The Hour Glass

For a local who cannot escape paying the GST, true, he/ she should know where to get the best quote for Rolexes or PPs. *wink wink*

But for a tourist who gets the 7% rebate when leaving SG, I believe most will want to be pampered and wowed for spurging on the timepiece. I believed the market is big enough for all the retailers.

Afterall, PP will not want to see a price war being fought.

(29-01-2013, 04:30 PM)WolfT Wrote: When someone wants to buy a rolex or PP. He will look around to get the best price. Service do very little to the consideration. As long as THG watches price stay competitive,it should do ok.

(29-01-2013, 04:49 PM)guru Wrote: For a local who cannot escape paying the GST, true, he/ she should know where to get the best quote for Rolexes or PPs. *wink wink*

But for a tourist who gets the 7% rebate when leaving SG, I believe most will want to be pampered and wowed for spurging on the timepiece. I believed the market is big enough for all the retailers.

Afterall, PP will not want to see a price war being fought.

(29-01-2013, 04:30 PM)WolfT Wrote: When someone wants to buy a rolex or PP. He will look around to get the best price. Service do very little to the consideration. As long as THG watches price stay competitive,it should do ok.

A tourist would have done their homework back at their home country before coming here to buy. In their heart, they would have a base price already. Same thing for us when we go oversea to buy.
A few % disc means a few hundred off per 10k.
They will still shop around, trust me

(29-01-2013, 03:01 PM)Musicwhiz Wrote: Just for info - I don't even own a watch, much less a luxury one.

Well, most people dont own a watch to tell time anymore....

The value proposition of HG starts when a consumer start to think about what they want to put on their wrist to show their individualism and uniqness...

from what i understand, watch retailers are price takers and do not have the ability to price their watches. The pricing is determined by the watchmaker. Of course, if there is lack of discipline, the retailers will offer discount out of their own margin though for Rolex they are very strict on the discount issue.

not 100% sure on this so do correct me if i am wrong

(vested)

(29-01-2013, 05:18 PM)shanrui_91 Wrote: from what i understand, watch retailers are price takers and do not have the ability to price their watches. The pricing is determined by the watchmaker. Of course, if there is lack of discipline, the retailers will offer discount out of their own margin though for Rolex they are very strict on the discount issue.

not 100% sure on this so do correct me if i am wrong

(vested)

(Vested)

True and not true. If u are talking about launches, i supposed the watch makers will want to ensure the price is right for a launch.

Post launch, and more rare watches are determined by retailer . ie free market. Hublot series that was sold ie the S$5 million price tag watch is a case in point.

I am more concerned about the loss of the "feel good" feeling that is required for retail to give it the margins.
If that feeling evaporates, then it will be very bad for HG and may even have inventory write downs.

Diworsesification happening?

selling chocolates? omg... what is management thinking????

well... osim did well with TWG... haha.

Result is not far away from expectation as seen from the latest swiss export to singapore data and I am prepared to accept the lacklustre result

However as a shareholder, I am much more disappointed with the latest move. Apparently, it seemed like the rise in inventory of $50 million seemed to come from this new retail network for Ladureé of which I don't see any synergy other than for the purpose of boosting revenue and profit. No doubt Laduree has a very strong brand equity for its macaron but it is questionable of their success in Singapore especially given that THG has failed in most of its non-watch businesses. Perhaps it is true that the leopard never changes its spot.

Its either an exit option now or to wait till April to see its initial success or failure. Will try to view it more rationally since there are companies like Cocoa Tree that has done very well when it comes to confectionery.

I thought i will have hold on to this luxury watch retailer for at least 2 more years but it seemed like THG see themselves as a luxury retailer instead throughout the media statement. Hard deliberation but it reminds us of the importance of margin of safety that can facilitate exit option when the times come for it

(vested for more than a year)

Buy Rolex free macaroons!
But seriously I feel we should give them a chance. It could be a new revenue line.

It is still luxury products. Consumable some more.
Don't think setting up would cause much capex, if it succeeds it's huge return compared to the capex.

Keep talking about ROE but what's roe if you company dont invest.