Movado Group is mourning the passing of Gedalio Grinberg
Gedalio “Gerry” Grinberg died on January 4, 2009 at age 77. Grinberg was founder and chairman of the Board of the Movado group. He came to the United States in 1960 after Castro's takeover where he became the exclusive distributor for Piaget and Corum watches in America and founded the North American Watch Company, which today is known as Movado Group. After he acquired the Concord watch brand Mr. Grinberg made the strategic decision to shift the Company's focus from mere distribution on manufacturing, distributing, designing of own watches and marketing its own brands and as a licensee. Gedalio Grinberg and his son Efraim acquired Movado in 1983 and transformed it from a small Swiss watchmaker into a world-recognized brand.
Grinberg realized that he had acquired a company that not only had a very good reputation and a remarkable technical efficiency, but also had contributed significantly to the history of horology. His aim was to revive the brand and to clearly set it apart from competitors. Within just three years of the takeover, Grinberg set about restructuring Movado, redefined the brand philosophy, expanded the product line and refurbished Movado’s respectable and independent image.
The company today holds some 100 patents and 200 international awards. In 1992, the company opened up to the lifestyle-segment that accounts for 92 per cent of world watch production today. It also has licensing agreements with Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Lacoste and Juicy Couture. In 2004, Movado Group also entered the luxury segment by buying the luxury watch manufacturer Ebel from luxury company LVMH. The five brands Movado, Concord, ESQ, Coach and Tommy Hilfiger represent about 80 percent of total sales of the Movado Group.