Experiences at Omega Boutique at Gurney Plaza Penang

[javelin]

Just wondering if anyone has bought an Omega watch at the Omega Boutique at Gurney Plaza in Penang and what their experience was like.

I will be visiting Penang in June and is looking at purchasing a SMP 2220.80 Bond watch. If anyone can recommend any AD's as well that would be great.

Prices in Australia are crazy and you can forget about getting a discount at a boutique.

Thanks.

[dsiewmy]

try to call ahead to make sure they have the watch for you.
some discount is expected typically in Malaysia, but we are not allowed to say how much in the open forum.

[STT1987]

The Omega situation in Penang is interesting. It seems that in Penang, the Swatch group wants to sell Omegas exclusively through the boutique in Gurney Plaza. The other ADs in Penang are not getting new supplies in and are basically selling the old stock they had on hand since the boutique opened. This I learnt talking to my fav watch shop salesperson. They can't get any of the new stuff from Omega anymore.

I got several Omegas at the Penang boutique. Friendly enough service - they know my name but that's after buying two James Bond LEs from them and other stuff. Since this is an official boutique, discounts are very tightly controlled. Don't expect any big breaks IMO compared to independent ADs. What I did get though are a lot of cool Omega freebies. Promo books, catalogs, James Bond key chains, travel wallets, travel bags, watch travel case etc. "Smile big big and sapu the freebies!"
 

Also, as I mentioned above, since they are the official boutique, all the latest models and LEs go to them first. For example, you can only get the Ladymatic from the boutique in Penang.

PS:
I've noticed a similar thing happening in Singapore. Once the Omega boutique opened in Singapore, the smaller watch shops stopped getting new stock and dropped the brand altogether. The bigger watch shop chains were seemingly unaffected though. Interesting.

[terrenceterrence]

This is what exactly that was stopping me from buying omega. They were once the most bang for the buck watches bar none in the price bracket. Can get really good deals from smaller ADs until 6 years ago. But since Steve E. stated that he is openly "challenging" Rolex all distributorship has been rolled back and everything is tightly controlled.

It's hard to pay their asking prices now when you know how much discount they use to give back then. But having said that, the 8500 PO is really a very good watch.

[STT1987]

You might want to check out the watch shops (former ADs it seems) that still have some (NOS) Omegas for sale in Penang island. There is one in Queensbay Mall ground floor (next to an entrance) - they have a few of the older PO Seamasters in a small cabinet left. There is another watch shop in Prangin Mall (ground floor next to Sushi King), they still have a good selection of Speedmasters and ladies dress watches (constellation and deVille) - I bought most of the Seamasters already, sorry.
 

Since they aren't getting new stocks in, I would think they are looking to get rid of whatever they still have on hand - within reason. Time to compare prices and drive a hard bargain!

Good luck!
 

[javelin]

Thanks STT1987 for your detailed response, much appreciated.

I'll keep you posted as to how I go. I'm really hoping I can get the Bond watch, I've been dreaming of getting it since I first saw it when Goldeneye came out...geez that's almost 18 years ago......

Thanks again.

[javelin]

Hey STT1987 I just sent you a PM but if you have any contacts in Penang which you could recommend I'd really appreciate it.

[STT1987]

Nothing to add to my post. I think I have a good relationship with all three Omega sellers on Penang island. The one in Prangin Mall is particularly good IMHO. They may have some Seamasters left, check them out. Likewise the watch shop at Queensbay.

You're almost guaranteed to find what you want at the boutique but they don't have much leeway to discount for you no matter how hard you bargain.

PS:
For real bargains look at the online sellers that do business on MWF itself.
http://www.malaysiawatchforum.com/index.php/board,22.0.html

I can't recommend any specific ones in this post, but I've done business with several of them and they give good service and I think you'll find what you want easily.

[javelin]

Thanks again for your help STT1987.