How many Rolex Authorized Dealers are There in the World?

How many Rolex Authorized Dealers are There in the World?

Rolex is, unlike what many people think, a B2-B brand. Rolex does not sell direct-to-consumer, with the exception of one official Retail store that they own in Geneva.

To distribute its watches, Rolex instead has partners, official Rolex retailers, which are independent companies. The Rolex Retailers sell Rolex watches under a distribution agreement and are not owned directly by Rolex. Simplified, the contract states, amongst other things, that Rolex agrees to send watches to the official retailer, and the retailer is then supposed to sell these watches to final customers.

Whilst many luxury watch brands have moved more and more in the direction of owning the whole distribution chain by opening up brand-owned stores, Rolex has not gone in that direction. And Rolex has shown no interest in moving in that direction either.

Whilst this would greatly improve the margins for Rolex, it also involves a lot of risk, responsibility, and administration. One reason could therefore be that Rolex doesn’t want to handle all of this. Instead, they want to focus on what they do best. developing and manufacturing wristwatches.

To distribute its watches, Rolex has official Rolex retailers around the world.

Official Rolex retailers VS non-official Rolex retailers

It’s important to point out the difference between official Rolex retailers, also known as Rolex ADs or Authorized Rolex retailers. Official Rolex retailers are the only retailers that have a direct contract with Rolex to receive new Rolex watches directly from the factory at wholesale prices. Non-official Rolex retailers are independent retailers that get their watches elsewhere, mainly from customers who have once bought the watches from Rolex retailers.

In Rolex’s own words “Only official Rolex retailers are allowed to sell and maintain a Rolex watch.”

Of course, that is not completely true as anyone is able and allowed to sell Rolex watches. But only they are allowed by Rolex.

Furthermore, they state “With the necessary skills, technical know-how, and special equipment, they guarantee the authenticity of each and every part of your Rolex and help you make the choice that will last a lifetime.”

And this is true. Every Rolex retailer received proper training, and many of them have dedicated Rolex watchmakers that have received training from Rolex to acquire the required know-how to service and maintain Rolex watches. Furthermore, as only official Rolex retailers can sell brand new watches directly from the Rolex factory, only they can activate the 5-year international Rolex guarantee.

Rolex and official retailers

As Rolex works with third parties for the distribution of its watches, the number of official Rolex retailers that the company has – and where they are located, will naturally change over the years. Some Rolex retailers will go out of business, some will end their contract with Rolex, and in up-and-coming markets, we may see a rapid increase in the number of stores that establish themselves there. For some retailers, Rolex may cancel the retailer agreement due to faulty practices and for not following the contract.

With that said, the total number of Rolex official retailers around the world can vary from year-to-year. But as with any luxury item, Rolex wants to make sure that they have an appropriate number of official Rolex retailers around the world. Too much and they may risk flooding the market with watches and devaluing the brand. Too few and they may risk selling too few watches. Rolex is also very mindful about where these Rolex retailers are located. 

As you can see if you look at where the Rolex retailers are located, it is usually in wealthy countries, and in prominent, first-class locations such as in major cities. And for natural reasons, Rolex wants to make sure that Rolex retailers are not too close to each other so that they directly compete with eachother.

How many countries have Rolex official retailers?

Rolex has official retailers in a long list of different countries. Naturally, Rolex doesn’t have retailers in every single retailer around the world. Some countries are just too small, others are poor and don’t have the clientele Rolex targets, and others are unstable and risky.

As of 2022, Rolex had official Rolex retailers in a total of 118 countries. In large, wealthy countries, Rolex can have more than 100 official Rolex stores, but in smaller countries, they may just have one. The United States is the country with the most number of official Rolex retailers, reaching a total number of 317!

The top countries with the most official Rolex retailers are (in no particular order):

• The United States
• France
• Great Britain
• France
• Germany
• Italy

How many Rolex authorized retailers are there in the world?

As of 2022, Rolex has a total of 1816 authorized retailers around the world. Note that this number changes over the years, but not dramatically.

If you want to see how the number of official Rolex retailers are distributed across the 118 countries, the equation looks as follows:

1+2+1+10+1+22+14+2+4+3+1+13+1+1+20+1+1+1+28+2+1+6+7+2+2+2+3+7+1+3+1+3+1+1+3+60+133+1+32+2+2+43+1+1+22+10+2+3+5+134+2+3+64+1+2+3+1+2+2+2+11+103+17+2+3+35+2+1+1+3+1+1+1+13+6+3+6+2+3+3+1+2+10+9+10+1+2+2+191+1+1+17+1+19+1+1+10+12+41+3+7+34+21+20+2+15+1+1+1+21+103+317+3+1+8+2+2=1816

As you can see, most countries that have at least one Rolex retailer have between 1 and 3 retailers. But then there are a few major countries that have more than a hundred.