Cortina Watch Theft Saga

[Oceanklassik]

Tatz definitely possible. Jus look at te no. of outlets and staff they hv. And oso te location of their branches. Very high costs. So te mark-ups r crazy lor. Imagine how much we r paying their salaries and rental?

[116520]

The funny thing is we are still paying for them...

Tatz definitely possible. Jus look at te no. of outlets and staff they hv. And oso te location of their branches. Very high costs. So te mark-ups r crazy lor. Imagine how much we r paying their salaries and rental?

[ping3288]

wat i heard, dunno zun or not?

- net cost of watch 7.9mil (can check the sgx announcemnt, so quite zun)
- retail value of stolen watches more than 10 mil
- the insider got a mess-up life
- the insider only target the main showroom, so brands like AP, VC ... whose boutiques are located across the main showroom are "spared". if he reali target the main showroom, then i think sure take brands like rolex, pp, panerai, chopard...... If the vc, ap stock are stored opp the main showroom, i dun think he want to take the risk to cross over the public corridor

[psee]

that would be me.

i found out abt the mark-up cos sincere was looking for buyer and my younger bro happened to be in investment bank. other than franck muller that was mark-up by 400% (the highest among watches that sincere carry), the rest of renowed and popular one r mark-up on average 100% to 150%.

General mark-up of 100% - 150% certainly sounds likely ...

[Nooch]

Wah like starbucks le marked up big time sia.. no wonder have nice shop in high rental places..

[Nooch]

From Straits Times online:

Ex-employee's help sought

The theft of 386 watches and $27,000 in cash took place after Cortina's store closed on Christmas Day. -- BT FILE PHOTO
SOME signs that the theft of $7.9 million worth of watches and cash from Cortina Watch's Raffles City outlet was an inside job emerged yesterday, and police are now looking for an ex-employee of the store to help in investigations.

The man, 35-year-old Jerry Ee, has gone missing, and his parents told The Straits Times that he has not been home since Dec 26 - a day after the robbery took place.

In what appeared to be a related development, his services have been terminated by the watch retailer, and a notice stating that he is no longer an employee and is not authorised to act for the company in any capacity appears in today's Straits Times.

Such ads, industry experts say, are normally taken out when staff of high-end retailers are dismissed or leave the company.

This is because such workers often have extremely close relationships with customers. The notices prevent former workers who have been sacked or who have left the company from taking advantage of such ties.

It is not known for how long Mr Ee had worked for the company, or what position he held.

When The Straits Times visited his flat last night, his mother and stepfather said they had no clue where he was.

They said they had left for Taiwan for an eight-day holiday before Christmas and returned on Boxing Day, and did not think anything of it when Mr Ee did not come home that night.

When he did not return after a few days, they became worried but had no way of contacting him.

The first sign that trouble might be brewing appeared on Monday, when they arrived home to find a note from the police on their door.

The note instructed them to call a number, but they did not.

Yesterday evening, police officers came calling again.

They asked for Mr Ee's whereabouts and left without explaining why, said his stepfather, 62, who refused to be named.

Mr Ee, who is divorced, has two children. He has custody of his four-year-old son, while his eight-year-old daughter lives with his ex-wife.

He is listed as the owner of several telecommunications and air-conditioning companies.

Said his stepfather yesterday: 'I just want him to come back so we can settle everything.'

Interviews with Raffles City's security guards, other tenants in the mall and several watch retailers also threw up signs of an inside job:

# Security guards on duty on the night of the robbery said no alarms went off and there were no signs of a break-in at the store.

# Cleaners who worked through the night also said they did not hear anything.

# The manager of the Omega boutique, which is just metres away from the affected store, said Cortina employees had told him there was no break-in.

'I know two workers at the Cortina outlet and both told me that it was an employee who did it. Someone else in the industry told me the same thing,' he said. 'It is very possible.'

# The Singapore Clock & Watch Trade Association - of which Cortina Watch is a member - is concerned enough about an inside job to call a meeting to advise its members to improve the security of their stores as well as monitor staff behaviour, said its secretary, Ms Geraldine Lim.

One retailer has already taken action: Managers at Sincere Watch have been asked to be more vigilant and to monitor staff behaviour.

The theft of watches and cash took place after Cortina's store closed on Christmas Day.

Police said yesterday that 386 timepieces of assorted brands and $27,000 in cash were stolen.

A check at the store yesterday found that it was business as usual.

At least nine closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras were spotted inside the outlet, and about 10 staff members were in the store at any one time.

Other retailers in the mall said they were aware of the theft, but had not been formally told about what happened.

Ms Kat Ang, a boutique assistant at the Omega outlet, said: 'The manager told us about the robbery and sent us e-mails to ask us to be more alert. But we want updates about what is going on, so we can take the necessary precautions.'

Confirm inside job liaoz.

[saigonblack]

My aunt just asked me if any lobang to buy these watches a not? Shes looking at a Patek

[seiko.citizen]

can..... i think at changi; you go look for them there maybe have. so you go first and let us know how transaction works ok?

[DM101]

might be able to save a bit ..kekeke

Yeah and if a PP and you suppose to "leave for your next generation", the watch cannot see the light 1 ..

[116520]

BTW, that 35 year-old guy sure quite high post lah... if not how to have shop door keys, safe keys, etc.... or don't tell me they don't keep their watches in safes???

[Oceanklassik]

Checks and balances lacking.

[116520]

Correct... but inside job is very hard to prevent.... if the boss doesn't trust his/her workers, he or she will have to lock up his inventory everyday by himself/herself... Maybe the boss should hold on the passports of the staffs who have the keys...

Checks and balances lacking.

[Oceanklassik]

Shld hv some system in place like nt giving full autonomy to one sole person. Especially if we r talking abt such high priced items.

[Mille]

he gave me more than 30% off for my IWC portuguese chrono. list price is 11,000 right? i paid 7400 for it.

there is one pretty babe who is always in cartier section.....

yah! saw her before..i think she is mixed blood
if i got spare cash sure go buy her cartier one

Shld hv some system in place like nt giving full autonomy to one sole person. Especially if we r talking abt such high priced items.

think they should have audit on their internal control..

[116520]

any pic?

yah! saw her before..i think she is mixed blood
if i got spare cash sure go buy her cartier one



think they should have audit on their internal control..