Ben Bridge in Scottsdale Arizona selling dreams, no watches!

[DoxaDavid]

Was wandering the Fashion Square mall in Scottsdale while the ladies were shopping and stopped into Ben Bridge to see what they had.

And it was practically nothing. They had 4 mens watches. A 36mm DD in YG with a white dial; a YG GMT root beer; a TT YM II; and a SS Airking.

They had about a dozen women’s models and that was it.

I asked the sales clerk how the season was going and she said its been hard because they have had very little inventory. It’s the prime selling season and their cupboards are bare!

Look at the displays, empty.

[Jona]

That's worse than pitiful.

[Wcdhtwn]

My AD puts flowers in their wall displays, looks better than an empty case. But that section of their store looks more like a flower shop.

[cerendigit]

isn't this the case everywhere?

[Mr. K]

Wow. I've seen bad. But that's really bad.

[jrs146]

Yeh it’s sad. I do feel bad for the salespeople who are on commission or have various sales quotas. Can’t sell what you don’t have in stock.

[42itus]

Originally Posted by jrs146

Yeh it’s sad. I do feel bad for the salespeople who are on commission or have various sales quotas. Can’t sell what you don’t have in stock.

Two sales people told me that it’s never been better because they make their sales before it even hits the cases. They just come to work and shoot the shit.


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[DoxaDavid]

Originally Posted by jrs146

Yeh it’s sad. I do feel bad for the salespeople who are on commission or have various sales quotas. Can’t sell what you don’t have in stock.

That was my first thought. The sales lady looked downright glum. No idea if they are on commission but I suspect they are and Rolex is the most expensive i.e profitable line they have. Can’t sell out of an empty basket!

[MTBer]

Originally Posted by 42itus

Two sales people told me that it’s never been better because they make their sales before it even hits the cases. They just come to work and shoot the shit.


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That's kinda what I figured. Then again, every watch someone wants to buy but can't because it's not available and can't be ordered is lost sales commission.

[DoxaDavid]

Originally Posted by 42itus

Two sales people told me that it’s never been better because they make their sales before it even hits the cases. They just come to work and shoot the shit.


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Yeah, maybe if its’s a small AD and they don’t have more than a couple sales people. Even so, if they are getting so few pieces, no one is making much just based on the volume.

[Jona]

And yet doesn't Rolex require the AD to have certain displays, and a prescribed square footage devoted to the brand? My AD says Rolex needs to sign off if the AD wants to carry another brand of watch.

[42itus]

Originally Posted by MTBer

That's kinda what I figured. Then again, every watch someone wants to buy but can't because it's not available and can't be ordered is lost sales commission.

Good point. I just walked through Nakano Broadway in Tokyo and it’s sickening how many unworn Rolex watches are in there. Each shop had 4-5 BLROs. Without really counting.


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[MikeyTX]

Wonder if BB is having financial troubles ......... A lot of the purchases are being made on line. I just bought a brand new 116613 from David SW today as a replacement for the one that was stolen over Christmas.

[42itus]

Originally Posted by DoxaDavid

Yeah, maybe if its’s a small AD and they don’t have more than a couple sales people. Even so, if they are getting so few pieces, no one is making much just based on the volume.

I don’t disagree with what you’re saying but I don’t think anyone is getting less shipments, I think they are all sold as it comes in.

One was a Ben Bridge and the other was a Barron and Leeds that is now owned by Tourneau I think.

It seems like the Tourneau sales people get to sell in rotation. There was that recent post about someone getting a BLRO with no sales history, and I work with that SA so I know it’s true. The Ben Bridge system is tough if you don’t have heavy hitters in your Rolodex.


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[StarvingBillionaire]

Well, they at least had Rootbeer and AirKing. You rarely see them displayed nowadays. And so, it's not bad at all.

[214270Explorer]

Originally Posted by DoxaDavid

Was wandering the Fashion Square mall in Scottsdale while the ladies were shopping and stopped into Ben Bridge to see what they had.

And it was practically nothing. They had 4 mens watches. A 36mm DD in YG with a white dial; a YG GMT root beer; a TT YM II; and a SS Airking.

They had about a dozen women’s models and that was it.

I asked the sales clerk how the season was going and she said its been hard because they have had very little inventory. It’s the prime selling season and their cupboards are bare!

Look at the displays, empty.

If you ever want to get a Tudor there, make certain you deal with Melody. She will try her hardest to order what you want if they don't have it. I got my Tudor Pelagos LHD from her ordering it, and she found that they had one at their Seattle location.

[PepsiBezel]

I am ascribing more to 42itus’s theory — the allocation to that BB had to have been sold somewhere, so the money is coming in to support the shop.

I was at an AD in a major shopping area in Seoul (boutique style, but independently owned) just the other day — they had 3 watches for sale. A platinum DD and two diamond DDs — no ladies’s models for sale. They had a few more “display only” watches, though even the “display only” models in the East Asia stores have gone down in scarcity. In May when they first started it, you’d see all big Basel 18/19 releases (BLRO, BLNR) and other hot references — SubLV, Daytona, SD43. Now, you are lucky to see an EXPI, AK, Sub, TT Sub as “display only.”

But hey — the “market is softening!” As the YouTube prognosticators proclaim!

[MTBer]

Originally Posted by 42itus

Good point. I just walked through Nakano Broadway in Tokyo and it’s sickening how many unworn Rolex watches are in there. Each shop had 4-5 BLROs. Without really counting.


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Begs the question- why is any shop displaying more than one of a "rare" item at a time? Selling something marked up exorbitantly beyond MSRP is only possible via the perception of rarity/exclusivity, so why undermine that?

