Comments:
What do you think about Brand Boutiques?
My feelings are very mixed. Let me explain my very limited experience:
A. Lange: I visited their Boutique in Dresden. The lady serving us was very cold but polite but I did not feel very welcomed. Not even a cup of coffee or a glass of water was served. I had on my wrist Lange Perpetual in Platinum.
Blancpain: I visited the Boutique in Zurich many times. The staff was outstanding and polite. As a result I bought a watch and later I was invited to the "Farm". Every time I visited them in Zurich, I was offered a glass of champagne or a cup of coffee. I always feel good when thinking about Blancpain and their Boutique. I would not buy this brand from nowhere else.
Breguet: I always had fantastic service in Zurich while in Geneva they failed to organize even a strap. The visit in Zurich were pleasant and in Geneva just opposite. Finally in the London Boutique they repaired a folding clasp of my wife's Reine de Naples that was totally bended in Geneva. Furthermore, London Boutique ordered a made-to-measurements strap and later mailed it my home. Refreshing drinks were served in Zurich and London.
Cartier: Absolutely outstanding service in Tokyo, NYC, Paris, London, Zurich, Lugano and Geneva. People were well-trained, polite and friendly and when spending a longer time in the Boutique, some refreshments were served.
JLC: When I bought my first watch from Paris Boutique, the service was very good. Last spring I visited a party where there were too many people. However, I got some time with the new Manager. I ordered the new blue dial Reverso and asked for some information about the finest ladies' watches with 101 movement. I never got my watch and I ordered it yesterday from a gray dealer. To replace my idea to give a JLC high end watch as a present to my wife when she soon gets a baby, I just visited a Brand Boutique giving good service. So the baby is not yet born but the presents are in my safe.
Patek Philippe: I have a lot of experience about Geneva, Paris and London Salons. I have always received absolutely fantastic service and the people have helped me to make true my sometimes stupid ideas.
Zenith: I have been lately in contact with the Geneva Boutique and they seem to be very good.
Vacheron Constantin: When I visited the 2nd Geneva Boutique, they showed me their collection from iPad. They promised to order a watch from the main Boutique to show it to me if "I promise to buy it". They told that it would take just 10 minutes to get the watch to the Boutique from the main entity. Even I got a cup of coffee while sitting and watching the screen of iPad, I wasn't impressed.
So my question is: are Brand Boutiques needed? Do the clients get any added value there?
I know that I will always buy the Cartier goods from Cartier Boutiques, new Pateks from their Salons and if I need a Blancpain, I'll travel to Geneva. But in general I must say that a good AD or a very good Grey Dealer are offering better service than a lousy Brand Boutique.
What kind of experience you have?
Best, Kari
Boutiques in Asia
My experience with boutiques center mainly in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
For the latter, the staff were very courteous. No refreshments were served but the guys in the boutiques stores always served with a smile. There was less chatter on watch features but that's understandable given the language barrier. I eventually settled on an IWC Aquatimer Chronograph in blue and orange.
I find the service in Hong Kong slightly different. While they may not always serve you with an outward smile of the Japanese, they are nonetheless polite and very knowledgeable. Refreshments (usually green tea) were served in a good 80% of the boutiques I visited.
Ironically, I prefer not to enter boutiques when they are empty. I would rather be left alone to browse the watches through the glass cabinet. If I found something that I liked or needed more information, then I would call a sales to serve me. However, having someone hovering over your shoulder, interjecting comments on every watch you pause at for anything longer than 5 seconds kind of drives me nuts. I know they are being helpful and all and it is their job but sometimes I want to be left with my own thoughts while browsing, you know? Fortunately, after a while, they get the clue and leave me alone.
This message has been edited by psychotic on 2014-01-10 17:10:17
Why not just tell them?
99% of the stores of any kind I visit, someone asks me if they can help me. I just tell them "No, I'm just browsing right now, but thank you for asking. I'll come to you if necessary". Or something like that, depends on where I'm at at the moment.
I don't want to offend you, but I feel it's rather rude to 'ignore' someone until they "get the clue".
When someone keeps bothering me, I just tell them they need to leave me alone in a respectful way.
Handling both types of salespeople these ways seems to work out fine, in the end, they've got to respect my wishes as I'm (possibly) their client.
Sorry for not explaining myself properly...
Yea, I do tell them that I'm currently just browsing. Most of them get it right away.
However, my point is that when I'm the only one in the store, I always feel their presence a few feet away from me or in some cases accompanying me.
