drgiggles
93
isn't the issue more general demand?
isn't this driven more by demand >> supply than "stupid games" by the supplier. a la Japanese whiskey, French burgundy, etc.
I.e. back in the day only steel daytonas were difficult to acquire but you could walk in and buy a precious metal daytona (and likely leverage that to get allocated a steel). Now, the precious metal ones are hot too so you need to buy something else to have access to one; Back in the day panerai's were on allocation. now i'm pretty sure you can buy whichever one you want--i suspect this is not due to some change in business strategy.
my personal experience is that open-ended waitlists are a joke. i'm still on a waitlist at 10 places for a daytona going on 23 years now. I'd rather know the terms up front and if a store is going to sell something that is in high demand to the customer who spends more money, it sucks but I get it. And at least its going to someone who is supporting the brand vs. the customer whose wife is buying a ton of higher margin jewelry from the AD who gets allocated the one-off Handwerkskunst. What would be the alternative, random lottery? have you tried buying a hot sneaker on the Nike SNKRS app?
full disclosure: this is coming from someone who was never allocated anything dear by their AD, who satisfied all of their Lange needs well before the brand was en vogue and who, while not a seller, doesn't mind seeing fewer absurdly low secondary value marks for what they do own even if it does come at the cost of greater competition if i did want to buy something.
I was at the AL&S boutique & was told that they have reduced the production numbers to half
The sales associate informed me that the manufacturer is now focusing on complications and this affecting the output which now stands around 2500 pcs . Lesser number of Saxonias and date models and more of complications . I thought they made a new facilit...
I hardly even think of Lange as a functioning manufacturer anymore
Like 4-digit Rolexes, the only place to buy Langes is the preowned market.
Pre-loved makes relaxed watch wearing …
… and buying. I completely switched from new buying to ore-loved. I love Lange watches, but since my AD lost Lange and the Lange changed his selling behavior, I do not consider buying new from Lange. Btw, traveling long distance to speak to a sales person...
As long as they come up with bundle deals, one can only
vote with one’s feet and walk away.
Thanks for the info
Lower production will probably help with value retention somewhat, but it seems like tough economic times to require that much bundling. I recall approx four years ago they did require one additional purchase, and I wanted a Lange1, so it wasn't a put off...
Their bundling behavior is a slap to the face of many customers
When I bought a brand new Zeitwerk in March of 2020, I did it because I liked that Lange didn't play stupid games like AP, Rolex and Patek. Well, shortly after they started and now I am totally done with them and any other brand that plays games. I don't ...
isn't the issue more general demand?
isn't this driven more by demand >> supply than "stupid games" by the supplier. a la Japanese whiskey, French burgundy, etc. I.e. back in the day only steel daytonas were difficult to acquire but you could walk in and buy a precious metal daytona (and lik...
Cut in half??
That’s huge, demand dropped or they have resources issue? They probably like to do less for more, selling $150-$400k watches to a few privileged than selling to mass “peasants” lol…
Unreal… Sounds like…
Rolex 😤 I never imagined ALS would get to this point, and it does ruffle my feathers a bit. I suppose we are now seeing the domino effect of what started as cutting AD’s a couple years ago for their boutique-only distribution model. Even though I only pla...
Lange is no longer the brand that I used to know and appreciate a few years ago.
I do love my two Lange watches but I will for sure not add any other of their products to my collection. Their selling stragegy (bundling),the boutique only distribution model and of course the insane price levels have driven me out of the market for the ...
...
Brands like ALS and Grand Seiko that got named ''bang for buck'' in their specific categories sure listened to their clients and took that feedback to heart and did a number on them.
Definitely sad
When a brand can take people who acquire and wear and enjoy watches and turn it into an allocation/hype game. No interest in ALS at this point, which is sad as a L1 MP or grande MP was something I was interested in🤷♂️
They had to get "permission" for me to buy a Lange 1....
So I am a customer of Lange, I bought a Lange 1 in blue back in 2020 from a boutique. I went to the same boutique in 2023 November and fancied a white gold Lange 1 with the lume as a daily watch as the blue sat in the safe. They told me because I had purc...
Thank God, they have people falling for it.
