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Old 11 April 2018, 11:50 AM   #1
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Rolex Going Upmarket?

One often stated theory here to explain the dearth of stainless steel sports models in stores is that Rolex is trying to go upmarket a' la Philippe Patek. My numbers below aren't exact, but I'm just trying to theorize about how this strategy would work for Rolex.

PP sells what...about 60,000 watches a year?

Rolex sells maybe 800,000 watches per year? What percentage of each metal? Two-thirds TT/SS and one-third PM? I'm guessing its even less PM than that.

So is there really a market for Rolex to stop selling 500,000 TT/SS watches and sell, let's say, 150,000 additional PM watches instead (to make about the same revenue as it does now)?

Rolex's most popular model is something like a 36mm TT Datejust for around $10,600. I'm not sure that Rolex will be able to go upmarket and sell the quantity of watches it would need to in order to maintain its current revenue while turning its back on its icon. And if Rolex wants to move upmarket while still selling s decent amount of its iconic TT Datejust, then why not also sell Pepsi GMT, BLNR, Sub, and Hulk at $10,000 a pop which would make Rolex a lot of money. That's a lot of revenue to turn down, as a vast majority of $10,000 sports watch buyers will go to another brand rather than spend $30,000 on a watch.

I think that Rolex will do a better job maintaining its status as a luxury brand desired by the world by selling lots of $10,000 watches rather than fewer $30,000 watches. In order to be desired by the masses its helpful to be able to be afforded by the masses. A $10,000 watch is obtainable by a multitude more people than a $30,000 watch.

I'm sure there are holes in my thinking here, I'm just trying to figure out how an upmarket move would work for Rolex. I would love to hear other opinions.
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