If I see that sales are occupied with other customers (esp a particular type of customer - not going to be mentioned since some may take it offensively) then I feel "safer" walking in.
My wife and I have a running joke. We see sales as sharks and customers as fatty tuna. If we go in alone it will be a feeding frenzy. True? Probably not. But we've come into some situations (not in watch boutiques though) that would raise some eyebrows.
Now I see
And I know the feeling. It doesn't happen very often, but I understand what you mean now, you feel their eyes following you, taking mental notes of where you stop and watch for an extended amount of time etc.
Although I must say, that only happens to me very rarely, or I just might not be noticing it 
There's also one particular thing that I truthfully hate, which is related to the sharks and tuna joke. That's when there are multiple staff members and no customers around, and they start 'helping' each other out; "Wow that's a great deal he's offering you right there!"...
I think I see your point
simple … I don't want them
Not talking about how good or bad they are. I tried a few and had some great experiences.
1 I will mention … Journe in Paris.
Wass there about 2 months ago and it was as it should be. Nice staff and they new what they were talking about
That aside.
I know MY AM so many years that I don't see a reason to buy elsewhere.
He knows what I want and we have a PERFECT relationship.
If brand X makes a LE which I can't buy at my AD …. I even don't want it anymore
It seems that the Boutique Editions
are a new way to attract people to Boutiques. I'm sure that does not make the AD happy.
I had long discussions with a Boutique Manager outside the working hours. He explained that on the long run their Brand wants to sell everything from Boutiques because:
* they get the profit the retailers might make today
* goods are sold with full price. Rebates and Boutiques are a rare combination.
Let's see if the development goes to this direction.
Best, Kari
don't think it will work
Panerai was one of the first to try it and I know a lot of their clients didn't like this decission (PAM 448 and 449 for example)
I was one of the customers that stopped buying , and I know there were a lot of us.
I think they won't make this mistake again. I know the make watches like the 41X series which is in fact a simple 111 with a 'boutique' case back. But that doesn't bother me. But if they decide to keep watches like the 532 / 507 / 508 only for boutiques, I wouldn't be interested anymore.
btw, I just bought one of those 3 .... AT MY AD ))
"customer is king" .... I decide where I buy, these brands should be happy I ( or better we) want to buy their watches. The last years the watch industry was booming and the brands became way too arrogant. They thought they could decide where a client should buy a watch and it seemed as if we should be glad we could get a specific watch. Today I think things are changing. A few days ago Swatch Group reported worse than expected sales figures. Export to China is not what it used to be for the moment ... maybe it's time to get back to reality. Some brands are way too expensive today.
I think they will be glad if we buy their product ... in a boutique OR an AD
+1 on most, what you said: customer is king.. and not the Sales Force .. Or revenues ;)
My opinions
I had the exact same feeling in the Dresden Lange boutique while I left my Langematik for service.
Patek staff in London and Paris were very friendly and warm. I was even offered a nice branded umbrella in the London boutique as it started to rain while I was in.
Brequet staff in Vienna was polite but quite stiff a long while ago. Things may have changed.
But yes, generally, the AD staff is friendlier.
best,
R
My fear is
that if a big part of the watches would be sold from the Boutiques, the level of service would drop dramatically.
Last time we visited Paris, we wanted to buy a hand bag for my wife. We went to the LV Boutique on the main street. The staff looked us like we would be dirty rats who came to eat their cheese. If I asked something, the attitude was unfriendly and arrogant. However, we got a smile but a very formal one.
So we went to a Channel Boutique and got the best of service. It was a real pleasure to visit there and my wife soon got her 2nd Channel handbag. She liked the experience so much that Santa Claus brought her the 3rd.
Bad staff in the Brand Boutiques can also act against the Brand. At least we will never again visit a Louis Vuitton Boutique in Paris and elsewhere with great difficulty.
Best, Kari
Only the nice relationship matters but
the Flagship also adds a controled "image" of the brand.
This message has been edited by Mark in Paris on 2014-01-11 02:51:08
I also have an AD that I love to visit in Paris. If the brand is sold there, then I buy there in priority.
If not, then I try to buy to a flagship, but ONLY is I have a good feeling with a seller.
If not, I go to another AD.
I may say the exception is that I skip the flagship if the watch is known to drop significantly in value when second hand.
But I must say, I like being taken care of in a flagship and I think, from the brand's standpoint, it's an important way to communicate.
