SIHH Interview with FHB

[HK Islandboy]

Originally Posted by 2Redbulls

It would certainly impact margins for them. Unless it's a $2K or more discount, I'd just buy it from AP direct. The trick for AP will be balancing new sales next to preowned. My guess would be to keep distribution separated. So there's never a side by side comparison in retail brick and mortar.

I think this could help new sales.

used watches are getting sold today, so that supply and demand for it exists - by bringing sales and purchases of used watches into AP, it would allow them to more smoothly manage clients who wanted to upgrade to new models, by offering better trade in values - and build a direct relationship with clients only interested in used/discontinued pieces

[SMD]

Originally Posted by tonupbklyn

this is very interesting and now makes sense: back when i was contemplating between the 15400 vs 15202, i had visited the NY boutique a few times to compare/contrast the two models.

at the time i also owned the ROO black themes on SS bracelet.
didn't realize they had such a thing, but the sales consultant asked if I'd be interested in trading in the ROO.
i remember commenting that i wasn't aware that AP did such a thing, and he replied that it was a 'new program' that they were trying out.

perhaps the was the pilot of said program.

They did that to me a year ago. The use an outside dealer (or at least they did) to appraise and actually purchase. AP is not the one actually executing the trade.

EDIT to add Quote:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

We would first get an assessed value for the piece you are looking to trade in. The program is a trade up program, not a trade in program...meaning that the value of your timepiece is put toward the purchase of a new watch.

We work with a 3rd party on your behalf to get the best deal possible for the trade.

Please let me know if you would like to meet in the boutique to further discuss."

This is how the program was described to me by the NYC boutique.

[SMD]

Originally Posted by AK797

Could be very tough for resellers now, as is the aim, as AP don't need to make much if any "second" profit on their watches, they may even take a loss at first, so they can undercut the greys on pricing and drive them out of the market.

They could also make it up by selling more pieces at list as the need for that big discount goes away if you have a stable and reliable secondary market. More company owned outlets, fewer ADs and those that remain have tighter margins combined with tighter control on the secondary market will all bode well for value rentention.

[tyler1980]

Originally Posted by AK797

Could be very tough for resellers now, as is the aim, as AP don't need to make much if any "second" profit on their watches, they may even take a loss at first, so they can undercut the greys on pricing and drive them out of the market.

i do know AP is on a mission with regard to grey dealers, they discussed it at length when i was talking to them. It wouldn't surprise me if they took a loss (or revenue neutral) for a while to make it tough on them.

Almost every move they have made in the last year can be viewed as making it harder for grey dealers, not just this.

[AK797]

Yes, with how crazy resale markets have gone on certain models, it must be very appealing for these brands to want not only a piece of the action but also to stop the resellers parasitically profiting on all their work. I expect other brands will look at this too.

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by tyler1980

we can all dream right

With the amount of watches we all go through on the forum, id gladly pay a rental fee for the non permanent members of my collection. Better than the hit you would take on resale.

If they took leased watches back in then sold on as pre owned at a small discount that might prove interesting for some too..the benefit to AP being that unlike most leased items, there is still most (or maybe more) of the equity left in the object once the lease expires. Having a piece which could continuously be upgraded to a new release or swapped every 2 years for example would be massively appealing I think.

Controlling the cyclical lifecycle of any product is surely beneficial to the brand manufacturing it.

As FHB says they take a long term view at AP, so over the next 20 years its easy to imagine a significant modernisation in how they run the business. Thats what I really like about FHB's approach - always looking forwards, not back.

[AK797]

Originally Posted by Burlington

If they took leased watches back in then sold on as pre owned at a small discount that might prove interesting for some too..the benefit to AP being that unlike most leased items, there is still most (or maybe more) of the equity left in the object once the lease expires. Having a piece which could continuously be upgraded to a new release or swapped every 2 years for example would be massively appealing I think.

Controlling the cyclical lifecycle of any product is surely beneficial to the brand manufacturing it.

As FHB says they take a long term view at AP, so over the next 20 years its easy to imagine a significant modernisation in how they run the business. Thats what I really like about FHB's approach - always looking forwards, not back.

I don't think leasing is viable as an AP stratagem as it sounds a bit cheap, and goes against FHB's ethos of exclusivity. It could work in private clubs where members know each other however, like with prestige cars, where exclusivity is built right in.

[Hairdude1]

Thanks for this

[rossi46]

Love the idea of "certified" pre-owned APs. Especially if it means 15300s available from AP directly!