Rolex

To the non-WIS, it once represented the pinnacle of a "nice" watch acquisition if one wanted to treat or award oneself with a nice watch, for any or no reason at all, since, assuming one liked its design language, the brand held the trifecta of luxury, reliability and recognition.

One could walk into an AD, with no a priori status/relationship to the AD, be treated fairly well, purchase one's desired piece, and walk out of the AD into the sunset with watch in hand, have one's "one and done" nice watch, maybe never buy another Rolex again, yet leave both parties, i.e. customer and retailer, pleased with the transaction.

Today, that type of customer has no chance in hell of such a smooth, seamless and often self-limited transaction to acquire a Rolex watch.

What about the customer who desires a certain Rolex, but has never ever purchased a Rolex, and so today tries to make him/herself known to an AD, to hopefully increase his/her odds of being called when such a model is delivered to that AD's shop? He/she may return week after week, month after month, expressing interest, humility, prostrating him/herself to the AD, hoping that the AD will have pity on the poor fool and one day award him/her with that first desired Rolex! So much for the retailer working to make the customer happy and satisfied... a complete reversal of any normal service organization model.

Or, the AD will with no embarrassment inform said sad sack customer that if one were to buy, say 5 "less popular" Rolex watches, or 5 Rolex watches that the AD has had in its showcases for X months/years (and no one else has wanted in that time), well then, the AD would certainly put Mr Customer in his "preferred" client book and the Rolex watch that said customer really only wanted should be available in... 2-6 years!

As I have noted in prior threads, I own no Rolex watches, new or old, bought or gifted, from ADs or the gray market. However, I have purchased two Tudor watches from an AD who also is a Rolex AD. So I wonder, if and when a new stainless steel Rolex comes to market that appeals to me (enough) to want to actually buy it, will my prior Tudor purchases from that AD be enough for the dealer to sell me that Rolex in a timely manner when it is delivered to the AD?

I have been told that currently, Rolex (and Tudor) ADs can tell their national distributors which Rolex/Tudor models they want/need in their store, but the ADs are entirely at the mercy of Rolex in that they never know when or which pieces will be delivered... only when the delivery man drops off a package to the AD, and the dealer opens that package, does the dealer know what piece or pieces Rolex has been magnanimous enough to ship.

This is no way for ADs to run a business, and leaves the potential Rolex consumer (at least those who are neither celebrities, preferred customers or ambassadors) less than enamored by the brand. And Rolex continues to care not about the situation one iota.

A curious way to run what many consider the best name recognition luxury brand in the world. And it seems no end to this quandary is in sight!

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