I'm glad they exist. And I rarely buy to them.
Mark
They Have a Place
Hi,
With respect to the brand boutiques, I believe they play a few important roles for their respective brands and customers.
1.) The boutique should, in theory, offer the standard of customer service, courtesy, and product support that the manufacturer considers the gold standard for its points of sale. In markets like NYC, London, Geneve where there are many ADs and grey marketeers, a factory-owned boutique offers manufacturers and opportunity to set the standard and force the resellers to raise their games. Of course, this assumes that the factory spares no measure to make its boutique the local standard for customer service, but I have found that the NYC brand boutiques generally uphold this model compared to mass-retailers like Wempe, Tourneau, and others. The level of product knowledge at a single-marque boutique will exceed the multi-brand vendors almost every time.
2.) The boutiques generally offer a better opportunity for customers to view a large selection of a given brand's products. Non-boutiques rarely keep inventories of extreme complications, esoteric models, limited run models, and unpopular models. Boutiques are a great way for potential buyers to see these watches in person without having to put down a deposit or commit to a purchase beforehand. Even if one were to examine a watch in the boutique and then buy it through another channel, the manufacturer still benefits from the sale. That's not a business model that works for ADs. If I visit Tourneau to see a watch and place an order with Wempe, Tourneau gets no benefit. From a customer's perspective, the boutique gives me a chance to see pieces I would not be able to examine anywhere else.
3. Boutiques generally offer better access to discontinued models. Due to their relationships with their respective factories, boutiques tend to be the best way to source new-old-stock watches that have been out of production for a year or more. If you want a watch that is not listed in any AD's inventory and hasn't been in production for some time, I've found that your best option may be to contact a factory store.
4.) Brand boutiques, when run in ideal fashion, are a great way for manufacturers to build positive relationships with customers, engage with owners, and maintain brand loyalty. This is a two-way street that benefits both parties. The manufacturer encourages customers to identify with the brand, build worthwhile working relationships with boutique personnel, and creates the potential for repeat sales. The customer enjoys a higher standard of service, value-added events like exclusive viewings, dinners, and cocktails, and access to occasional boutique special editions.
If a boutique is run poorly and becomes little more than a single-brand overpriced AD, then the system breaks down, but a great boutique experience can be of mutual advantage to customers and manufacturers alike.
-Tim
With respect to the brand boutiques, I believe they play a few important roles for their respective brands and customers.
1.) The boutique should, in theory, offer the standard of customer service, courtesy, and product support that the manufacturer considers the gold standard for its points of sale. In markets like NYC, London, Geneve where there are many ADs and grey marketeers, a factory-owned boutique offers manufacturers and opportunity to set the standard and force the resellers to raise their games. Of course, this assumes that the factory spares no measure to make its boutique the local standard for customer service, but I have found that the NYC brand boutiques generally uphold this model compared to mass-retailers like Wempe, Tourneau, and others. The level of product knowledge at a single-marque boutique will exceed the multi-brand vendors almost every time.
2.) The boutiques generally offer a better opportunity for customers to view a large selection of a given brand's products. Non-boutiques rarely keep inventories of extreme complications, esoteric models, limited run models, and unpopular models. Boutiques are a great way for potential buyers to see these watches in person without having to put down a deposit or commit to a purchase beforehand. Even if one were to examine a watch in the boutique and then buy it through another channel, the manufacturer still benefits from the sale. That's not a business model that works for ADs. If I visit Tourneau to see a watch and place an order with Wempe, Tourneau gets no benefit. From a customer's perspective, the boutique gives me a chance to see pieces I would not be able to examine anywhere else.
3. Boutiques generally offer better access to discontinued models. Due to their relationships with their respective factories, boutiques tend to be the best way to source new-old-stock watches that have been out of production for a year or more. If you want a watch that is not listed in any AD's inventory and hasn't been in production for some time, I've found that your best option may be to contact a factory store.
4.) Brand boutiques, when run in ideal fashion, are a great way for manufacturers to build positive relationships with customers, engage with owners, and maintain brand loyalty. This is a two-way street that benefits both parties. The manufacturer encourages customers to identify with the brand, build worthwhile working relationships with boutique personnel, and creates the potential for repeat sales. The customer enjoys a higher standard of service, value-added events like exclusive viewings, dinners, and cocktails, and access to occasional boutique special editions.
If a boutique is run poorly and becomes little more than a single-brand overpriced AD, then the system breaks down, but a great boutique experience can be of mutual advantage to customers and manufacturers alike.
