What strategies might be put in place to mitigate
the eff ect of non-authorized points of sale - espe-
cially on the web?
One of our strategies is our Bell & Ross e-boutique, which
allows us to be very successful as an online retailer. On our
e-boutique we can off er exclusives that customers cannot
fi nd anywhere else; it also allows us to reach costumers
in remote places where we do not have a retailer carrying
our brand.
Another measure we have taken is to try to make sure
that our prices are the same all over the world. Adjusting
the diff erences created from the exchange rate so there is
no reason to look to buy in any other place than directly
from your local Bell & Ross dealer or e-boutique.
A couple of weeks ago we reduced U.S. prices to some
of our references precisely to achieve this. At the same
time, this helps to avoid the practice of trans-shipping that
takes advantage of the diff erences in the exchange rate.
In other words, it’s important to make sure we keep prices
consistent worldwide.
We also monitor Internet sales of the grey market,
checking product serial numbers to be sure our autho-
rized retailers are not feeding these markets.
Thankfully, at Bell & Ross we do not have a huge
inventory and the volume of watches we provide to stores
is always very limited; this helps us to control the second-
ary market. We are aware that the problem of the grey
market exists and are very active in taking measures to
make a fair marketplace.
What is the Bell & Ross stance on the rampant
stampede to wearable tech devices?
We believe the “wearables” are a completely diff erent expe-
rience than a traditional timepiece. Swiss watches have
emotion. It is a craft to make a watch. There is history, tradi-
tion and craftsmanship in the production of a movement
and ultimately in the quality of the fi nal piece.
Over time, a watch keeps its value; often it even increas-
es in value because of the beauty of the craft. The tech
devices with time become obsolete because their design is
constantly being reinvented and the technology upgraded.
In the future, it could be possible that we would incor-
porate some sort of technology into our watches, but our
brand will always be Swiss made and we will never create a
disposable watch.
Bell & Ross
CEO Carlos
Rosillo
WE TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR
PRICES ARE THE SAME ALL OVER
THE WORLD.
SUMMER 2017 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | 159