zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Dear John, Steve...

: I understand your feelings and that the
: negative outcome for your personal AD is a
: highly emotional issue. However I also
: understand Omega's way to become a more
: exclusive brand. And they just behave in a
: very consequent way.

: Why doesn't Gelber & Mundy upgrade its
: whole store regarding offered watch brands?
: Does he have to invest in expensive interior
: decoration? Or would he risk loosing too
: much money by surrendering other
: lower-positioned brands? I am sure, there
: would be a way for him to keep the
: Omega-brand. But this doesn't work without
: compromises from his side.

: In light of the proceeding globalization in the
: field of luxury brands (Chinese and other
: developing markets), Omega just intend to
: get rid of the mass-product-image by
: reducing the numers of their outlets. This
: is a painful process but without this
: consequent step, Omeaga will dilute with
: other mid- and low-level brands like TAG
: Heuer, Ebel, Sinn and other brands. This
: might be a way too, but they didn't choose
: this way to go.

: Omega is within a real transition period.

: Regarding Sean's comment "to finally
: switch over to a decent Rolex": I just
: sold my brand-new DD since I neither liked
: the watch nor the brand.

: Felix

Hi Felix,

You are certainly entitled to your opinion on Omega's "new direction", so I won't argue with you about that. I do, however, want to clarify your other comments about my AD making "compromises". The fact is, Omega took away my AD's status with absolutely NO NOTICE. It wasn't until an order of watches never arrived that my AD called and found out his account had been suspended and that his AD status had been revoked. No one from Omega even had the decency to call and tell him. This was INEXCUSABLE behavior on Omega's part.

Further, my AD arranged a meeting with Omega USA and the Swatch Group to try to find out what he could do to keep his AD status. He told Omega that he would make improvements to his store, including giving Omega its own "boutique" section and more display and window space. However, Mr. Swift, the President of Omega USA, was adamant that their store did not fit Omega's new "image". In fact, my AD mentioned that Mr. Swift used the word "image" so many times during the conversation that it made him nauseous.

At one point, when my AD was trying to discuss the things he could do to improve his store and keep his AD status, Mr. Swift had the audacity to reply, "We're having two different conversations. I'm talking about brand image.". It was abundantly clear that this was the only thing Mr. Swift was concerned with.

In a nutshell, my AD was more than willing to make any compromises Omega would have asked him to make, but Omega chose to just revoke his AD status without giving him the opportunity to make any changes. Also, many of the lower end watch brands my AD carries are Swatch Group brands like Tissot and Longines, and the President of the Swatch Group made it clear that she wanted him to keep selling those brands.

So, my AD didn't just sit stubbornly by. He really did make a very strong effort by offering to do anything he could to retain his AD status. It was Omega who refused to listen and compromise, not my AD.

-John