-Tim
It's all about the employees.
In general, boutiques do add value when the boutique does their job correctly. However, the opposite can happen as well, a boutique with poor service can damage a brand faster than an authorized dealer.
Do I see value added with boutiques?
Honestly no. It's usually rare. With Patek Philippe, I'm much more consistently impressed with their three boutiques. But other brands usually fail consistently. Lange does well as well.
Your experience at Vacheron Constantin Geneva was a reminder of the experience I had tried to forget.
But let's not blame boutiques. Look at ADs, ADs also rarely add value to the transaction.
It all boils down to companies and employees. Who hires the best employees? Who trains their employees better? And what are the values behind the company and behind the employee?
Lastly, psychological logic comes into play. While I don't have a Ph.D. in psychology, you have to understand everybody's motivation. Salespeople are motivated by sales because their sales performance and pay are derivatives of that. Unfortunately, in order to have the best salesperson to sell a high-end watch, you really need someone who's passionate about the product, intimately familiar with the product, and a good communicator who's enjoyable. You need a collector who would do this as a side job. And that's the problem, very few collectors would do it, and very few companies would hire them. In the end, you've got someone working for a paycheck.
I had a similar experience at
the Lange boutique in Dresden. I wasn't expecting any beverages to be offered. I usually decline anyway. But the lady serving me could have been a bit friendlier and warmer. I didn't feel comfortable at all and left as soon as I had seen the boutique edition Richard Lange in the flesh. I didn't even bother giving it the wrist test. I just wanted to get out. I wouldn't have bought from her even if it's cheaper than the Lange boutique in Singapore. Tourists get VAT refunds.
The experience at the Lange Singapore boutique is very different. They are the friendliest watch boutique people I have ever met. I have visited the bouttique a few times and each time, I've stayed to chat and browse way longer than I had originally intended. And Terence always insists on serving me a drink even after I decline.
The staff at the Vacheron boutique in Marina Bay Sands Singapore are nice and friendly too. They were helpful and patient when I sought their help to find a discontinued watch model, albeit without any success.
Regards,
ian
Funny!
I would have not accepted even a glass of water either. Also in our case the person was her. An arrogant woman who was dressed like just coming from a horse ride.
After that visit, my interest in Lange started to shrink.
Best, Kari
Sorry for the long post...
Here is the "big picture" in my view:
1) Elevate the item from accessory to icon of lifestyle/luxury:
As mechanical watches move from a personal accessory to tell time to a symbol of accomplishment and a luxury accessory they need to drive this by a sense of exclusivity. The exclusivity was driven by the move to vertically integrated manufacture which really started about two decades ago. Only larger, well capitalize companies are in a position to afford such a strategy, particularly in volume.
2) Capture second wave of revenues:
A downstream benefit of this approach is captive service/repair revenues beyond the initial transaction cost. Let me illustrate the concept. Let's use an Omega Seamaster for my illustration. The watch retails for $6,200 and likely sells to an AD for about $3,500. The watch likely costs Omega $400-500 to make (internal cost-of-goods). So Omega might gross about $3,000 on a watch like this. Now let's look at service. Today SGUS will charge $525 for a full service in today's dollars. They will get this extra revenue every 5-years or so. Perhaps 50% of what they charge is profit on a watch like this given their overheads. So this becomes an important and steady source of revenue because you begin to get all the prior year's accumulated sales in for service. So say they sold 100,000 Planet Oceans in one year and grossed ~$300M in sales. Now imagine that 50% of owners are compliant on service 5 years later. You start to get ~$12.5M in service revenue each year. As Duke Ellington said "nice work if you can get it".
3) Continue to drive exclusivity and profits through control of distribution channel:
The final leg of the picture is beginning to play out. The luxury conglomerates are moving towards capture more profit and driving exclusivity through direct boutique and internet sales. Let's continue to illustrate using SG's Planet Ocean. Today, as we previously illustrated, they likely gross about $3k per watch on a steel model. Now, lets eliminate the AD and stop any discounting that may have occurred and capture the full difference of $6,200 to the $500 it cost to make ($5,700). So they can now sell about 1/2 the number of units and make the same profit (albeit lower downstream service revenue).
That's unfortunately here I see things going. Perhaps it is a more sustainable model for the Confederation Helvetia, but I don't have to like it.
I suppose it is their business, and they are free to run it as they see fit.
