Travel Rogue

April 28, 2005

From Vacuum Cleaners to Rolexes

Went to an alumni event at my business school alma mater last night, where an 81-year-old David Oreck discussed his rise from military aviator to late night vacuum cleaner salesman. You could see the latter was his calling as he bonded with the packed audience, charming them with storytelling and advice. My favorite anecdote was an example he used to demonstrate the value associated with brand strength. Oreck pulled up his jacket sleeve and pointed to his watch. It was one of those black, plastic Casio deals.

"This," he said, "This is a great watch. It tells the time, it tells the date. It's got a chronograph, an alarm, and it's backlit. It's a great watch and it was $59.95."

Big deal, I think. But then he gets me. Because now he pulls up his other jacket sleeve and displays a shining gold watch. "This is a Rolex. It just gives me the time and the date, and I don't think it even keeps very good time. It cost $5000."

Just goes to show, there are people out there willing to pay more for brand prestige. Not everyone, but if there wasn't any profitable demand, Rolex wouldn't be around.

Posted by carolyn at April 28, 2005 09:52 AM

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