Patek Philippe

patrick_y
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You're quite right, there is indeed a double standard.

You're quite right, other brands whom have undergone their retail transformation are not doing it for the same reasons as Patek Philippe.
Lange for instance, having spoken with the Lange CEO about this, has decided that they are going to mostly leave multi-brand stores and go towards a mostly boutique model. Half of these boutiques will be corporate run, and about half will be run with a local jeweler-partner. The mentality at Lange is this; the CEO said, (I'm paraphrasing) "Lange is a very special brand and it's very difficult for salespeople in multi-brand stores to accurately convey what sets Lange apart from other top level brands." Salespeople at multi-brand stores are also very cautious not to confuse the customer - they just want the customer to buy something to get a commission - they don't care too much about what the customer buys. So when a customer is cross shopping a Lange, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, or Breguet, the salesperson simply tells the customer these brands are all at the same level - the highest level, top-level brands analogous to a Rolls-Royce in the watch industry. Thus, Lange feels that a mono-brand boutique model will allow Lange to stand out better in a more special light to consumers. So yes, the article does perhaps lead some to assume this assumption that other brands are doing the exact same thing as Patek Philippe. Hopefully our readers aren't making the assumption that things are too similar as they are definitely not.
You're right, there are relatively few local clients who can afford to buy a luxury watch more than once or twice a year. But that's considering "organic collectors" and not "investors." We must consider that investors all of a sudden entered the market since they smelled a profitable opportunity. The other problem now is that many investors have come into the watch market - looking at watches like art. And when one comes in with an "investor mindset" then the floodgates of money are released. They're no longer buying a watch for themselves - where the one or two months salary is considered. They're now making an investment, where they're now able to put in a significant percentage of their net worth into this hobby or business. Thus, even just a few upper middle class individuals who wants to divert a significant amount of money to investing in watches (around 200.000 to 300.000 Euros), can buy out a significant percentage of a jewelry store's allocation of fine watches. So many investors came in each armed with a budget of around 200-300 thousand Euros and dealers were really overwhelmed. A mid-size jewelry store before the pandemic was probably doing around 6 million euros in revenue per year, and if they were watch heavy, it was probably 66% watches and 33% jewelry. Thus, 4 million in watches. Let's say you bring in 10 investors a year during the pandemic and things really can move the needle and you immediately have a shortage!
Big cities like Vienna rely on a steady stream of tourists - to pay the bills. Tourists are wealthy. They come in, as you said, model numbers scrawled on paper, they pay quickly, and they don't require any service nor long-term relationship. Salespeople LOVE TOURISTS! They require no effort and no follow up, and they make their decisions quickly. Stores have gotten accustomed to tourists and salespeople have started to ignore the local clientele - except for the best clients who buy big, often, and don't take too long to make a decision. Soon, many of these clients will slow down - and then that means the salespeople will have to grovel and write cards to old clients, begging them to return to the jewelry store... The salespeople's easy days of tourists ended during the pandemic... But now it's coming back.
Always good to read you Marcus!