It really is the 3rd aspect of the strategy that bothers me the most because it values profit over loyalty and long-term partnership. When the industry was in ashes 30 years ago, a network of independent Jeweler partners (ADs) took shared risk, and helped the conglomerates build the brands to where they are today. Dealers with multi-decade relationships as partners are finding themselves in recent years being either cut off from access popular models, finding direct sales boutiques opening next door or abruptly discontinued as ADs. It is no longer a partnership. The conglomerates have a long-term plan and ADs in established markets are a necessary transition bridge until a new network of boutique and web based sales can be established. Contracts are year to year and an adversarial relationship exists today. Many dealers feel as if they are doing business with a competitor.
Personally, I find most boutiques (not all) to be vapid showrooms of luxury lifestyle staffed with metro-sexual models and not resource of trust, product knowledge and place for a long-term dealer/client relationship. Its as if one is walking into a consultant's MS PowerPoint presentation. There is only so much champagne and cappuccino that one can drink in bathroom less downtown Meccas.
Thank you for response.
It looks like that the sales are slowing down, even the sales of Patek. I hope that this will lead to a situation where we will have alternative distribution channels and that finally the paid prices start to move towards more sensible ones.
Best, Kari
service is seldom (if ever?) a revenue stream
I don't want to get into the other points which I find thoughtful and thought provoking, but I'd be surprised to find any brands make significant revenues on service. Watchmakers are expensive and watch servicing takes time. Polishers, clerks, customer service representatives, replacement parts, tools, facilities. All these things add up quickly to eat away at (or completely devour) service charges. Service supports sales.
_john
_john
I am with you here, John...
I heard from several brands that after sales revenues cover costs - at best!
Magnus
+1, John. This should be more often explained and elaborated, to get the " price under the
Service of our watches "
Best,
Nicolas
Profits vs. Revenues
John,
I agree that supporting a service organization is indeed a costly undertaking in terms of staff, inventorying parts, equipment and facilities. It also is scaled to ensure high utilization. Most routine service takes many months to do because there is a queue and the staff/facility are highly utilized. Most service by brands also costs customers a premium. There is most certainly profit built into this end of the business and I don't see it being a break even business. I think you were perhaps questioning profit of the business unit and not its sales which I was discussing? Here is a link to Swatchgroup USA's Service price list for June 2013:
I still think the time it empirically takes (My routine service has taken 2 months to 12 months) reflects a highly utilized organization. I also think the fees charged reflect a healthy profit target on an assumed utilization of staff, fixed costs and component carry costs.
Regards,
Bob
yes, profits
I can't really say more, but just do some cocktail napkin math for a watchmaker paid $80k a year plus benefits and taking between three and eight hours to overhaul the movement (depending how complex it is). Add in $50 to $100 in parts. Factor in unpaid work on warranty jobs, goodwill gestures and comebacks (even if you're using the "fantasy target" number of 5% some brands throw around).
I'm not saying impossible to make money on service (independent service center do it obviously), I'm just saying the brands don't.
_john
Some thoughts...
John,
Let's follow your line of thinking a bit.
If we fully burden the $80k/year salary by almost doubling it and use $150k/year. Divide that by 2,000 hours/year and you get $75/hour. Now, take your 3-8 hour estimate and you get $225 - $600 for your proposed time estimate. Let's now add the $50-100 in parts as you suggest. So we're up to $275 to $700 in burdened labor and components. Let's add 30% profit ($84 -$210) and we're up to ~$360 - $910. Because SG publishes their standard service pricing, I will use them to test my hypothesis that they are not "break even" business centers.
Blancpain - $580 -$1,940 (and by estimate)
Breguet - $660 -$3,460 (and by estimate)
Glashutte Original - $375 - $2,050 (and by estimate)
Jacquet Droz - $560 - $1,300 (and by estimate)
Omega - $490 - $1,280 (and by estimate)
Longines - $225 - $610 (and by estimate)
Sure warranty work is a negative factor on that group, but some assumed percentage is factored into the standard cost of the watch when sold. Also, keep in mind the direct sales approach captures both the wholesale/retail side of the profit (minus boutique costs).
I do think even with the costs outlined above and profit applied, there is room to ensure business unit profitability. I also think that publicly traded luxury conglomerates like Richemont and Swatchgroup don't make business moves without profitability and their shareholders in mind. Perhaps to your point, product quality issues negatively impact the best laid business plans.
