In the early 1980s, Carol Altieri, the principal and COO of Bob’s Watches, a leading online pre-owned watch dealer, lived in the Marina del Rey neighborhood of Los Angeles and spent her weekends at the original Fred Segal store in neighboring Santa Monica.
“Fred Segal was where you went on a weekend, and you just hung out,” Altieri tells Robb Report. “We’d go to the café, me and my girlfriends, and spend the day shopping.”
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Now, some 40 years later, Altieri has inked a strategic partnership with the iconic fashion retailer that will see an extensive collection of Bob’s used Rolexes and other timepieces appear on the Fred Segal e-commerce platform as well as in its Southern and Northern California stores in West Hollywood, Malibu, Studio City, and Marin County.
“There I was as a kid in my 20s going to Fred Segal, and here I am in my 60s putting my product in Fred Segal,” she says. “I’ve come full circle.”
Altieri describes Bob’s presence at Fred Segal as a “a pop-in, not a pop-up.”
“When you walk into the store, the watches are displayed next to the clothing,” she says. “We have Bob’s Watches branding in the store. “
The merchandise leans heavily on Rolex’s masculine timepieces, but skews differently based on the store location. “I might put more professional watches in Hollywood, a little more bling in Malibu,” Altieri says.
The Fred Segal collaboration is in line with Bob’s fashion-forward strategy. Six years ago, the e-tailer began a long-term partnership with Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s influential wellness and lifestyle brand, which showcases Bob’s timepieces in Goop stores across the country and in the brand’s popular gift guide. “You get a lot of publicity when you do something with Gwyneth Paltrow,” Altieri says.
In 2021, Bob’s teamed up with Los Angeles online fashion retailer Revolve on a Rolex capsule collection for the holiday. That collaboration helped lay the groundwork for an in-store Revolve pop-up in Aspen earlier this month featuring a selection of coveted Rolex models sourced by Bob’s Watches.
“Revolve asked for the more petite 26 mm watches,” Altieri says, referring to the growing preference for smaller case sizes. “The Submariners and GMTs are always tried and true watches, and people are still loving the colored dials. The 34 mm to 36 mm styles, particularly in all steel, are doing really well.”
While generating brand awareness for Bob’s is one reason Altieri has pursued collaborations with famed fashion retailers, the potential boost in business works both ways: “People have gone into some of these stores because they know our watches are there and they’ve also found us there,” she says. “It’s a win-win for both parties.”
Altieri says another reason why the fashion collabs make sense is because they allow Bob’s to test the brick and mortar waters. Could a Bob’s Watches physical location be coming soon?
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