 Logo | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Timepieces |
| Founded | United States |
| Headquarters | Newport Beach, California |
| Number of locations | 1 |
| Services | Resale |
| Revenue | $45 million, USD (2018) |
| Number of employees | 24 (2014) |
| Website | bobswatches |
Bob's Watches is an online marketplace for the resale and trade of watches, with a focus on Rolexes. It was one of the largest watch reselling websites in the United States in 2016.
The company was founded in the mid-1990s by Bob Thompson in North Carolina as a local seller of various watch brands and models. Thompson retired in 2010 and sold the business to Paul Altieri for $8,000. Altieri relaunched the website, with a focus on reselling Rolex watches. From the beginning, its website listed the price that the company would be willing to pay for each watch alongside the price the company would sell the watch for. In 2014 it began offering buyers and sellers of Rolex watches the ability to post selling and buying prices, creating an exchange.
From 2010 the Company had a retail storefront and main offices in a small shopping center in Huntington Beach, California. In November 2018, the company moved to a retail storefront and headquarters in a 10,000 square foot, free standing office building in Newport Beach, California. Carol Altieri is Chief Operating Officer.
By 2017 grey market sales of luxury watches were "upending the global watch industry," according to Barron's; exports of new watches from Switzerland fell 10% in 2016 and there was a glut of inventory of new watches, driving prices down.
See also
References
- Corder, Rob (July 18, 2018). "The Big Interview: Bob's Watches CEO Paul Altieri Outlines the Future of the Pre-Owned Rolex Market". Watch Pro.
- "Bob's Watches – Westminster, CA". Inc.
- Binkley, Christina (March 15, 2016). "In a Collection of Luxury Timepieces, One Rolex Stands Out". Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Hsieh, Sherry (May 21, 2018). "Bob's Watches CEO Calls Site Marketing Company". Orange County Business Journal.
Altieri paid $8,000 for the business in 2010, buying it from retiring North Carolina dealer Bob Thompson and transforming it from a small local dealer .... "We list both the buy price and sell price," Altieri said. Take an 18-karat yellow gold Rolex Day-Date-Bob's prices the timepiece at $16,595, below the $17,109 regular price and the $31,350 retail price. It would pay the seller $14,000 for the model. That's no secret; the numbers are on the website.....Altieri runs the company with his wife, Chief Operating Officer Carol Altieri, and Chief Financial Officer Joe Alessandrini from a 5,000square-foot space in a Goldenwest Street shopping center. Neighbors include the Mattress Place, a Cash 4 Gold store, 405 Tropical Fish and used-clothier Plato's Closet-hardly the type of next-door neighbors one associates with a luxury watch retailer....The site offers other luxury watch brands, including Patek Philippe and Omega, but it's known for Rolexes.
- Stults, Kyle (November 18, 2013). "Making a Market in Pre-Owned Rolex: Bob's Watches". Perpetuelle. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ Adams, Susan. "Bob's Watches Brings Transparency to the Fraud-Filled Market for Used and Vintage Rolexes". Forbes. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
The site offers other luxury brands--Patek Philippe, Panerai and Omega among them--but is known for its Rolexes
- Biggs, John (March 12, 2014). "Bob's Watches Streamlines the Rolex Market with an Electronic Exchange". Tech Crunch.
- Ferrell, David (March 21, 2013). "Good Times Return for Rolex Watches". Orange County Register.
- "Bob's Watches Makes Timely Move to State-of-the-Art Newport Beach Headquarters". WBOC-TV. November 16, 2018.
- Perman, Stacy (April 21, 2017). "How to Buy Luxury Watches for 40% Off". Barron's. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
Further reading
- Murphy, Jr., Bill (February 14, 2014). "5 Things That Drive Away Customers". Inc.
External links
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