patrick_y[PuristSPro Moderator]
28488
A great post Darrony!
Aug 10, 2023,19:06 PM
15 years ago? I'd say SS ND Submariner Rolexes were still mostly readily available as early as 5 years ago. But don't worry too much! If you're not dying to own one, then you can forgo it! 15 years ago, that would mean the Baron and Leeds Rolex boutique at SCP had just opened for about a year. They opened around late 2008 or early 2009.
Trust me, conglomerate brands like Richemont and individual brands like Patek Philippe and Chopard are all incentivized by profit. Sure, the private brands don't have stockholders demanding profits or bloody heads to roll. But profits are still demanded.
I agree. Being rewarded for being a true watch lover is a great feeling! But it only works if the SA is a true watch lover himself. And this is rare. A lot of these Sales Associates are also very mindful of making a sale and sometimes when they realize that they have nothing they can sell you that you'd want, then it becomes difficult to continue the conversation. Really varies on the Sales Associate.
Overall, Lange's best move is to go this boutique route OR a dedicated sales associate at the Lange counter route. Now, remember, a lot of boutiques are still "boutiques within ADs" and are operated by ADs. But with a more dedicated staff (the staff member is chosen by both the AD and Lange) who doesn't "float" between the rest of the brands at the AD and stays within the confines of the Lange boutique. Then Lange invests tremendous amounts of time and money to training their staff, flying them Business Class to Germany (to Dresden and Glashutte), where they train them for nearly a week under their Lange AKADEMIE program. The training program that lasts a few days costs Lange close to 20,000 Euros per pupil to put on (5000 Euros just in airfare alone). Here, the sales associates learn what makes Lange special. They're shown the production and it's compared/contrasted with other Swiss brands' production style. It's a fairly intensive course. Sadly, cases are not made at the Lange factory, so the sales associate only see a display of a dozen cases, each at different stages of the case making process. Obviously with this kind of investment, Lange wants that person to always be available to a potential Lange customer and to not float around to the rest of the AD's brands. There may be further and subsequent trainings every couple years too!
So first, Lange and the AD chooses a sales associate that they think has the technical and mental capacity to absorb the manufacturing details about Lange. They then pump "knowledge fluid" into that individual. And then they make sure that person is dedicated to Lange. The last thing they want is that person floating around the AD, meeting a client, selling that client a Breguet, and unable to service a client who just came in looking for a Lange. Hence why they want that person to man his Lange post at all times.
Next time we meet, remind me to show you my Lange AKADEMIE notebook and training materials. What an amazing program Joanne Lange (the former head trainer at Lange AKADEMIE) made.