Rolex's Marketing Mix Strategy

About Rolex

Rolex SA. Rolex, a famous luxury watch company, was formerly the Wilsdof and Davis company, founded by Alfred Davis and his cousin Hans Wilsoft in 1905, in London. As of 2014, Rolex's estimated revenue according to several sources reported by Rolex was approximately $4.6 billion. Although most of the luxury, classy wristwatches are made in Switzerland, Rolex maintains a network of more than 4,000 highly trained and expert watchmakers across 100 countries. In the world. Since its inception, Rolex has built and maintained its position in the high-end watch market with a marketing mix focused on providing value to customers.

Product

Rolex's core difference from its competitors lies in the product line it offers to the market..

Accuracy standards

In 1910, Rolex brought to the consumer community the first wristwatch with the "Swiss Certificate of Precision" certification. This certification is awarded by the Official Watch Rating Centre. Then, in 1914, the royal organization Kew Observatory (also known as King's Observatory) awarded a Class A certificate of accuracy to another Rolex watch, and to this day, the one. That clock was preserved and used as a time measuring device for the navy. Since that time, Rolex watches have gradually become recognized worldwide as the standard measure of accuracy for other types of watches.

The first waterproof watch

In 1926, Rolex took a giant leap when it began to develop the world's first waterproof watch, the "Oyster" (Moat). Years later, one of the Oyster watches that hit the market was worn by Mercedes Gleitze, a hugely popular British female swimmer. The watch on Mercedes Gleitze's hand is still in good working condition after more than 10 hours of swimming underwater. This event helps Rolex get convincing evidence and great buzz about the quality of the products, as well as contributing a large part to the brand value. After that event, Oyster watches also began to appear on the hands of many other famous personalities, such as Winston Churchill, Che Guevara, Eminem. Not only that, in 1953, Rolex launched the next generation of waterproof watches, called "Submarine", with water resistance to a depth of 100m. That same year, during an expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary, equipping members with Rolex "Oyster Perpetual" wristwatches, his crew reached the first summit of Everest. Up to this point, the meaning of the Rolex brand for consumers beyond precision is also achievement, certainty, robustness and reliability.

Sophisticated and elegant design

From the moment the first wristwatch was launched, consumers were impressed by its sophisticated design. Even the smallest details, from the hour hand, the dial to the textures... on the watch are all very finely crafted as well as highly finished overall. In addition to enhancing the quality of the product, the selection of high-quality materials also helps Rolex become a symbol of luxury and high-class.

Place

Selective distribution channel

Distribution-wise is a word often used when referring to Rolex distribution channels. Instead of mass distribution like competitors, Rolex chose to distribute exclusively through jewelry stores, and this increased Rolex's uniqueness in the minds of consumers. If a jewelry store becomes officially the exclusive distributor of Rolex, the reputation of the store and the surrounding area is also significantly increased. Although limiting the number of distributors will limit customer access, it also helps Rolex control problems arising in the distribution process, as well as minimize costs. distribution for businesses.

Year after year, Rolex keeps the number of products hitting the market to a limited extent even during times of high demand. For high-class and luxury products and services, the scarcity in the market will help increase the value of that product, and also help that product gain high appreciation from the consumer community in the long run. long. Rolex of course does not have any retail channels on the Internet. The manufacturer's website only provides information and images about the product lines and the official distributors with which Rolex is affiliated.

Price

Pricing strategy to affirm the value of products and brands

The pricing strategy that Rolex employs is also extremely different in theory and practice from its competitors. In addition to positioning the brand according to the "more for more" strategy, almost from the time of the Rolex launch until now, the company still pursues the policy of sky-high prices, almost without mentioning the price. competition in the market. Besides, Rolex also did not launch any discount programs to customers, because the company knew that customers would accept to pay a large amount to own their products. Even in times of economic downturn, there are still many customers looking to buy Rolex watches.

Promotion

Promotion & communication strategy to convey brand value

In terms of promotion and communication, Rolex very effectively uses communication tools, including newspapers and publications for the high-end product/service market, to affirm its brand position. . One of the typical names is the Financial Times and Vogue. In addition, Rolex is also very active in sponsorship, mainly for sports and physical competitions and activities such as golf, horseback riding, sailing and tennis. Since 1978 until now, Rolex is one of the often mentioned organizing partners at the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament. A special thing about this tournament is that the timekeeping tool for each match is a Rolex watch. In 2013, Rolex reached the 30th consecutive year of sponsoring the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Rolex also deducts part of its budget and resources for Digital and Online media channels. Also in 2013, Rolex's Facebook Fanpage reached 5.6 million likes, and this number far exceeds that of heavyweights like Breitling or Carter. Rolex uses Facebook's "scorecard" app, twitter hashtags, and videos featuring its branded content, and leverages interactive features to chat with customers about what's going on. problems related to the use and experience of the product. Rolex started building its YouTube channel in 2012, with videos that are mostly in-house reportage of experiences on expeditions in the North, South, and Himalayas.

All promotional tools and communication tools are consistent in conveying the message: "People who buy and use Rolex watches are wealthy, attractive, healthy, active and towards exciting lives". The image that Rolex aims to be is that Rolex is the motto and reward for success.

Rolex SA business is also aimed at the young and high-end segment

With the initial success of Rolex, in 1926, Rolex SA registered the trademark Tudor (Montres Tudor SA) and began producing smart watches under this brand. Unlike Rolex when positioning the brand in the high-end segment, Tudor aims at the less high-end segment, as well as the product design style, marketing strategy aimed at target customers who are young people. . Of course, in order to avoid any negative effects between its two brands, Rolex SA adopts a completely separate marketing strategy and program for Tudor from Rolex.

Rolex's Challenging Future

Going forward, Rolex will be able to face increasingly fierce competition, especially in the Asian market, as competitors look for new ways to increase market share. Groups providing luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and Campagnie Financiere Richemont are taking advantage of the advantage of scale to reduce costs in advertising and marketing activities. In addition, these corporations also target young customers to create market potential.