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Yeah, I agree. The statement they made a couple of months back was really unusual for Rolex. But they are at pains to point out that they can’t just turn the tap on and make 2x the watches they currently do.
And even if they could…why would they? Flood the market, demand drops, residuals drop, and you’ve just invested probably billions of CHF in a factory and employees that you no longer need.
I really don’t think they have deliberately acted to manipulate the market to the point where their own boutiques are literally empty. They just aren’t acting to counter it, either. Ultimately I think they are fundamentally ultra Swiss and conservative and simply do not want to change course from what has kept them at the top for so long. And as you point out, they don’t have shareholders screaming at them to increase production. Not that I think many shareholders would have much of a problem with the way things are going at Rolex right now.
Regal-
I remember when I was looking to buy my first Rolex. Alternatives like Omega were priced well below, Tudor was ugly, AP was niche, Blancpain had just been revived. All those brands and more were cheaper or similar prices. I couldn't get a Daytona from a dealer, nor could I afford a second hand Nautilus for £15k.
These days it seems like all those brands are the same rrp as a Rolex (which you can't buy) or vastly more. How can it make sense not to just raise the rrp until you can keep some in the window. They've fallen behind a lot of brands by price that were never in the same league. It's no wonder they sell so well. A Fifty Fathoms is £12k now!
Airhead
I don't think they are limiting supply artificially. Personally I think their steel models are too cheap at rrp and the market seems to agree. I base that on a comparison with other brands prices.
Rolex are not interested in making steel models, they want to deal in high end stones and metals. Why would they not, they are competing at the cutting edge of horology in terms of technique and reputation. Same with PP, visit their museum in Geneva, they have handwritten ledgers from the beginning of the company detailing the individual watches they made and the customers etc. They have never been volume producers, in fact they probably couldn't find the skilled labour to increase production to a point where demand was filled.
So what it has to do with anything is - they don't artificially limit supply and the proof is the number of very complicated high end extensively hand built items they produce every year.