Omega boutique stores
I went into my local Omega store and noticed that they have only a sparse number of Omega watches on hand. I tried a few on and noticed they had them at a pretty good price, I was pleasantly surprised.
Come to find out that they are no longer an Omega authorized dealer. They can not offer the Omega warranty and will only give the in store one year warranty.
What I was told is that Omega is going to only have Omega boutique stores, and they had been dropped as a dealer. Does anybody know if this is a business model going into effect world wide or could this be that just this dealer has been dropped, by the way the dealer has probably 20 outlets so it is not a small mom and pop jeweler.
Speedmaster has sent me down the rabbit hole.
Seems like when Omega opens a Boutique they cut off the ADs in the area so they own the market. It happened here in Seattle. The Boutiques are less likely to give discounts but you can get some free stuff.
This is happening more and more lately. I've seen the same thing happening with Longines and Oris. Seems to be the latest trend and I'm sure more will follow suit.
It’s certainly true in Sweden. My two go-to ADs (one local and one in the Capital) has lost their AD status within a year. And yes, a new Omega boutique is soon to be opened in the Capital.
I have a very good working relationship with the former AD of Omega. Great service, and price discounts. Sure do hate to loose that.
My dealer also handles Longines as well I hope they keep their status with them.
My city has two Omega boutiques, one smaller one that's part of a larger luxury shopping building, and another double-storey place that's entirely Omega. There's actually a third one a little farther away too, also a full-size one. So that's three!
And it seems like they need all three too, because when I visited the larger one in the city they had a sign out front saying they were at maximum capacity, despite there being zero customers and three employees lounging around on the ground floor of the boutique.
So, sounds like the Big 'O' is eliminating the middleman. Meanwhile, it helps them justify the big overhead, fancy 'brick & mortar' boutiques. Seems like they're copying Apple more than Rolex.