====== Movado Group ======

{{wst>author|[[Foskett, Stephen|Stephen Foskett]] ([[https://grail-watch.com/|Grail Watch]])}}

**Movado Group** (formerly **North American Watch Company** or **NAWC**) is a [[watch holding company]] that owns the [[Movado]], [[Concord]], [[Ebel]], [[Olivia Burton]], and [[MVMT]] and produces [[Coach]], [[Hugo Boss]], [[Lacoste]], [[Scuderia Ferrari]], and [[Tommy Hilfiger]] under license.

===== History =====
==== Movado ====
The company that would become [[Movado]] was founded in [[1881]] as **L.A.I. Ditesheim**. 19 year old [[Ditesheim, Achilles|Achilles Ditesheim]] opened a small workshop in [[Le Locle]] that year with six watchmakers. His brothers, [[Ditesheim, Léopold|Léopold]] and [[Ditesheim, Isidore|Isidore]] soon joined the firm as well.

In [[1905]], the company was renamed **Movado**, the Esperanto word for "always in motion". The company soon began to gain market share in the new wristwatch market, bringing the [[Movado Polyplan|Polyplan]] to market in [[1912]]. The next major introduction was the [[Movado Ermeto|Ermeto]] case watch in [[1926]].

Movado began sales in the United States in [[1924]], and the brand soon became especially successful in that market.

In [[1969]], Movado merged with [[Zenith]], briefly becoming Movado-Zenith, before adding [[Mondia]] later in the year. This would become [[Movado-Zenith-Mondia]]. Due to the cooperation with [[Zenith]] the head office was moved to [[Le Locle]] in [[1971]].

Zenith Radio Corp. of the United States purchased the company in [[1972]] and decreed that it move entirely to [[quartz]]. This benefitted Movado but hurt Zenith, which specialized in high-end mechanical movements, and Mondia, which had invested heavily in mass-market mechanical movements. Through the 1970s, the [[quartz crisis]] hurt all three brands, as Japanese competition undercut their market.

By [[1978]], Zenith Radio had had enough and sold the watchmakers to a consortium of Swiss businessmen lead by Paul Castella. He merged Mondia with [[Dixi]] and worked to rebuild Zenith. Movado languished until being purchased by North American Watch Company in [[1983]].

==== North American Watch Company ====
Young entrepreneur [[Grinberg, Gedalio|Gedalio "Gerry" Grinberg]] was successful selling luxury watches in Cuba in the 1950s and 1960s, selling [[Juvenia]] and [[Omega]]. When [[Piaget]] began selling their own brand luxury watches in the late 1950s, Grinberg saw an opportunity. [[Ultra-thin]] gold and jewellery watches had a great deal of appeal for North American consumers, and this would become Grinberg's legacy.

Grinberg continued selling watches through the Cuban Revolution, but the family fled to Miami on August 16, [[1960]]. In [[1961]], Grinberg set up shop in New York but found it challenging to sell the expensive [[Piaget]] watches in America. Eventually he was able to establish the brand, co-opting the derisive slogan, "the most expensive watch in the world" as a differentiator for the brand. He developed a series of watches with colored stone dials for [[Van Cleef & Arpels]] after befriending [[Arpels, Claude|Claude Arpels]] and grew Piaget sales dramatically.

By [[1965]], Grinberg's firm had driven Piaget sales over US$6 million. He bought out his partners and renamed the company **North American Watch**. The firm continued to focus on being "the most expensive watch", sponsoring upscale events like polo to capitalize on the ultra-luxury [[Piaget Polo]] model. Soon, North American Watch added a second brand, [[Corum]], which would be successful with [[coin watch]]es and [[Corum Ingot|a watch made of a gold ingot]]. Grinberg befriended celebrities and politicians like Andy Warhol, Ronald Reagan, and Walter Cronkite and sponsored lunches with wealthy Americans. Soon the rich and powerful were wearing Corum and Piaget.

In [[1970]], North American Watch acquired the [[Concord]] brand. Although it had been successful in the American market, Concord was struggling. Grinberg had tried to purchase [[Movado]] instead, but was rebuffed. Instead, he focused Concord on the emerging luxury [[quartz]] movements but was disappointed as the Swiss fell behind the Japanese companies [[Citizen]] and [[Seiko]] in his prime segment, [[ultra-thin]] watches. As the two companies announced movements under 2 mm in [[1978]], Grinberg traveled to Switzerland to make an offer to [[Ebauches SA]] He would put up CHF 2 million if they could deliver an ultra-thin 9 ligne movement by [[1979]].

[[ETA|ETA/ESA]] had already been working on an integrated next-generation watch, which would become the [[Swatch]] in [[1983]]. ETA chief [[Thomke, Ernst|Ernst Thomke]] was able to quickly redirect this work to create an ultra-thin watch with its quartz movement integrated into the case. The result was the 1.98 mm [[Delirium]], announced on January 12, [[1979]]. The watch was marketed by [[Longines]] and [[Eterna]] but North American rights were held by [[Concord]].

==== Movado Group ====
As Concord gained strength based on the halo effect of the Delirium, Movado suffered. In February, [[1983]], North American Watch finally purchased the brand. Their strong ties to the American watch market allowed Movado to rebound, with new designs and strong marketing. By 1995, Movado accounted for over 75% of all sales in the United States in the near-luxury market segment (under CHF 1500).

On April 15, [[1996]], North American Watch changed their name to **Movado Group**. The public company also changed its ticker symbol from NAWC to MOVA on that date. A new corporate division was created, called **North American Watch Company**, which handled sales and operations in the United States, including exclusive distribution of [[Piaget]] and [[Corum]] as well as owned brands, [[Concord]], [[Movado]], and [[Esquire|Esquire/ESQ]].

Movado Group began producing watches under license from existing manufacturers in the 1990s. [[Coach]] was added around [[1997]] and [[Tommy Hilfiger]] in [[1999]]. [[Boss]] was purchased in December [[2004]] and repositioned as a fashion brand rather than near-luxury as it had been under [[Tempus Concept]] since its [[1996]] launch. Shortly after this, Movado Group added [[Juicy Couture]] (since discontinued) and [[Lacoste]].

At [[Baselworld]] [[2012]], just four months after the [[Ferrari]] partnership with [[Hublot]] was announced, Ferrari launched a line of branded watches produced by Movado Group. These are sold in Ferrari's lifestyle boutique stores, mass-market retailers, and at Ferrari dealerships and are priced in the near-luxury range below 1,500 Euro.

Movado Group purchased [[Ebel]] from [[LVMH]] in [[2003]] for just US$47.3 million.

Later additions to the group have focused on the challenges of [[smartwatch]]es. The company purchased [[Rebecca Minkoff]] in [[2017]] and added millennial appeal with [[MVMT]].

===== Weblinks =====
  *[[http://www.movadogroup.com|Movado Group]]


{{tag>Movado_Group Watch_trusts}}