Heard Ben Bridge Jeweler losing AD status

[Fleetlord]

I would expect it to be consolidation of locations where it makes sense

Rolex still has too many AD's to support

[csaltphoto]

Originally Posted by Bmats

I imagine that the location in SF had something to do with it. The area by Union Square has become so much less desirable and retailers are leaving the area. It’s a shame because it was a great area and hopefully it comes back. But if you’re a store and are going to consolidate moving down the peninsula makes a lot of sense.

"Less desirable" is a charitable assessment. There is seemingly no law enforcement regarding property crime and no fear of getting caught in the criminals. Car break-ins are out of control. Police do nothing. I used to love going to SF but now you can't pay me to go downtown. Maybe the waterfront area.

[Basic_Satisfaction]

Originally Posted by tedo

Woodland Hills location

I don’t blame them. The service at the Woodland Hills location is a complete shit-show. I used to drop by when at the mall, and one sales associate in particular was always stuck-up, sour, and condescending. I shop with another AD which is a gem, and has earned over 6-figures of my business

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by njlam

I thank any BB located in the same city/town/area where there is a Bucherer is in danger (same goes for WOS). Rolex is not going to give these locations the best watches if they can sell thru Bucherer and make the full wholesale/retail spread.

Any Rolex AD that doesn’t have access to the most desired models won’t last long anyway.

I think the BBs that are in areas with no Bucherer dealers in the vicinity will be safe for now.


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It’s worth noting from articles that came out when Rolex purchased Bucherer…it’s way more about the real estate versus the stores. There is no evidence that Rolex wants to become a retailer and there’s not that many Bucherer stores in the US.

[painexpert]

Ben Bridge lost AD status in Nevada many years ago.

[blhar15]

I heard that they have been consolidating their AD's. I developed a relationship with my AD over the last few years, spent tens of thousands on jewelry and watches and they got cancelled by Rolex. Now I have to start all over with another AD.

[blada4life]

this is confirmed at the topanga mall location in LA area... this was confirmed by Ben Bridge and the new store that will be opening and taking over AD status at the mall. Apparently Rolex didnt like the location of the boutique and was offended they didnt put them into the corner spot for max visibility after they renovated their main showroom.

Polacheks just redid the calabasas boutique and added a rolex area and will be opening the boutique in topanga mall sometime within the next year.

"some" ben bridge employees were offered to start working there. this has been known within the locals for a few months now and has been confirmed by both ben bridge and a few at polacheks

[Santiago32]

Interesting to see what happens to Ben Bridge in Thousand Oaks. They are almost as bad as the one in the Topanga mall.


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[WS9D]

Originally Posted by csaltphoto

"Less desirable" is a charitable assessment. There is seemingly no law enforcement regarding property crime and no fear of getting caught in the criminals. Car break-ins are out of control. Police do nothing. I used to love going to SF but now you can't pay me to go downtown. Maybe the waterfront area.

I'm in the same boat. I used to love the city, but I refuse to go anymore. This will be the first opening day in over 20 years I will not be going to.

I can see why Shreve decided to move ops to their Palo Alto location. Cleaner, safer, and has more of a luxury draw now, not to mention the amount of money now in that area. There was the news article today Mtn View is now the most expensive place to live in the bay.

Ben Bridge just doesn't jump out to me as luxury so I can see why they may be consolidating. Although if I find myself in AZ, I'll have to check out that location a previous post mentioned.

[trout_thumper21]

Originally Posted by WS9D

I'm in the same boat. I used to love the city, but I refuse to go anymore. This will be the first opening day in over 20 years I will not be going to.

I can see why Shreve decided to move ops to their Palo Alto location. Cleaner, safer, and has more of a luxury draw now, not to mention the amount of money now in that area. There was the news article today Mtn View is now the most expensive place to live in the bay.

Ben Bridge just doesn't jump out to me as luxury so I can see why they may be consolidating. Although if I find myself in AZ, I'll have to check out that location a previous post mentioned.

Same here. San Francisco, like much of California, is not what it used to be. Not even close…

[Yellowfury]

the ben bridge in the silicon valley has not been a rolex AD since i've been paying attention (2019). maybe it never was.

[dauster]

They have a Rolex boutique in Hawaii at Ala Moana mall - you sure they are shutting down ?


