Rolex in 2009

[nachopc]

How the tale has changed, at that time the watches were stock on AD.

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/f...smid=url-share

[padi56]

Originally Posted by nachopc

How the tale has changed, at that time the watches were stock on AD.

https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/f...smid=url-share

In those days people bought Rolex watches to own and wear and enjoy,but in today's world to many Rolex watches are now little more than £££$$$€€€€€$$$$£££ object things.

[nachopc]

Will those times come back ?

[Robf52]

Wow what a complete reversal from then to now. The saying is correct that everything works in cycles. Can't imagine what it'll take to reverse the current level of demand, outside of depression or war.

[Masteryacht]

Never knew they lost money with Madoff. I thought they were more conservative than to make that error.

[brandrea]

Ah, the days of discounts .... not sure we want that again

[fskywalker]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Ah, the days of discounts .... not sure we want that again

Unsure Brian ? :


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[cbalster]

They had a tumultuous few years, 4 CEOs in a 6 year period. Dufour took over in 2014 and their business model changed around 2016 when the Ceramic Daytona was introduced. If you read OPs article and the 3 below it should give you a sense of their strategy around availability and how they play us all into a hyped frenzy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/b...t-rolex05.html
https://www.ablogtowatch.com/rolex-w...ufour-new-ceo/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/f...with-envy.html

[Fleetlord]

Many retailers dropped Rolex voluntarily. They were sitting on excess inventory they could not move,”

The symptoms of OVERPRODUCTION. That will NOT happen again.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by fskywalker

Unsure Brian ? :


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Funny ... when I bought my first Rolex (a Seadweller) back in 92, I was offered a ,20% discount. I figured that was just how luxury goods worked. List them high, sell them at a discount.



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[JSolution]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

Many retailers dropped Rolex voluntarily. They were sitting on excess inventory they could not move,”

The symptoms of OVERPRODUCTION. That will NOT happen again.

Good point.

[dan993]

Originally Posted by padi56

In those days people bought Rolex watches to own and wear and enjoy,but in today's world to many Rolex watches are now little more than £££$$$€€€€€$$$$£££ object things.

Sorry but I must say that constantly reading this from yourself does start to get on my nerves. You have obviously had a long involvement with Rolex watches through your job. I am relatively new to Rolex watches but have had a few Tag Heuer and other brands as a young man. I can still remember to this day walking into my town at dinner time at school and looking into the window and telling myself I would have one when I was older. Can there not be a larger number of people wanting these now because of the drive to own a fantastic piece of horology?

[Fleetlord]

Originally Posted by JSolution

Good point.

The recession played a role as well, but there simply was too much Rolex available.

Cases were full. AD's were everywhere. Discounts galore.

It had to stop.

It has and the brand is the strongest possible.

[crazycarlitos]

Originally Posted by padi56

In those days people bought Rolex watches to own and wear and enjoy,but in today's world to many Rolex watches are now little more than £££$$$€€€€€$$$$£££ object things.

I miss those days....

[EdwardNorton1963]

I agree with you, although I do see the side of consumers largely picking up Rolex for their name, and "spark" that they create I do see a large number of people actually taking interest into thier time-piece wether it be the material or even the movement. I think the people who are not interested in the horological experience of these watches are eventually drawn in, due to how interesting it can be.

[jb335]

“Rolex has a 40 percent retail markup. Today, you can buy any Rolex watch at a 30 percent discount. The retail margin has been hammered,” he said.

LOL! Change is constant.

[kareemthedream33]

I truly miss those times. Even back then I was a prolific collector and was happy to buy and wear a watch for a while to only lose 10-20% of its value. I saw that as a huge win. Now, it's all about AD games and hype.......definitely miss the nostalgia of this hobby and this board back then.

On the flip side, the crazy market has gotten a lot more people interested in watches and it's no longer a fringe hobby.....so I have more people to chat with about it.

[77T]

Originally Posted by Masteryacht

Never knew they lost money with Madoff. I thought they were more conservative than to make that error.

Per Rolex, they did not have losses with Madoff.


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[Rashid.bk]

Originally Posted by nachopc

Will those times come back ?

Nope, never. In fact I think it's getting worse by the year. Shame really, the swiss watch was in such jeopardy in the 70-80s and now the tables have turned is like they turn their nose up at watch customers and enthusiasts.
Must be good to have a monopoly over an industry. With Swatch cutting off movement supply in coming years the swiss watch industry will become a tight knit group. The companies that have survived thus far will continue to grow and prosper as mechanical watches continue to soar in popularity with the growth in world population and interest.

[Mystro]

I found some of my 1993 Rolex catalogs I got from dealers driving around to get prices on watches. I am sure my handwritten otd prices will stun many of our new members.

[Francist]

I remember selling my DJ37mm back then just to get by.
Those were dark days i must say. Much darker than covid (at lease economically).

[nachopc]

Originally Posted by Rashid.bk

Nope, never. In fact I think it's getting worse by the year. Shame really, the swiss watch was in such jeopardy in the 70-80s and now the tables have turned is like they turn their nose up at watch customers and enthusiasts.

Must be good to have a monopoly over an industry. With Swatch cutting off movement supply in coming years the swiss watch industry will become a tight knit group. The companies that have survived thus far will continue to grow and prosper as mechanical watches continue to soar in popularity with the growth in world population and interest.

Well ,never say never look at those dates, I love Rolex but what we are living now with Daytona’s @ 30k in SS....this article brings for me some perspective in these frenzy Rolex times we are living now.


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[jitdc]

The most interesting thing about that article was the Maddoff connection. I never knew anything about that but it is so fascinating.

Missing the days of lower prices is understandable, but change and price increases happen to all markets. I'm not sure I can name one single thing in a retail market, that costs less today than in a bygone era.