It’s much easier to make less watches, and sell them for more $$$. I wish them, and all other brands good luck!
True, and I worry/wonder if this is the new high luxury strategy and direction.🤔
There are increasingly those who can afford it, and I imagine they would also appreciate exclusivity. So, paying for complicated pieces attainable by only a select few is not an unreasonable approach to establishing a brand whose product is only for those...
In my humble opinion as it happened already in 2008…
When the economy turns south, not even the privileged buy luxury! Remember the years pre-pandemic? The watch market was at the bottom, so all is temporary. I remember in 2010, at a AD’s in New York it was offered 35% off any Lange right from the start, an...
Yes, I can say that but also a realist!
I also think I mastered that quality called patience, where I don’t need to have everything tomorrow, and so far it works! I would never buy two unwanted watches to get the one I want, even if money wouldn’t be an object! This is a hobby not a must, I’m o...
If they're lowering overall production to focus on complications
Doesn't that mean they're directly addressing the bundling issues? If they don't make as many base dress models but more complications which I assume everyone wants, there should be less need to force bundles...
that could happen
but i assume the concern is that this is less about making more of the pieces in demand and more about the minimum cost of the bundle moving up.
another stupidity of Lange is when I inquired for one piece,
Boutique in Japan does not recognize my purchase in Hongkong and vice versa.
may i ask what the piece was? ZW lumen? steel odysseus?
it seems like those are the only ones that are part of experiences like this
never understood the hype behind the ody
a) plenty of other watches out there b) with numerous follow on extensions in the works, i'm sure an ody at some point will be released that doesn't require the same hoop jumping that you'll like more than the original (as has been the case with every one...
Boutique in Japan does not recognize other boutiques in the same country!
If I buy a lange from Osaka boutique, this WOnT count apparently if I buy something else in Tokyo boutique. but this is not a “Japanese” issue and a Richemont directive. If you approach any other boutique in any country they will tell you the same thing. ...
A brand
that insists on bundles in short sighted. One should always walk away from a brand who does not value its clients.
Moritz Grossmann
is what Lange was before Richemont. Rather than bemoan Richemont’s destruction of Lange, why not just get on board with Grossmann? That’s what I’m doing. I like to keep it positive/generative, and so find it useful to not engage with Richemont brands, bec...
Makes sense
I also own just one Lange currently, and have been awfully impressed by what Grossmann is doing down the road from them,
As a once self proclaimed Lange fan boy…
I loved Lange. I bought pieces new from an AD, pieces from renowned auction houses and even grey market (gasp). When Lange shifted to boutique sales, I walked into a boutique thinking I’d be a valued customer, only to be relegated to “we don’t know you”. ...
not to in any way justify this, but curious
is this any different from if you were to go to a different Patek, AP, Rolex, etc? (i.e. are there brands on allocation that will recognize one's collection even if it was procured via a different retailer or second-hand)?
I don’t like it anyways and was killing time ..
I’ve lost the love for the brand with these policies . I find AP , Piaget, Chopard , Patek, Rolex , JLC accommodating and are top notch in customer services . Even FPJ acknowledges the patronage and working hard to get the pieces even with limited product...
Silly me swallowed by the hype since I do love Lange
I promise, no more stupid thought.
What fascinates me is that...
...I read so many posts saying "I will steer away from them because of their bundle policies". What I actually see is more and more people happily playing their game.
Crazy choice
Lange is alienating so many potential customers. Not everyone has over 50k laying around to spend on a watch that will lose a huge chunk of its value as you walk out the door.
from what i understand of the hermes process
it makes the lange policy seem like charity. Though oddly, it doesn't seem like you see a ton of dirt cheap as-new scarves, saddles or whatever other stuff they jam customers with on the resale market.
It's the economy, stupid....
It's quite simple. ALS must grow and there are several options for this. You could increase the number of units, but you have to build new buildings, buy machines and hire staff (which is currently not available). Alternatively, you can grow by making pro...
They already built a larger manufacturer and have capacity of producing 10,000 pcs
They are simply artifically controlling the supply with lame excuses as they know the they have out priced themselves and they still have many to buy the pieces they produce. By cutting retailers they have controlled the discounts and by buying in auction...