Rolex reportedly wants to capitalize on the high demand and low supply by offering used watches at premium prices at its flagship store in Geneva. Bloomberg Tuesday.
The boutique currently has no stock of watches and no waiting list, but they do offer used watches – “certified second – hand (CPO)” – at great prices.
A watch similar to the Rolex Daytona platinum 2020 with a light blue dial and brown ceramic bezel is available in a new state on the first floor for CHF 74,400 (USD 87,600) (but sold out), you can buy a used watch for CHF 110,000 .
Rolex is by far the largest Swiss watch brand, producing more than 1 million pieces a year.
2022, Bloomberg reported how Rolex will begin to be released certificates of authenticity from authorized dealers selling its used watches.
The unprecedented move is seen as giving the Swiss company greater oversight of its products and spurring a $20 billion used luxury watch market.
According to Deloitte, the used luxury watch market is expected to grow to $35 billion by 2030.
Joshua Ganjei, CEO of Boston-based European Watch Company, said the latest development was hailed as “the most significant step manufacturers can take to legalize the secondary market.”
Rolex representatives in Geneva said the CPO programme was designed to give customers “the opportunity to buy used official watches while benefiting from the quality and excellence that are integral to the brand.”
It also opens up new sales channels and customer reach for Rolex.
Earlier this year, it was reported that the prices of Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet fell by 23% as purchases declined after the pandemic, the prices slipped on the secondary market, extending the decline for two years.
Thrift retailers face many obstacles in expanding into this new market.
One is to provide enough watches for Rolex engineers to authenticate the watch, despite the fact that Rolex has around 30 million units in circulation.
Then there is the issue of profitability. The gross profit Margin of authorized dealers on new Rolex watches usually exceeds 30%.
For second-hand goods, much less. The price should also reflect the cost of a Rolex certification which typically ranges from 10-15% of the sale price.
The report adds that most new Rolex watches are still in short supply, leading to an influx of desperate competitors.