The Wynn & Co. Jewellery store has become one of the most successful watch and jewellery stores in the United States. Europa Star caught up with Douglas C. Bradstreet, Fine Watch and Jewellery Buyer for Wynn, on the opening day of the Wynn Macao resort to talk about watch retailing, Wynn’s success in Vegas and hopes for Macao.




From left to right: Thierry Oulevay, President Jean Dunand; Douglas C. Bradstreet, Fine Watch and Jewellery Buyer Wynn Resorts Ltd., Steve Wynn, Chairman & CEO Wynn Resorts Ltd., Terri Monsour, Senior Vice President Retail and Steven M. Holtzman, President Luxury Watch Distribution Inc.


ES: Who is the Wynn customer?

DB: Our customers are from across the board as we have a lot of international traffic, including the Chinese who are very big watch customers. The Chinese are the ultimate shoppers, it is what they do for fun - for a family outing, they go shopping. In Macao we expect to have a lot of folks from Hong Kong as well as from Mainland China. In Las Vegas, our best customer is for high-end watches. Our aim is to attract the top 3% so our customers are affluent. The people who stay at the Wynn are not your traditional, everyday customers.

ES: How has business been in Las Vegas since you opened in 2005?

DB: Business is unbelievable at the moment. I am running one million dollar increases every month over last year. My goal last year was single digits and I am going to be in the mid double digits this year - just in Vegas. My business in the jewellery store has increased 100% since I have put Rolex in a separate store. We are exceeding our goals with Rolex by 100% each month on its own; it’s huge, amazing, surreal, it is so good.

ES: What is the secret to your success?

DB: I try to provide products that no one else has. For example, in my jewellery store in Macao, 80% of the merchandise can only be found in my store in the whole of Asia. In Las Vegas 80% of the goods are exclusive. I have brands like Buccelati where there are only 12 doors in the US and Laura Munder who is in maybe a total of 20 doors. The average person who shops with us cannot find that product in their hometown jeweller. As for our Rolex selection, I buy everything, all of the fully jewelled stuff, as well as the things that they only have one or two of in the US, and I buy it in quantity so when I sell a stainless steel and gold blue submariner, I have four more waiting in reserve.

ES: Do you have a free choice regarding the brands you work with?

DB: I make the decisions about brands. I have had brands that I have asked to leave which I generally don’t do. Personality and partners are important to me when choosing watch brands as they can be very difficult and demanding. We want partners that want to work with us, not ones that want to dictate to us. We asked one high-end brand to leave because they didn’t want to be partners. They were rude and condescending. Now they are begging to come back.




VIP only
The Wynn Macao watch and jewellery store is in a separate VIP wing, where only the ‘high rollers’ have access. With timepieces like Jean Dunand, whose prices are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, it is strictly out-of-bounds to those of us just wanting to try our luck on the slot machines!


ES: How do you get along with the other retailers in Las Vegas?

DB: Phenomenally well. There is so much business in Las Vegas. I run a very clean business and I don’t discount - at all. I don’t play any of the games and I follow the rules. The other legit-imate jewellers in town, like the Tesorinis, and all the others, follow suit with that.

ES: What advice would you give to other retailers?

DB: Think outside the box. When I opened my store, I cannot begin to tell you how many people, including brands, told me that I was crazy and stupid and that it would never work. And those same brands today are begging to be there. I give people what they can’t get anywhere else. It may look different, it may be unusual, but in the long run it is going to make business happen. I am doing the same thing in Macao and the Chinese are looking at me like I’m crazy. I bought Mark Patterson’s jewellery collection and people said it wouldn’t sell, but the first customer who walked in the store bought six pieces – even before the store was open!
You have to think differently and run a clean business. We do a lot of training – all the basic things you need to do to run a business, but for the most part, without being different, you look like everyone else. Even my store here in Macao is different from the store in Las Vegas – there are many of the same brands, but the selection is very different. It is a totally different business ground. Our Rolex stores look nothing alike. We have 800+ Rolex watches in each store. Very few jewellers in the United States, or in the world for that matter, have that kind of selection. I keep an inventory of 800+ watches – the goal is to have over a 1000 Rolex watches in stock.

ES: What is your biggest challenge?

DB: To be different. Finding those designers, finding those pieces, like the Jean Dunands that are unique pieces. It is also very important to me to find a brand or a dealer that has the standards to upkeep the name.

ES: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the watch industry today?

DB: Discounting is at a point where if you don’t discount, you lose the sales. You don’t look as if you are a player in the business if you don’t discount. Luckily, our no discount policy hasn’t hurt us as we have an incredible resort behind us and an amazing selection. I buy the most complicated watches that others are not brave enough to buy, so I always have unique things. But what happens with the watch business is that when everyone discounts it hurts the name, you devalue the merchandise. When you can find top brands at any boutique for 25 - 30% off and the retailers are not making any money - what is the point?

ES: Do you predict that discounting will be more of an issue in your Macao store than in Las Vegas?

DB: Definitely. It has nothing to do with the price; it’s a sport here in Asia. The Chinese are negotiators - that’s what they do for fun. So I am going to kill them with kindness, I am going to kill them with service and I am going to give them a selection that they can’t find in one store - that they can’t find elsewhere in this region.

ES: How do you think your business is going to differ between Las Vegas and Macao?

DB: It will be similar. There are still going to be many tourists. There is still going to be a great deal of international traffic. I think my business here will, in a few years, exceed Vegas. Macao right now is Las Vegas ten years ago and it is about to explode.

ES: Are there any cultural considerations to take into account in Macao?

DB: Yes, there are lots of superstitions. For instance, when I bought my jewellery, anything that had any relevance to the number four - four diamonds for example, I didn’t buy it (the number four in Chinese sounds like the Chinese word for death). If it had eight diamonds, I bought every piece of it. Eight is a very lucky number here. In China, the people are very knowledgeable about pearls and jade. Why go into a market that they are experts in and I’m not? I can’t compete with them on price, so I avoid pearls and jade like the plague.

ES: What is your favourite watch?

DB: Rolex is my favourite because of what I have done with it and the relationship that I have built over the last two years; it is amazing. Craftsmanship wise – Jean Dunand, Patek Philippe.

ES: What does time mean to you?

DB: It is precious, very precious. I am a cancer survivor. I live every second as if it is my last. Some days it goes way too fast and some days it goes way too slow.


Name: Wynn Macau
Opening Macau: September 6th, 2006
No of employees: 25
Size: 1,200 square feet / 111 square metres
Size of Rolex store: 1,100 square feet / 102 square metres
Watch brands carried: Rolex and Jean Dunand so far.

Name: Wynn Las Vegas
Opening date: April 28th 2005.
No of employees: 30
Size: 4,500 square feet / 418 square metres
Size of Rolex store: 1,100 square feet / 102 square metres
Average sale: US$7,500
Price range: US$200 – US$2,000,000
Watch brands carried: A. Lange & Söhne, Anonimo, Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Buccelati, Corum, Girard- Perregaux, Harry Winston, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jean Dunand, Laura Munder, Noa, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin.
Best selling watch: Rolex


Source: Europa Star October-November 2006 Magazine Issue

EUROPA STAR LAUNCHES TRAINING COURSE FOR RETAILERS