How is Rolex moving the used market?

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Jean-Frédéric Dufour rarely speaks in public. Never in his capacity as President of Rolex – a sacred principle of the crowned brand. And very rarely, as president of the foundation that hosts the Watches and Wonders watch show in Geneva. But when he speaks, he carries weight. As in a recent interview with “Le Temps”. Here he talked about opening the fair to new brands and to the public. “Plus in est de fous, plus in rigole,” Dufour said. Roughly German: “The more crazy there are, the funnier it is.”

This is almost a programmatic announcement for an industry that timidly avoids any kind of craziness and is almost frozen by its centuries-old tradition and legacy.

But: Dufour’s announcement, which can certainly be understood as an objection, is more necessary than ever. Because the turmoil in the watch industry is huge. First, as buyers are getting younger; A quarter of the tickets for the Geneva watch fair, which cost 70 francs, were sold to people under 25. Second, the market is becoming more and more digital and is increasingly characterized by the trade of used watches. Even today, it is considered larger than the new watch business, with Swiss brands alone generating revenues of around 24 billion Swiss francs. And it will likely grow faster in the coming years.

The old strengthens the new

Brands like Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Cartier have recognized this and are investing in second-hand business. They take it into their own hands or join forces with dealers or second-hand specialists. On the other hand, other brands – among the big, especially Omega – are afraid to belittle it.

Every watchmaker by now must have understood – there are still hardly any women at the top of brands: The future of a brand no longer depends solely on how new products are perceived by the market. But also, and increasingly, how current and previous collections have performed in used watch markets. It’s a tribute to a brand if prices in the thrift store rise above the level of the same watches at the brand new boutique. Like the queue at a popular nightclub, the above retail prices indicate that demand for a particular watch is outstripping supply.

Therefore, it is extremely important for a brand’s mood to increase or decrease the value of its classic cars – which is the rule in cars and watches. After all, watches have long become valuable investments alongside status symbols and collectibles. And investments that have fallen in value don’t deserve the name.

The effect of the green Daytona

Just like the new watch business, Rolex sets the gold standard. As the data from Watchcharts underlines, almost no model from the Geneva brand is trading below its new price. Even respectable competitors like Audemars Piguet or Patek Philippe achieve this only with individual models, not on the breadth of Rolex.

Of course, the prices of pre-owned Rolex watches have also dropped significantly over the past year in line with the decline in the overall market. However, the slight improvement over the past few weeks in Watchcharts data, which includes a portfolio of sixty top-traded watches from different brands in various price ranges, clearly demonstrates Rolex’s special position.

Source :Blick