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[dauster]

Originally Posted by EdwardC

Context and detail is important.

BB is the major watch AD in Hawaii. It has PP and VC too. I dont know anything, but I doubt this is across all BB shops.

They lost Patek that’s for sure


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[dauster]

Originally Posted by Stan Cooper

Just a thought, but Shreve & Co. in San Francisco recently moved all their Rolex sales to their location in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, and the San Francisco store is no longer an AD. I'm guessing they didn't want to make a huge investment in a Rolex boutique in both locations and the tech money in Silicon Valley made that location more attractive than downtown San Francisco..

No it’s because Kerns is opening a rolex boutique on the same street as- right across from Nike


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[RCorsa]

Not true. Ben bridge downtown seattle just built out (last summer) a massive Rolex boutique that is designed just like the Rolex boutique in Paris. I the future, not all Ben bridge will sell Rolex - only the bigger store markets that build out the Boutiques.

[BlondesNwatches]

Originally Posted by dauster

They have a Rolex boutique in Hawaii at Ala Moana mall - you sure they are shutting down ?


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I’m sure with a big boutique that Rolex won’t shut down that specific location, only a few stores probably in malls in saturated Rolex markets already.

[Commander C.]

Originally Posted by csaltphoto

"Less desirable" is a charitable assessment. There is seemingly no law enforcement regarding property crime and no fear of getting caught in the criminals. Car break-ins are out of control. Police do nothing. I used to love going to SF but now you can't pay me to go downtown. Maybe the waterfront area.

I lived in the San Francisco area from 1986-1990, then Sonoma County from 1990-1996. During the four years I was in San Francisco, my car was broken into five times. Car alarms, pull-out stereos -- none of that stopped the break-ins. One moron even tried to pry up my sunroof before he resorted to breaking my window. Three of the break-ins occurred after I had an alarm installed -- because everyone ignores car alarms. The only thing that stopped the break-ins was not having a stereo or anything else of value in the car and leaving my doors unlocked. The last time I was in San Francisco was 1998, so I don't know how bad things are now, but I can tell you that car break-ins were rampant 35 years ago, too.

[jb335]

Originally Posted by Commander C.

I lived in the San Francisco area from 1986-1990, then Sonoma County from 1990-1996. During the four years I was in San Francisco, my car was broken into five times. Car alarms, pull-out stereos -- none of that stopped the break-ins. One moron even tried to pry up my sunroof before he resorted to breaking my window. Three of the break-ins occurred after I had an alarm installed -- because everyone ignores car alarms. The only thing that stopped the break-ins was not having a stereo or anything else of value in the car and leaving my doors unlocked. The last time I was in San Francisco was 1998, so I don't know how bad things are now, but I can tell you that car break-ins were rampant 35 years ago, too.

The San Francisco today resembles nothing of the SF of 30 years ago. Or even 10.

Market St near Union Square has turned into a zombie apocalypse and there is a reason all business are getting out.


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[IFlyPlanes]

Originally Posted by Basic_Satisfaction

I don’t blame them. The service at the Woodland Hills location is a complete shit-show. I used to drop by when at the mall, and one sales associate in particular was always stuck-up, sour, and condescending. I shop with another AD which is a gem, and has earned over 6-figures of my business

That one is losing status. Another AD will be opening in that mall.

[RKunz]

My bet is Rolex is reducing the number of BB locations that will carry Rolex.

[Boothroyd]

A Rolex boutique has been announced for Minneapolis area at Southdale (interesting in itself--first enclosed mall in America, now going upscale) in 2025. BenBridge is at Mall of America with Rolex. Wonder if that will continue.

Seems like the trend of Rolex opening boutiques is accelerating. Never would have expected Minneapolis to get one. May be trouble for local Rolex dealers Wixon and R.F. Moeller, also.

[ArtNouveau]

Originally Posted by Boothroyd

A Rolex boutique has been announced for Minneapolis area at Southdale (interesting in itself--first enclosed mall in America, now going upscale) in 2025. BenBridge is at Mall of America with Rolex. Wonder if that will continue.

Seems like the trend of Rolex opening boutiques is accelerating. Never would have expected Minneapolis to get one. May be trouble for local Rolex dealers Wixon and R.F. Moeller, also.

