David Rosenthal: uncertainty

Transcript context

…Yup. By 1989 it’s extremely clear that their strategy is working. Along with Patek Philippe, they had record sales that year. Record amidst this craziness. Patek was similar to Rolex in their strategy. They had early exploration into quartz, but they came to the same conclusion. Our company is not going to be good at this, so we either need to die trying, or we need to really lean into this heritage handcrafted craftsmanship thing. But it’s actually an easier decision for them because they’re only making 9000 watches a year at this point. Rolex is making 100,000. It really was, as you say, an incredibly well-managed but ballsy decision on Rolex’s part. Patek also, at least now, I don’t know if it was the case back then, they’re in a very different part of the market than Rolex. They’re in the dress watch complication world. Yes. Listeners, we’ve been lying to you this whole episode. Rolex is actually not a luxury company.…

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