Fans of Rolex products are likely to have a hard time buying these premium watches in the near future. Swiss watches are rare.Recently, purchases of Swiss watches have jumped higher than at the peak of the pandemic in 2020. Referring to data from the industry research group, FHS, Swiss watch sales rose 7.6 percent in July 2021 compared to 2019. In fact, trade growth skyrocketed 48.5 percent in the United States (US) and shot up 75 percent in China.When it comes to overall Swiss watch sales growth, Rolex luxury watches are rare. The situation of luxury watch manufacturers is quite complex. Why is that?
- At the beginning of the pandemic, precisely in March 2020, Rolex had closed all of its factories for 10 days. Because, at that time their market conditions in Hong Kong were quite shaken due to political demonstrations. The situation was aggravated when the Chinese economy weakened due to the pandemic.Finally, the closure of the plant lasted up to six weeks. The temporary shutdown is equivalent to three months of production-and Rolex is missing the moment.Of course, there is a domino effect from that policy, such as the postponement of product launches from March to September 2020. Rolex retail watch sellers were also forced to close in the second quarter of 2020.Even so, the company kept open orders. In fact, there was a surge in sales when Rolex watches were back on the market.
- There were already supply problems long before the Pandemicaccording to Paul Altieri, CEO of Bob’s Watches, a retail online watch seller, Rolex’s supply shortage problem was well in advance-even before the factory was temporarily closed.”Supply has been up to a certain limit due to Covid—19, where factories were closed for several months-it made the problem worse, but it (the supply problem) was there before the pandemic,” Altieri said.
- Causes of Rolex Dearthhow can there be a Rolex watch supply problem?According to Altieri, it is related to demand and supply conditions that increase pressure on prices. “Global demand has continued to grow in the last five years and supply remains constant. It was a classic demand-supply situation that happened, ” he explained.He added that Rolex was not deliberately suppressing supply. It’s all because of the strong demand for Rolex luxury watches.To give you an idea, Bob’s Watches has an email notification system to inform buyers of the watch stock. When the email is sent, the Rolex watch is instantly invaded.“Their new models can sometimes sell out in 15 minutes. A minute or a second late, it is no longer available,” he said.
- Many Rolex luxury watch resellers watch expert Eric Wind cited factors driving Rolex’s price surge and declining availability. In addition to supply constraints and increased demand, now the way to sell watches globally is increasingly varied.Wind said “anyone can buy, for example, a Rolex Daytona or a Submariner. Then they sell it again at a higher price.”It’s similar to buying shoes bought from a manufacturer, then you resell them online but at a higher price,” he added.
- Rolex has no official waiting list Rolex has committed not to increase production of watches to match demand. ” And that makes sense because they’re trying to generate long-term product value for clients, they’re reluctant to flood the market (with products), then reduce the value of that product, ” explains Ariel Adams, founder of the most popular Watch blog, aBlogtoWatch.Moreover, the pandemic has reduced the supply of watches by 70 percent. Unfortunately, the problem is exploited by dealers who are looking for opportunities in the narrow.They will peddle Rolex watches at very high prices, without regard to the market price. A cautious dealer will persuade a client to buy a less popular watch first and then offer a Rolex product.The Problem is that there is no waiting list for Rolex buyers. The Swiss manufacturer can solve the problem by creating an official list for the client or guaranteeing the availability of watches at a predetermined retail price.”The majority of the overspending will go away,” Adams said.