ignores the CHF GBP correlation for a second. The weak pound is making the UK watch prices far more beneficial at the expense of other markets. There is a trend to global equality of prices. A case in point is I thought I got it right buying a 5130 for $30k which is a bargain. Today it's $29250. An 116655 without discount is $18 000. Bargains galore! Problem is do you buy more watches or buy shares?

[Benjo74]

Originally Posted by KarlS

Problem is do you buy more watches or buy shares?

You buy more watches. Obviously.

Just remember who you are asking here!



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[Gibbo]

Heard the same thing from the AD in Heathrow T5 on Saturday.

[rick101]

I agree its coming as when they rose in Europe UK was missed. One thing to note though does it necessarily mean ALL models will rise or will it be certain pieces such as the SS models?

Anyhow, very glad I just had my d-blue arrive last week lol good timing god willing

[Bucky]

If it is a 12% increase. A DSSD will be close to £9200. That is not a price increase that is called taking the P***

[Haywood_Milton]

Originally Posted by rick101

I agree its coming as when they rose in Europe UK was missed. One thing to note though does it necessarily mean ALL models will rise or will it be certain pieces such as the SS models?

Anyhow, very glad I just had my d-blue arrive last week lol good timing god willing

When it comes, a price rise will apply to all models, with exceptions being most unusual. They sometimes occur when they have an "end of line" such as an unpopular dial option or older bracelet variant, which they decide to leave at the old price, or if they have just introduced a new model and priced it with current market factors already taken into account.

However, the rise is usually not applied consistently across the range. If the rise was "generally" 10%, what you might actually see is some go up 12% and others only 6%, reflecting precious metal / gem-stone content and desirability of the model.

Haywood

[Larcvid123]

if the rolex prices do increase in the uk will tudor prices rise aswell or will they stay the same

[Haywood_Milton]

Originally Posted by Larcvid123

if the rolex prices do increase in the uk will tudor prices rise aswell or will they stay the same

Apart from some limited models, I believe that the "relaunched" Tudor brand has not done well here. This will be a more interesting question!

H

[77T]

As Rolex being Swiss and not in EU, the £ to € erosion (1.44 to 1.17) shouldn't be the factor methinks. (12 mo. High to current)

Nor GBP vs USD

£ to ChF erosion would be better predictor (1.55 to 1.26) same 12 mo. High to current.

But another factor is rising gold prices again, and those models may get a higher boost percent-wise.

So I predict a price increase everywhere eventually - see, that can't be wrong!

BTW, if FX plays heavily with Rolex, why hasn't price gone down here as $ gets stronger at times? Oops...that'd be too logical.


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[gtnator]

Everything is cheap in UK now thanks to Brexit. Visiting there is almost as good as going to a third world country from a price/cheapness perspective.


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[SC11]

Originally Posted by gtnator

Everything is cheap in UK now thanks to Brexit. Visiting there is almost as good as going to a third world country from a price/cheapness perspective.


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Not for us living here haha

We always get the raw deal

[dysondiver]

Originally Posted by SC11

Not for us living here haha

We always get the raw deal

yep ,,, we do ,, my option was order this week , if its in stock you may get in before the price rise ,,,, typically me , id like something odd ,,, but not keen on the gamble.
uk is expensive for watches by comparison to us or hk , but if you buy there import gets you ,,,
not easy.

[SC11]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

yep ,,, we do ,, my option was order this week , if its in stock you may get in before the price rise ,,,, typically me , id like something odd ,,, but not keen on the gamble.
uk is expensive for watches by comparison to us or hk , but if you buy there import gets you ,,,
not easy.

I'm waiting on the 116500 which I doubt will land before the price increase and if it is around 10% that's going to sting!

Found the revised 214270 (Basel 2016 release) today and contemplating grabbing it but to be honest I'm set on my 116600 and the 116520 before looking into other brands.

[Ruud Van Driver]

Originally Posted by dysondiver

yep ,,, we do ,, my option was order this week , if its in stock you may get in before the price rise ,,,, typically me , id like something odd ,,, but not keen on the gamble.
uk is expensive for watches by comparison to us or hk , but if you buy there import gets you ,,,
not easy.

Not as expensive as you might think, Tom. Keeping it at MSRP, and assuming what was the normal S$2 to £1, Rolex prices were on par with the UK. My D-Blue was £8,250 at home and retail here is S$16,500. Only problem is ADs can legally charge what they like so the D-Blue usually runs about S$18 to 20k. Other very desirable pieces run above retail too, such as SS Daytona, BLNR, Sub LVc