Boutiques replacing ADs

[Mell]

Noticed a lot brands having their own boutiques here. Not just Tag or Omega, but higher ends e.g. IWC, RM, FM. And the decisions to do were probably made during the early or mid part of the financial crisis. At about the same time, the discount for watches of these brands seems to be fixed (I'm sure many would know what I meant). The reduced discount are also effective in major retailers.

Anyone share the same view?

[Fred_Tan]

U mean those in ION Orchard

I think all those in ION Orchard to not Boutique.
They are Exclusive Retailers.
Dun worry...

[ohlins]

some are opened by parent groups....

some are opened by partnership with local retailers....

[Wenda]

I agree... Very strict discount now but only time can tell. I discuss with a collector here and we are so used to getting a lot of discounts. Market will dictate what is the right price, etc.

[BroxiSG]

Boutiques replacing ADs

I have seen a progressive move from most of the luxury brands to open up boutiques and remove AD status from the larger watch houses. Only today I heard a major SEA Rolex AD had lost their licence and would no longer be selling the brand in KL. the knock on effect of this is more controlled pricing which will of course have a negative affect on consumers and allow these major brands to control pricing.
In less than 2 weeks you will need to buy a Rolex from a KL boutique - all very worrying, are you guys seeing the same trend in Singapore?

[ngokyc]

It's the same in sg. At least I've seen it happening sometime back...

[Oceanklassik]

I thought these boutiques are actually opened/owned by the major ADs? Isn't the ROLEX boutique at the ION under the Hour Glass? The (ex) ROLEX boutique (now changed to Franck Muller) at Vivo City was owned by Sincere right? How about the ROLEX boutique at Raffles City, that it's owned by Cortina? I was told also that those watch boutiques that are newly opened at Wisma Atria are owned by Cortina? Even some of the watch boutiques at Marina Square are AD-owned (Longines, Tissot, Raymond Weil).

[skydweller_sg]

This is happening not only for rolex, but panerai and omega as well
The difference in buying from boutique and ADs is the price
ADs typically give 5-15% discounts for these brands (slightly more if you are regular)
Boutiques dont give discounts

Another difference is the availability of popular models
Most of the time, popular models are available at boutique but hard to find at ADs

[pegasi]

I thought these boutiques are actually opened/owned by the major ADs?

Most of them are I think, but it is a partnership in which there are certain investment and commitment from the brand manufacturer.

The Panerai boutique here seem to be owned by Richemont but it could be different from country to country.

[Oceanklassik]

Yes, for whatever their business agreement, we are seeing the same staff moving around among these ADs and their boutiques. So discounts should not vary too much between them. Years ago, a friend bought a DSSD at THG and managed to get 15% disc but there was no stock then. Few days later the watch came to the ROLEX boutique and my friend was referred to the said boutique to collect his watch, by the AD. He still got 15% disc from the boutique in this case.

[pegasi]

Price control is not the main motivation behind such boutiques. There are other ways to control or fix retail prices.

The said retail model has been around for some time, and quite a common practice in other consumer products - mobile phones, sport wears etc. This is not to be mixed up with franchising. Such stores, known as the concept stores by some marketing people, aim to sell a certain concept and brand image while providing more focused service at the front line to its customer. The final objective is of course to sell products, and sell them with good margins. Fluctuating prices or rapid price erosion are obstacles to the success of such a concept store/boutique. Hence, "price control", or the attempt to do so, is a pre-requisite of such a store, not the motivation.

[pegasi]

It is very common that a brand has concept store(s) and yet continue to sell its products through multi-brand retailers. I am not saying Rolex won't go with a boutique only model. It is totally possible with its dominance in the market with regular high demand of its products. Like a Chanel or LV.

[triton]

different brands have different business strategies.

for rolex, the boutiques are managed by appointed ADs. for panerai, the boutique is under richemont. so we can see the different in business strategies.

for rolex vs other brands like omega, panerai, IWC, richard mille, AP,.... i see no difference in buying say from rolex boutique vs ADs selling rolex. the price discount structure is more or less fixed. you dont get to see much product differentiation.

for other brands mentioned earlier, there is a difference especially new launched models or special edition models. for boutique, you can possibly get special numbers like 8/XXX or 88/XXX or boutique is likely to have the stock first before the ADs. if ADs have stock, it would be limited in quantity.

if you buy from boutique, discount is usually lesser compared to buying the same brand and model @ AD is lesser or none @ all. this is because buyer is 'paying' premium price for ability to select choice number if available. there are other perks that comes with buying from boutique compared to buying from ADs. so it boils down to customer preference in buying a watch.

why are brands opening up boutiques? possible reason is that there is less distraction. if you walk into AD wanting to buy say a dive watch, there could be rolex, omega, panerai brands available. customer got choice and maybe influence by sales staff comments and discount given. if you go to rolex boutique wanting to buy a dive watch, there is like 3 choices - sub ND, sub date, deep sea sea-dweller. whichever you choose, it is still rolex.

which model will succeed? we shall wait and see.

[desteo]

Dickson Watch lost the distribution right for Omega.

[Oceanklassik]

Oh dear! Anyone heard the same?!