Instagram . . . hope Rolex is paying attention!

[myusernamez]

Rolex doesn't care for the buyers who can afford a cheap 7500 USD watch if they have watches selling for 5 times that at MSRP. SS models are good enough for the average Joe to brag about on his IG but that's not who they want to target with their marketing.


In the meanwhile Average Joe is going crazy for a stupid watch paying well over MSRP to belong to a "club" of Rolex owners - just too funny. Maybe I should also start a dedicated IG account about my Watch and another about my car because that's where we are at nowadays.. or people coming to brag on here posting pictures after 15 min of getting a watch. A ridiculous sense of entitlement for the most part.

7500 USD is peanuts in the watch industry and the fact that all these sub-30-year-old's can't get one is just free marketing for them, driving people to their more expensive models or other brands. Everyone is happy except Average Joe and his debt level. Bad publicity is still publicity.

[Moggo]

Originally Posted by myusernamez

Rolex doesn't care for the buyers who can afford a cheap 7500 USD watch if they have watches selling for 5 times that at MSRP. SS models are good enough for the average Joe to brag about on his IG but that's not who they want to target with their marketing.





In the meanwhile Average Joe is going crazy for a stupid watch paying well over MSRP to belong to a "club" of Rolex owners - just too funny. Maybe I should also start a dedicated IG account about my Watch and another about my car because that's where we are at nowadays.. or people coming to brag on here posting pictures after 15 min of getting a watch. A ridiculous sense of entitlement for the most part.



7500 USD is peanuts in the watch industry and the fact that all these sub-30-year-old's can't get one is just free marketing for them, driving people to their more expensive models or other brands. Everyone is happy except Average Joe and his debt level. Bad publicity is still publicity.

I think if you spend too much time on this forum you can lose touch with reality, as with instagram it’s a small snapshot of life and mostly falsified to look better.


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[Monte Cristo]

Originally Posted by Dawg2

Rolex made themselves a: Veblen good

Very few can pull this off intentionally, but Rolex did. Congrats to them, well played. I would love to work for them.

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I think we are all working for them (indirectly)

[Rodrigo082]

Originally Posted by moneymike83

Just like a Ferrari not every day see you someone drive one. That’s what make a Rolex special.


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Incredible - comparing a Ferrari with a simple watch.
Ignorance is amazing

[Oliver Mendl]

Stopped following Rolex on IG quite some time ago. Thanks for bringing this up and making me look, some of the comments are truly hilarious!

Must be partying hard at Rolex.

Kind regards,
Oliver

[JR16]

I skip Instagram and instead read iterations of all those comments on TRF. In every. Other. Thread.



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[1William]

The backlash for this could be long and hard on a company. Rolex is responsible for the shortages and when the bubble bursts, and it will burst. People will remember and when there is no investment money to be made by speculators and flippers and part time brand supports then we will see. When the market corrects, and it will, you will see who is still loyal to the brand. I also see it as arrogance that Rolex and PP are not speaking directly to what is going on in the market and what they are doing to correct it. With Rolex making 1 million watches a year they could very easily shift production from Ladies Date Just watches and less popular models to more desirable SS Sport models and start easing the demand through production. Drastic times require drastic measures.

[george023]

Originally Posted by Watch This

Perhaps. However the same cannot necessarily be said for their customers. But having read many of your posts, I am certain that you will spin it.



Tell me how you honestly feel about 90% empty showcases. Good look ?

To this point, I was at the AD at Sydney airport last month, which had undergone a major renovation a year earlier. The place had literally empty showcases. Not kidding, about 10-15 datejusts and 1-2 Sky Dwellers and about 50 empty watch stands. Didn’t even bother talking to the sales rep as I knew I’d get the standard line. Even my wife said that’s not a good look for supposedly the #1 brand in the world.


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[Dawg2]

Originally Posted by Monte Cristo

I think we are all working for them (indirectly)

My wrist is

[strafer_kid]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

I have no reason to spin anything. The overall market speaks very clearly and loudly enough.

The luxury market craves exclusivity and wants value retention. If the luxury good cannot currently provide those attributes, it is OUT.

A handful of disgruntled WIS who lament about the old days of easy availability does not reflect the overall market. It just doesn't...

As for the empty displays, Rolex is addressing this with revamped merchandising to showcase fewer references and feed the exclusivity beast...

Perhaps the general market will change and luxury buyers will prefer readily available products that are essentially worthless after purchase? But for now, this is what is desired by the masses..

Must agree.....the disgrunted WIS is not a factor for Rolex...whatever the situation currently is, it is working just fine for them.

[playford]

Rolex is an odd brand in that it is seen as the "best watch" by people who aren't really into watches (like buying a merc or a range rover). Good global economy = cash for toys, so demand is simply out stripping supply and huge new markets like china make this demand even higher.

I think we make this into a far more complex situation than it is. A huge amount is being flipped and ending up on the grey market too, so a lot of sport models simply never see a case.

[GoingPlaces]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

I have no reason to spin anything. The overall market speaks very clearly and loudly enough.

The luxury market craves exclusivity and wants value retention. If the luxury good cannot currently provide those attributes, it is OUT.

A handful of disgruntled WIS who lament about the old days of easy availability does not reflect the overall market. It just doesn't...

As for the empty displays, Rolex is addressing this with revamped merchandising to showcase fewer references and feed the exclusivity beast...

Perhaps the general market will change and luxury buyers will prefer readily available products that are essentially worthless after purchase? But for now, this is what is desired by the masses..

There is nothing exclusive about a company that produces 800k+ watches a year, especially with empty displays. The current environment is a symptom of market dynamics, askew or not. It's not an elaborate plan of Rolex to become more exclusive. Rolex has simply found themselves in this situation and are handling it about as well as they can through watering down the AD network through eliminating smaller market shops and attempting to prop up major market stores.

Meanwhile they do have a problem, when looking at the Instagram photo posted on this thread, I cannot imagine this is something Geneva wants to see. A bunch of their watches in plastic bags in the possession some grey market dealer, that's really exclusive. If Rolex wants to fix the problem, they should eliminate the grey market by heavily reprimanding the AD network should they decide to "back door" their merchandise. Perhaps this is already in the works. There is a difference between putting your name on a list for a piece and paying msrp, vs your only available option is the grey dealer with a substantial markup. I don't have a problem with waitlists provided it is an organic market dynamic and not something created artificially to prop up prices by grey markets.

When I walk into an LV boutique, they may not have every piece or what I'm looking for but I will walk out a happy customer. However walking past a Rolex store and debating to go in or not because you don't want to hear it again from the sales person is a failure. As for the business side, sure great for the bottom line but Rolex needs to tighten up their distribution game if they want to really be exclusive. I don't see other luxury brands encountering these issues.

[steve099]

I picked up a Rolex SS sports tonight at RRP, BNIB so they are out there if you are patient & know the right people.