We obviously disagree on this point which is fine. Thanks for chiming in a contrarian opinion though. I greatly value your opinions and perspectives as a watchmaker.
My $.02,
Bob
a little more
Ok, first of all nobody puts in 2000 hrs of real service work per year. Assuming 4-5 weeks of vacation/holidays/personal days (at my company it's more like 7-8) and even as little as 10% time invested in setup/cleanup, training, tool maintenance, etc. you're lucky to get 1700 hrs on actual service work.
But the real problem with those calculations is that you didn't touch ALL the other staff, technical and otherwise. I only included watchmaking because it's the most time intensive and highly trained (read: expensive) part of the operation, but the diagnosticians, polishers, case assembly and quality control technicians all command a decent salary as do the clerks coordinating work flow, delivering spare parts, performing data entry and the phone and/or counter staff talking to customers. You don't have to trust that I know what I'm talking about, but I know what I'm talking about.
Hope we can discuss it over a drink should you find yourself in NYC some time.
_john
This message has been edited by ei8htohms on 2014-01-12 17:06:04
But the real problem with those calculations is that you didn't touch ALL the other staff, technical and otherwise. I only included watchmaking because it's the most time intensive and highly trained (read: expensive) part of the operation, but the diagnosticians, polishers, case assembly and quality control technicians all command a decent salary as do the clerks coordinating work flow, delivering spare parts, performing data entry and the phone and/or counter staff talking to customers. You don't have to trust that I know what I'm talking about, but I know what I'm talking about.
Hope we can discuss it over a drink should you find yourself in NYC some time.
_john
This message has been edited by ei8htohms on 2014-01-12 17:06:04
... which is the reason why many manufacturers invest to extend service intervals ...
... and reduce repair effort and timaround. Simply exchanging parts, like in the car industry, is easier, quicker,and cheaper for the manufacturer. If I consider this a benefit? At short terms, maybe. But - like for the car industry, where technical knowledge and competence is massively decreasing with staff and therefore lost for the whole industry - at long terms, this might destroy what the love about the mechanical watches: the impression of sustainability and longevity.
Marcus
Marcus
Very well taken point.. Paradigm change forced.. Or simply tides of time ?
.. your "warning call " should be heard and resonate..
Thank you, and have a good next week !
Best, hs
Excellent reply - very valid points!
particularly on your last paragraph regarding the crowding out of the retailer as the last non-brand controlled entity in the value chain (assuming that brand move towards a verticalised business model).
What you write here is not just an assumption but it is already reality. I talked to quite a few retailers here in Europe and they explicitly confirm what you are saying. During the quartz crisis, at the beginning of the renaissance of the mechanical watch and also during the 2008/2009 economic downturn brands were literally begging the retailer to support their business. Even in those difficult times retailers acted as true partners, took the risk and significantly contributed to the success of the industry as we are experiencing it now.
But the establishment of brand boutiques imposes a great threat to the retailers. Boutiques carry a wider range of watches of their given brand, might be able to offer exclusive models/service, get preferential treatment etc. Retailers are but off, confronted with unrealistic minimum order levels.
But I think there is also a great risk on the side of the brands. Retailers often have long term client relationships with certainly aid in dire times, offer a several brands (allowing the client to compare, change options etc.) and are financially independent from the brands. The latter point might be important if a given region face an economic downturn, the entire watch brand inclusive on their own boutiques are affected. Not necessarily the retailer in a different geographic location…
However, what we also have to consider is that all boutiques are not equal. There are those who are 100% brand owned an managed, and there are those who are operated under a sort of a franchise model by a watch retailers. The Blancpain and the IWC boutiques in Zurich or the JLC and Patek ones in Vienna are examples of the latter. Here I think the retailer is in a much better situation, executing his usual retailing model and enjoying the benefits of a brand-boutique as well. The brand itself profits from the in-depth knowledge of the local market, the client contacts and the infrastructure of the retailer - a win-win situation?
The fact that quite a lot of boutiques are operated under a franchise model indicates that the accrual of retailing revenues is not the major driving force. I think prestige (of running such a boutique at a prestigious location), herd instinct (my competitor has one, so I have to follow suit) and pure consumer-relations aspects (being able to offer the client a 'true' brand experience) seem to be important factors.
Cheers,
Magnus
Very well said.. And perceived.. Thanks for explaining the store-in-store model ..
.. and also its repercussions on both sides..
Very educational remarks, thank you !
Best, hs,
Very educational remarks, thank you !
Best, hs,