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+====== Sowind Group ======
+{{wst>author|[[Foskett, Stephen|Stephen Foskett]] ([[https://grail-watch.com/|Grail Watch]])}}
+**Sowind Group** is a Swiss watchmaking holding company for the [[Girard-Perregaux]] and [[JeanRichard]] brands, and is part of the [[Kering]] group since [[2011]].
+===== History =====
+Sowind was established by [[Macaluso, Luigi|Luigi Macaluso]] in [[1988]] in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] as a distribution company for [[Girard-Perregaux]], [[Breitling]], and [[Hamilton]] in the Italian market. The company purchased a minority stake in Girard-Perregaux soon after, and in [[1992]] became majority shareholder of Lorane Holding SA, which owned 67% of the famed watchmaker.
+After the takeover of Girard-Perregaux, General Manager Jean-Pierre Criblez remained in charge but Macaluso became the public face of the company as former owner Francis Besson departed. Sowind's holdings included the Girard-Perregaux and [[Daniel Jeanrichard]] brands, movement designer and producer [[GP Manufacture]] (a 55% ownership in this joint venture with [[Bulgari]]), and case and component maker [[EMG]]. The new management was able to take advantage of the expansion of the luxury watch industry in the 1990s to become one of the leading international brands, expanding into the Asian and American markets from a previous focus mainly on Europe and especially Italy.
+In [[1998]], Sowind's Lorane Holding purchased the 45% of GP Manufacture previously held by Bulgari, ending the cooperation between the two companies. Bulgari had created [[Bulgari Time|Bvlgari Time SA]] in [[1987]] and was increasingly relying on suppliers other than GP Manufacture as it grew. GP Manufacture instead turned to supplying [[Vendôme Group]] makers like [[Vacheron Constantin]], [[Piaget]], and [[Cartier]] as well as [[Harry Winston]] and [[Daniel Roth]].
+In the 2000s, Macaluso's son Massimo Macaluso became more active, taking on management of the [[Daniel Jeanrichard]] brand. After the death of Luigi Macaluso in October [[2010]], control of the group fell to Massimo, his brother Stefano Macaluso, and their mother. A large share of the group was purchased by [[PPR]] (known as [[Kering]] since [[2013]]) that same year, and the [[luxury group]] became majority owner in [[2011]]. In [[2014]], Kering purchased [[Ulysse Nardin]], adding it to their Sowind Holding along with Girard-Perregaux and Daniel Jeanrichard.
+[[Sofisti, Michele|Michele Sofisti]], formerly head of [[Gucci|Gucci Group watches]], became CEO of Sowind in [[2011]]. He re-launched Girard-Perregaux's companion brand as [[JeanRichard]] under the management of Bruno Grande, adding a less-expensive line to expand sales. Sofisti also reduced the number of Girard-Perregaux references to focus the brand up-market and left [[SIHH]] in favor of [[Baselworld]].
+[[Calce, Antonio|Antonio Calce]] took charge of Sowind in [[2015]]. The former [[Piaget]], [[Panerai]], and [[Corum]] executive was trained as an engineer and re-focused the group on Girard-Perregaux with many historically-inspired models.
+{{tag>Sowind_Group Kering Watch_trusts}}