It is not too late to get to the topic. There are three ways we buy watches. The first is a brand-operated store (such as Patek Philippe Yuandi); the second is a dealer’s specialty store (such as Hendry, Hengli); the third is a private watch manufacturer. There are also two types of watches, new and used. There is no essential difference between brand-operated stores and dealers, and all new watches are bought. Many private watch manufacturers mainly sell second watches. However, we also often see many new complete sets of new watches for sale from the hands of private watchmakers. Some of these new complete sets of new watches are discontinued models of previous years, some are new models on sale, and all have very low discounts. We are very clear and familiar with buying and selling second watches by private watchmakers, but for the new complete set sold by private watchmakers, many people will ask, where do these watches come from, and private watchmakers are neither direct brands nor distributors? Where do individual individuals get these new watches even from the new watch, and is much cheaper than the brand stores? And this is a common phenomenon not only at home but also worldwide. Below, I will explain the problem with what I know.
First, let’s take a look at how watches are sold worldwide.
The conventional watch sales system is like this. The brand produces new watches. The watches are sold to the officially certified big dealers at a relatively low discount. The big dealers then sell the watches to the next certified retailer. Brands or dealers, retail stores, buy new watches for sale. So it’s obvious that folk watchmakers are not in this system, but they do get these new watches, and at a very low discount. To put it simply, the source for folk watch makers to obtain new sets of watches at low discounts is to clear the stock and clear the inventory (I will explain in detail below).
In the world, these folk watch manufacturers have always existed, but because the network has not been popular now, the scale cannot be compared with the present. In the past, private watchmakers also mainly operated physical stores, but because there was no internet or microcredit to promote watch sales at that time, they had little influence, and they also opened stores waiting for watch buyers to come. So in the past, it had little effect on watch brands and dealers. With the Internet now, the situation has completely changed. Let me first say a thing from the previous two days. A friend asked me to buy a new watch (because of the protection of the brand, I can’t confess the specific watch, but from the price of the watch and the market price, I think senior watch friends will know what the watch is). The price of this watch is more than 44,000. I got him a watch from a watch manufacturer. The new full warranty watch is more than 25,000, which is almost 50% off the price. Second-hand prices are lower). This price is impossible to buy watches from brand stores. To be honest, if everyone knows the watch market, the consequences for the watch brand are unthinkable, because no one will enter the store and buy the watch at the price. But this phenomenon is actually caused by the watch brand itself.
Where did the new complete set come from?
Many brands and watchmakers will answer this question (this is also the way we usually hear the most explanation): watch shops in some countries and regions have withdrawn, so some watches will be sold at low prices. This may indeed be the source of a very small number of watches, because we think and know for ourselves how many watches can be sold at a low price in a store, how can it support a whole new set of watches in the secondary market? This is obviously not the main reason. The main reason is to clear the goods and inventory.
First, let’s talk about the main source of the new complete set of the secondary market, the dealers clear the inventory. Many watches cannot be sold, the backlog of watches cannot be realized, and the funds cannot be returned to maintain normal operations. Therefore, they must be cleared at low prices. However, the problem is that watch brands officially have strict controls on dealers, and dealers are not allowed to sell watches to shoppers who buy watches at very low discounts, so dealers can only find ways to clear their own goods. Therefore, dealers will sell these brand-new complete sets of watches directly to the private second-hand watch makers at low discounts for the sake of shipment, so that they can clear the payment. In addition to cashing back the money, there is another reason that the dealer needs a large number of shipments, which is the return point (in fact, I am not very sure about this, I only heard about it, for your reference, please correct me). For example, if a dealer sells 1 million items a year, the brand will give some rebates to the dealers, so even if the dealers ship to private watchmakers at low discounts, the profit looks very low, but with annual sales The rebate of the total amount will still have additional profits. In addition to these large shipments, we all know that some private watch manufacturers, second watch manufacturers and distributors have a good relationship and can directly get some watches.
Patek Philippe ‘Watch King’ 5175, this watch is a double-sided watch, a total of 7 produced, 1 in the Patek Philippe Museum, 6 sold. Soon after the release, domestic watchmakers got the watch.
In addition to dealers, another source of brand new complete new watches is the brand itself. The brand itself will also supply directly to some folk watch manufacturers, especially some special models, tight models and models not found in general stores. A friend of a colleague of mine used to buy and sell folk watches between Asia and Europe. In fact, some folk watch manufacturers have a large staff size and strong brand relationships (these tasks can not be done by one or two people). These folk watchmakers maintain close relationships with high-level brands and brand family members, including Patek Philippe. So when Patek Philippe’s new watch king 5175 came out, some people in the country soon got 5175 and sold it to the outside world (there are only 6 of the 5175 sold in the world). The reason is here.
Rolex Detective 216570 is a typical example, with a price of more than 60,000 and a secondary market of more than 30,000. For other brands of watches, the price is close to 200,000, and the secondary market has fallen by more than 30,000. This illustrates the problem.
How will this affect the brand?
For players who have been playing watches for many years, many people will not go directly to the store to buy watches. They know the market and models themselves. Whether it is a second-hand or a new complete set, they should directly find a familiar watch manufacturer to get the watch. These are no secrets. Everyone is the same. Obviously, this will have some impact on watch brands. Many people definitely think that if you do n’t enter the store to buy the watch at the price, you will find someone to get the watch with a low discount or buy a second watch directly at a lower price, which will affect the brand’s income. But I don’t think this is a big problem. The bigger problem is that secondary market transactions allow people to directly understand the true value of the brand and the level of the brand. For example, Rolex with more than 60,000 yuan has basically reached more than 30,000 to 40,000 in the secondary market, but some brands have a price of nearly 200,000. In the secondary market, it has directly changed to more than 30,000 to 40,000. You said it was terrible? Therefore, the secondary markets of the private market and the auction market directly make some brands of watches without the ‘concealed cloth’ to show people’s true appearance. When you learn that you are about to buy a watch with a price of nearly 200,000, the secondary market is actually worth 3 If 10,000 yuan, who would buy such a watch? This is the biggest impact on the brand (for the protection of some brands, I can only tell you which watches are more stable, but I can’t tell you which watches have shrunk severely).
Patek Philippe 5077P is a very rare Patek Philippe enamel watch. No matter in the auction or the private market, you can see one by accident. In short, I have never seen a second-hand.
Can watch brands avoid this problem?
First of all, I want to share with you two brands that are in better condition. One is Patek Philippe and the other is Rolex. Among them, the situation of Patek Philippe is the best. For the same example, it is difficult to see Patek Philippe’s popular watches in the private market and the secondary market. Not to mention the brand new complete set, there are very few second watches, let alone discounts. Recently, the most typical is 5711. This watch is so tight that it has to wait in line. It is a good thing that the secondary market does not raise prices. In addition to 5711, enamel 5077 like Patek Philippe is rare. Although Rolex is not very tight, but because there is a market, the value of the secondary market is very stable, and some popular models also need to wait for the first time to wait for the heat to drop. So we can easily see that, in general, Patek Philippe and Rolex are in short supply. According to foreign figures, if a brand sells 90% of its watches every year, there will be no clearance or inventory clearance, and the value of the brand will remain high. Unfortunately, most brands fail to achieve this.
Some people may say that brands can produce fewer watches. The problem now is that the supply is too large and the market cannot digest it. That’s true, but can brands really reduce production? I find it difficult. Existence is reasonable, and perhaps maintaining the status quo is the best choice.