Gibraltar
5
We better get used to it
May 05, 2021,14:11 PM
Lange is doing everything they can to force people to shop at their boutiques rather than ADs. Once at the boutique, it's pay to play. You buy one regular model, you can buy one LE. Next LE you want, you need to buy another regular model first. Certain regular models don't qualify for certain LEs. For example buying a WG Odyseus will not qualify you for an in-demand LE. VVIPs are expempted, but you can impagine what kind of spending it takes to get there.
I can see why they're doing it. No one in their right mind would buy a regular model from the boutique when they can get it at a significant discount down the street at the AD. I see the current policy as their attempt to address some persistent issues the brand has faced:
1. Significant disounting by ADs (>20% was not uncommon in HK)
2. AD stock showing up a grey dealers for even greater discounts
3. Significant depreciation on the second-hand market
These things all reinforce each other and it's a vicous cycle. I'm not happy about the solution they chose either, but it does appear to be working. Lange has never been stronger on the secondary market. For new buyers it doesn't seem so bad to have to pick up say an 1815 chrono to get that LE, since the 1815 now holds value pretty well.
Unfortunately it heavily punishes loyal AD customers and those who purchased second hand in the past. If you already have your Lange 1, datograph, zeitwerk, etc. you're left with a lot of unintersting choices for your bundle. You either buy something you don't really love or you flip it right away and factor that into the price of the LE. Not fun.