OllyW wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 12:48 pm

Hicksmat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:05 am Making the case to buy a CW watch even harder. Competitive market also, CW may hit bumpy waters. They need a serious rebrand if they are pitching themselves at a higher price point. If they want to be Bremont #2 then they need more than just raising prices.

I don't think the upcoming price increase is an attempt to pitch themselves at a higher price point. Manufacturing costs have gone crazy over the last couple of years so CW have eventually had to raise their prices as they are already operating at a tight margin compared to most other Swiss brands.

It does mean they may face losing some sales in the short term but running at a loss is a much greater risk.

Agree 100% - although they are already running at a loss and have been for a few years while, so they have a delicate balancing act of raising prices without scaring people off, as their actual sales turnover is pretty much static year-on-year, certainly taking inflation into account (which funnily enough is what is apparently driving the price increase).

I'm pretty grateful I'm not in retail, I couldn't cut it!

Hi, been looking at a new watch and the trident 300 pro was number 1 on the list, then I see price increases and no more discount vouchers?

kopitedavo wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 12:34 am Hi, been looking at a new watch and the trident 300 pro was number 1 on the list, then I see price increases and no more discount vouchers?

Afraid so. Discount vouchers ended in December 2022.

Now is the best time to get that Trident Pro 300 before the April increases.

The specs, looks and value that the Trident Pro 300 under the current pricing is unparalleled in the watch market.

Is a toss up between the trident and the venezianico nereide ceramic. Lovely looking watch as well.

I really appreciate the transparency. But it would have been great if they told us the price increases. I think I remember that last time they increased prices, they told us by how much? Or was that Formex

missF wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:40 pm

jkbarnes wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:23 pm Am I the only whose primary issue with the email is the centered text? It’s driving me nuts!

Could be worse- it could have been written in Comic Sans

Many of us have been complaining about left aligned text & dull sans serif fonts for years. CW is clearly damned if they do & damned if they don’t!

When I first saw CW’s email about the price increase, the phrasing of “As is the Christopher Ward way” caught my attention. My inner Star Wars nerd reminded me of the Mandalorian saying, "This Is the Way", which exemplifies what it means to be a Mandalorian their beliefs and values.

I started thinking about what “As is the Christopher Ward way” means and how many other watch companies don’t follow the “Way”. A 60:60 guarantee on each sale, a Swiss made watch, a pricing model of three time the cost, a free quarterly publication, free delivery on sales, and to top all of that you can email the CEO and actually receive a response.

No one likes price increases, not you, me or especially Christopher Ward. Not many companies are so open about their business model and will give three-week notice of a pending price increase. Sorry, not trying to sound like a Christopher Ward fanboy but I guess I am, “This Is the Way”.

Squale has also informed about their increase in february. So did Formex last week and Sinn too. Both brands will rise their prices in early april, just like CW

Sounds just like yearly increases by all the major carriers at the same time every January.

Email received from CW yesterday;-



Guy

Sent from my XPERIA 5 III using Tapatalk

Does anyone know roughly what percentage the increase will be thanks

shedboy66 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 10:36 pm Does anyone know roughly what percentage the increase will be thanks

CW have never previously signalled the amount of their proposed price increases which, in the past, have been modest circa. £50 - £100 per watch.

This is unlike other notable Brands who operate with Authorised Dealers, where it is common for the amount of an increase to be promulgated several weeks in advance, which allows the ADs to let their customers know.

Guy