The Rolex only Boutiques in the US are owned and run by existing ADs. My guess is RolexUSA tells area dealers they’d like to have one in an area and a bidding process is involved.
The first and I believe only one in Texas opened in the Houston Galleria almost 10 years ago, it is owned by Deutsch Jewelers, a family owned mini-chain with several stores in south Texas.
When it opened a Ben Bridge in the same mall that carried Rolex had it pulled, so yes part of buying into a Boutique is exclusivity.

[WatchEater666]

Originally Posted by jb335

The San Francisco today resembles nothing of the SF of 30 years ago. Or even 10.

Market St near Union Square has turned into a zombie apocalypse and there is a reason all business are getting out.


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Yes, I used to go San Francisco a lot starting around 2012 or 2013 and then stopped a bit before Covid. Now it’s totally out of control and just depressing to be there. Really sad.

[SkyDFan]

Originally Posted by Boothroyd

A Rolex boutique has been announced for Minneapolis area at Southdale (interesting in itself--first enclosed mall in America, now going upscale) in 2025. BenBridge is at Mall of America with Rolex. Wonder if that will continue.

Seems like the trend of Rolex opening boutiques is accelerating. Never would have expected Minneapolis to get one. May be trouble for local Rolex dealers Wixon and R.F. Moeller, also.

The store in the Mall of America is a Watches of Switzerland, formerly BenBridge. It switched a few years ago. I've also read that the Rolex boutique mentioned is actually going to be the WOS from the Mall of America, who will move to the new Southdale location and is already a Rolex Dealer. So, no new Rolex AD's in the Twin Cities. Of course, I could be wrong, but this makes more sense to me. There IS apparently an inked deal for a Breitling boutique in the new luxury deal at Southdale.

[SkyDFan]

UPDATE: on the Southdale situation: There is NO new Rolex AD, it's still WOS. There is NO new Breitling boutique, it's still WOS. The new location is going to be much larger, so each brand the store carries will have it's own mini boutique, except for Rolex which will have an oversized presence (as they always do).

[355F1]

Originally Posted by superpop

Would be surprised if it was all Ben Bridge locations. They are very strong in the PNW and most of the Rolex indy AD's kind of live in the shadow of the BB stores here. I have to admit though that the BB stores I have frequented do have that schlocky mall vibe to them. They have a fairly strong owner though, so I am guessing they will be just fine.

I bought my first Rolex at Ben Bridge in Portland, OR.

If they lose AD status that would only leave one dealer in the Portland/Salem area......their dealer in Eastern Oregon lost status a couple years ago....and there is one lone dealer down in Eugene.

No way can 2 dealers support the entire state.

[njlam]

Originally Posted by 355F1

I bought my first Rolex at Ben Bridge in Portland, OR.

If they lose AD status that would only leave one dealer in the Portland/Salem area......their dealer in Eastern Oregon lost status a couple years ago....and there is one lone dealer down in Eugene.

No way can 2 dealers support the entire state.

In Portland we now have 2 BB (both carry Rolex) and one independent AD.

One of the BBs and the independent AD are located in the downtown area, where everything you read about Portland is true. The BB in the WSM is safe, but very mall-ish.

I have not had much luck buying a Rolex from an AD in Portland. A DJ for my wife over 20 years ago, but nothing recent despite being on the list for several models.

I wonder if our highly publicized local/recent problems (crime/homelessness) has Rolex allocated less watches to our area?

[HiDive]

Originally Posted by Mr. K

I would be surprised if this happened. But hey it's Rolex, they make up their own rules.

And if they did not; whose rules should they follow? It would not surprise me at all. This is what happened to Jarad, not that it should not have. I have been to some BB locations that were terrible and some that were very nice.

[Mr. K]

Originally Posted by HiDive

And if they did not; whose rules should they follow? It would not surprise me at all. This is what happened to Jarad, not that it should not have. I have been to some BB locations that were terrible and some that were very nice.

Bought my first Rolex at Jared's. Those were the days. Walk in, full range of watches available (minus the Daytona).

Was very different 25 years ago.

[Norbert]

When they opened the Rolex Boutique in Houston Galleria, Rolex made all the ADs in the mall stop carrying Rolex including Ben Bridges and Tourneau. So maybe it's the same thing with your store.