TAGster 5 Posted July 13, 2010 On the past weekend I went to a Mall in my area (Orange County, CA), in that Mall there are the regular stores section and the fancy stores section, you know: designer cloths stores, designer shoes stores and of course, AD for watches and expensive jewlery. So, my wife went to a shoe store and I decided to wait for her on a bench which was exactly located in front of the Rolex retail store. The store was very nice, fancy, elegant, you know, as the brand image demands to be, but one funny thing was the fact inside of the store there were only the sales people and some staff, in other words: no one was inside buying or even watching the displays. I was hanging out there for about 2 hours (yes! when my wife goes to buy shoes that is the avg. time I should wait ) so, in that period of time, no one went in, and finally the time to close the store arrived, so I had the opportunity to see how the staff put away all the merchandise, I bet to a safety vault or something like that. It was so funny to see how they were taken complete trays full of watches and put it in a cart (like bakery ones) and take it to the safe place. So, then came to my mind the question: how much does this guys sell in a day? or rephrasing: do they even sell something?, and another question: how much does the store could have in stock?, I saw easily like 20 trays with a lot of watches each, plus all the pieces on the wall displays inside the store and the main shop window. Well, like I said, it is just a morbide question.... What are your bets?. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Member X 91 Posted July 13, 2010 A high end store won't sell much unless it's in a high pedestrian traffic tourist area IMO, or an area where there are a high concentration of people with a large amount of disposable income (like Beverley Hills or Las Vegas or some areas of London, if the movies are to be believed). The mark up on them from what they actually cost is also LARGE in many cases. In one jewellery store near me, a mate's ex's sister was entitled to 50% off as a member of staff, although that was a while ago and I can't say for sure if it was for absolutely everything in the store... so they don't need to sell many to make a large profit. In a way they are the opposite end of the scale from Robert's "pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap" marketing ethos! lol I think some of the prices are obscene. While I accept you are paying for R&D and marketing globally, how much does a given watch acually cost to make? Not that much, I bet... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trailboss99 996 Posted July 14, 2010 How much does a gen Rolex cost to make? In the case of a sub, about 600 dollars. Chances are they may own all that stock either, some of it may belong to Rolex and not be paid for until sold. Col. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greg_r 83 Posted July 14, 2010 Slightly different situation, but a couple of years ago I was stranded airside at Heathrow airport for around 14 hours waiting for a delayed flight to start boarding. There's a Rolex AD (amongst other high end watch dealers) in the air side shopping mall and I was camped out on some seating immediately opposite. It was a little hard to tell, but I think they sold at least 3 Rollies during that period - and precious little else. Okay - people go spend crazy in airports, but still.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAGster 5 Posted July 14, 2010 Wow, I did not know that making a Rolex is not so expensive, I mean: 600 usd manufacturing cost and list price of what?, 4,500 - 5,000 usd??, wow! that is a markup or what!, he he. Well, I am still guessing how much money does that store had in watches?, I know it depends on the models they have, but an average? do you think they have a couple of us millions on merchandise?. I am so morbide ha ha. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GC 4,517 Posted July 14, 2010 I'm with Col... the stock most possibly belongs to Rolex, like on loan, until a sale. And given the markup... one sale every 30days pays the bills and then some. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silverspeed 10 Posted July 15, 2010 I'd guess it works in a similar way as with car dealers. New stock is financed and has to be paid by in full after 3 months or maybe 6 months for the higher end stocks. Even though at times there are no people coming in I'd be surprised if there are no sales made, by phone etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luthier 1 Posted July 15, 2010 A high end store won't sell much unless it's in a high pedestrian traffic tourist area IMO, or an area where there are a high concentration of people with a large amount of disposable income (like Beverley Hills or Las Vegas or some areas of London, if the movies are to be believed). X, you just don't know, what Orange County is. It's a place where millionaires live. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trailboss99 996 Posted July 15, 2010 I belive an AD pays around 2,500 to 3,000 for a basic sub. At least 1,500 and probably more of that is advertising and sponsorship cost. For example, buy a 80,000 dollar Jaguar and you have just paid 30,000 to the ad agency. Col. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