...which brings up another point- salespeople are losing commissions due to product unavailability right now, but demand is at least partially artificial (evidenced by the fact that people even on TRF have admitted to buying watches perceived to be rare just because they were available). If every model were available either immediately or within a reasonably short period, demand would fall, so those lost commissions are at least partially artificial as well.

[Ptawee69]

If you are in Scottsdale or Phoenix area. I would recommend going to Hyde Park Jewelry at Biltmore on Camelback Rd. I got Hulk, Daytona, Submariner TT , Black Daytona from them this year.



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[Greg 59]

I'm not convinced this is the full story. All it tells me is that they've sold every watch they have bar a few. The sales assistant comments could easily infer that had they had more stock they would have sold more. I think we have already established that the average AD gets 40 watches per month. That's a significant amount of money to turnover annually. If these businesses were really struggling as they would have you believe they would be going under. I don't see any Rolex AD's in that situation despite the empty cabinets.

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[Bizcut1]

I was there on Thursday, those Rolex cases have looked that way for over a year....if you would have turned around and looked in the Tudor case you would have seen a GMT...

The Omega Boutique guys were out in the mall trying to flag down customers. That place is consistently empty...never see anyone in there.

[WatchLurv]

Rolex's decision to do this is amazing. Bring back 2015 when you could find a Batman or a Hulk on display. They need to turn this volume up again and flood the market; then we will suddenly be comparing discounts with each other.

[jimcameron]

The good stuff is in the back.

[shawn13ca]

This is stupid beyond any point by Rolex to play this rarity thing that much. They're going the same way Harley-Davidson did, and they're gonna end up the same with and old customer base and nobody in the younger generations. Do they really think millenials are going to wait for a watch they don't even know how to read? I don't know who's the man in charge at Rolex, but he should be fired, because for a few minutes if glory he's killing the future of the brand. What does he hope? That a millenial will not want to see or try a watch before buying? That they will accept to "work up a relationship" before purchasing what they want? Even I don't care that much about Rolex and I can't help but laugh at ADs trying to pair purchases... Youngsters will not even enter the stores, let alone go through the hassle of trying to get anything.

[BillA]

I visited 2 AD’s in Westchester, NY over the last few days, the cases are empty. One of the AD’s spent a lot of money redesigning the space as a Rolex boutique, I figure they must be getting some hard to get models, never reach the display case, and go to their important customers. When I inquired about some of the SS Professional models, the sales manager referred me to the owner of the store who controls that allocation. Good luck to me, ha ha.

[joli160]

Originally Posted by shawn13ca

This is stupid beyond any point by Rolex to play this rarity thing that much. They're going the same way Harley-Davidson did, and they're gonna end up the same with and old customer base and nobody in the younger generations. Do they really think millenials are going to wait for a watch they don't even know how to read? I don't know who's the man in charge at Rolex, but he should be fired, because for a few minutes if glory he's killing the future of the brand. What does he hope? That a millenial will not want to see or try a watch before buying? That they will accept to "work up a relationship" before purchasing what they want? Even I don't care that much about Rolex and I can't help but laugh at ADs trying to pair purchases... Youngsters will not even enter the stores, let alone go through the hassle of trying to get anything.

Being able to sell each watch you produce before it hits the shelves is an extraordinary accomplishment. Dufour is doing quite OK.

Lot's of entitled feeling Millennials have no money and when they do they behave like anybody else.

[BillA]

Originally Posted by shawn13ca

This is stupid beyond any point by Rolex to play this rarity thing that much. They're going the same way Harley-Davidson did, and they're gonna end up the same with and old customer base and nobody in the younger generations. Do they really think millenials are going to wait for a watch they don't even know how to read? I don't know who's the man in charge at Rolex, but he should be fired, because for a few minutes if glory he's killing the future of the brand. What does he hope? That a millenial will not want to see or try a watch before buying? That they will accept to "work up a relationship" before purchasing what they want? Even I don't care that much about Rolex and I can't help but laugh at ADs trying to pair purchases... Youngsters will not even enter the stores, let alone go through the hassle of trying to get anything.

I used to think the millennials would not want this stuff, but think they do. I do not think it is so much age related, but the hype of the whole matter. There is an age-old adage....”what you can have you don’t want, and what you cannot have, you want”. I remember the days when I walked into Tourneau and the sales people immediately showed me a model they could not move, it is known as the Hulk! Now everyone wants one because of the scarcity.

[Robtayham]

Originally Posted by DoxaDavid

Was wandering the Fashion Square mall in Scottsdale while the ladies were shopping and stopped into Ben Bridge to see what they had.

And it was practically nothing. They had 4 mens watches. A 36mm DD in YG with a white dial; a YG GMT root beer; a TT YM II; and a SS Airking.

They had about a dozen women’s models and that was it.

I asked the sales clerk how the season was going and she said its been hard because they have had very little inventory. It’s the prime selling season and their cupboards are bare!

Look at the displays, empty.

They say that to make you feel sorry for them. But, complaining about ‘lack of inventory’ translates to ‘we’re selling everything we get, the watches sell themselves, never had a better year, wish we had thousands of watches coming in’.

So, the next time you hear this nonsense, ask them two questions:

The first question - ‘how many watches are you receiving from Rolex compared to last year?’.

The second question - ‘how much ancillary sales (due to people bundling or buying jewelry to building relationships) are you experiencing?.

But, they’re not allowed to answer, and won’t answer, those questions. Instead, they try to make you believe they’re having a bad sales year.

[1William]

No issues with inventory. They have the watches but not on display. If you were a VIP customer and had spent significant money with them they would take you into a private room and you would see all of the models at msrp. It is just business and currently the AD's hold the cards and the watches. It will change, as all things do, and we will see more watches and at some point the prices will begin to ease up on the most desirable models.

[Nikrnic]

Surprising to hear they have an Air King available.

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