Breitling’s chief digital and technology officer, Antonio Carriero, says its #BreitlingSelect pre-owned watch subscription service “gives the choice to our clients through an exemplary digital experience of uniquely leveraging our digital properties to bring additional benefits to experiencing Breitling and its iconic watches. Always with the customer at the center, for a deeper engagement”.
No, we don’t know what that means either. So we went back to Breitling to get a few answers on how #BreitlingSelect works.
WatchPro: I pay $450 up front and $129 per month, so a total just shy of $2,000 in the first year, right?
Breitling: Yes, correct for one-off $450 and then $129 per month over 12 months, the duration of #BreitlingSelect service.
This is assuming you (as the client) do not purchase a watch from the #BreitlingSelect collection during those 12 months, in this case your subscription automatically ends and you are not further billed afterwards while you enjoy your Breitling that you purchased through a Special offer.
WatchPro: So I get to try three pre-owned Breitling watches during that year. Is that four months with each watch so I always have one?
Breitling: You choose the duration for each rotation (try-out experience), ranging between 1 month and 6 months for each. So, according to your wishes, you could start with two watches for 5 months each and one for 2 months.
Or only two watches for 6 months each. Or two watches for 3 months each and the remaining watch for 6 months.
Soon we will allow for additional try-out opportunities via a #BreitlingSelect extension, unlocking a larger number of watches over those 12 months.
WatchPro: What watches are included in the offer? What is the typical value of each watch? What condition will they be in? What will you do with the watches customers wear and return?
Breitling: Watches available from the #BreitlingSelect collection come from a selected, dedicated assortment of fully refurbished watches to ensure the full experience of Breitling’s high-quality products.
Additionally, each strap, other than metal bracelets, will be automatically replaced between two rotations.
The watches come from across Breitling collections: Superocean, Avenger, Navitimer. Their average value stands at $4,900, all watches being in refurbished condition.
Each watch is refurbished after each rotation, checked, polished if needed, and its strap is changed for a brand new one, all done directly by Breitling of course.
WatchPro: What will the special offer be once I choose one of the watches? How much of a discount? Will the $2,000 paid in the first year be a minimum discount? Will it always be below retail prices for new versions of the same watch?
Breitling: The watches are in refurbished condition so their pricing will be aligned with CPO offering, obviously not retail price of a brand new watch.
The amount spent in monthly fees will be converted into Squad points that can be redeemed to benefit from the special offer, this is not the case of the one-off fee that covers all the logistic and refurbishment fees of the three watches that you enjoy over 12 months.
So the special offer price will be composed as follows: Special Offer = RSP – CPO status – Squad Points Valorization.
WatchPro: Your release mentions that this will be rolled out to Breitling retail partners around the world. How will it work for retailers? Will they manage it themselves or will they resell a service managed directly by Breitling?
Breitling: The model with Breitling retail partners will be unveiled after a few months of operation to allow for optimal functioning across our network so we cannot yet describe its finalized shape. We will learn from the initial offering to offer the most benefit to Breitling end-customers across all channels.
WatchPro: What is the purpose of this offer as far as Breitling is concerned? Why not just buy and sell trade-in watches?
Breitling: This offer caters to Breitling aficionados, to give them the freedom to try several models during an extended period of time and from the experience determine what is the best Breitling watch for them … or keep enjoying many more.
It is very different than the trading-in and trade-up that the brands actually already offers on Breitling.com. On this, an exciting new offer will also be soon unveiled!
