003 nomos autobahn neomatik 41 date spatial

Nomos defends appointment of Chronext and Chrono24, saying it will help reduce online discounting

Aim is to reduce the impact of grey market dealers dumping Nomos watches at cut prices on global online platforms.

Nomos Glashütte has defended its decision to appoint Chrono24 and Chronext as authorised retailers, although it admits that it could have communicated with existing partners better.

The ultimate goal for Nomos is to limit the deep discounting of its watches on secondary market platforms where grey market dealers sell stock.

This, the company argues, will help its traditional brick and mortar retail partners.

“We want customers to buy our watches at recommended retail price. We think that a lot of customers go to the internet looking for discounts, and if they do not find discounts on the web, they go to local retailers. So this is our attempt to support local retailers,” Anke Fuhrhop, head of communications for Nomos tells WatchPro.

The logic of Nomos’s position is built on the fact that only 10% of its watches are currently purchased online with the vast majority buying from traditional authorised retailers. Ensuring that 90% of customers cannot find discounted watches online should help brick and mortar retailers.

“Roland Schwertner [Nomos’s founder] is quite convinced that retailers are not worried about the 10% of customers that buy their watches from the internet, they are more worried about the 90% asking for discounts in their shops because they have seen discounted prices online. This is what we have to explain to the retailers,” explains Ms Fuhrhop. “It is not about a small number of customers shopping online, it is about the large proportion of customers asking for discounts when they go into shops. This is why we are so keen on only displaying recommended retail prices online,” she adds.

The terms of agreements with Chrono24 are different to those agreed with Chronext. While Chronext has agreed to sell all new Nomos watches at full retail price, Chrono24 has not and continues to offer discounted watches from retailers around the world.

On Chrono24 today, customers can buy a Nomos Autobahn Neomatik 41 Date (pictured top) for £2789 from a German retailer with a 5-star rating. Chronext, Watches of Switzerland, Mr Porter and Nomos’s own website have the watch listed at full RRP of £3800.

Chrono24 CEO Tim Stracke says it is not the role of platforms like his to decide who is allowed to sell and at what price. “We are a marketplace and completely transparent,” he insists.

Despite the decision by Wempe to de-list Nomos, the watchmaker says it will not reverse its decision and will in fact go further. “We have started with two and we will extend the strategy, but I cannot talk about the next steps. We will not stop here, that is for certain,” Ms Fuhrhop states.

 

THE BIG INTERVIEW: Nomos head of communications explains partnerships with Chrono24 and Chronext

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *