I know that there were a lot of frustrated folks, who wanted to buy one of these, but were unable to get one. The 250 watches went through two channels -- the Hodinkee Shop (125 watches) and TAG Heuer (125 watches). The TAG Heuer watches were available through eCommerce sites and the Boutiques in certain countries. Access to the TAG Heuer eCommerce sites seems to have been limited to certain countries; same for the Boutiques, limited to certain countries. Of course, there was pre-selling through the TAG Heuer Boutiques, and presumably to some Hodinkee customers, so it would be interesting to consider how many watches were actually available at 8:00 AM this morning. The answer -- not very many.

Of course, they went quickly in the United states, and many prospective purchasers in the U.S. were frustrated by the process. If you were five minutes late to the Hodinkee Shop, then you missed them. Buyers outside the United States trying to buy through TAG Heuer seem to have faced other challenges -- international shipping, various credit cards, etc.

I know little about this, but interesting to consider how the benefits that accrue to the brand (revenue and favorable publicity) may be offset by the frustration experience by some loyal customers who miss out on the watches.

Wouldn't it be great if the best ones, that so many people want, were listed for sale in the catalog . . . you know, like in 1968? But the brands like to create scarcity . . . .show the people what they can't have? Like I said, this is not my area of expertise, and the marketing / branding folks must be able to explain this, etc.

Jeff

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: I really like the look of this one - far better job than their
: Porsche watch. Shame they’ve gone so quickly and hope they
: don’t end up being churned quickly for profit. And why only
: the US?? Will have to stick with the originals in Europe. Steve