Movado Group Founder Gedalio Grinberg Dies At 77

Gedalio Grinberg, founder of the Movado Group and an important figure within the U.S. luxury watch industry, passed away on Sunday, in New York City.  Mr. Grinberg was 77 years of age.

Noted for his philanthropic dedication to the arts, as well as his personal passion for modern art, Gedalio Grinberg had a fascinating life story.  Born in Cuba in 1931, Grinberg began his career in watch sales in 1950's Cuba.  Recognizing the threats and limitations imposed by Communism, Grinberg immigrated to the United States in 1960.  Just one year later, Grinberg established the North American Watch Company, which at the time was the exclusive distributor for Piaget watches in the Americas.  With his keen flair for marketing, Grinberg successfully established Piaget as a prominent status symbol, and ultimately paved the way for additional brands to follow within the North American market.  

In 1969, the company acquired Swiss watch brand Concord, and fourteen years later, Movado.  The latter brand, particularly, experienced a great revival under Grinberg's stewardship, becoming a world-identified luxury brand whose renown extended far beyond even the iconic Museum watch, with its famously unadorned black dial.  The Concord watch brand became a showcase for rapidly emerging quartz technology during the 1970's and early 1980's--an era when ultra-thin electronic timepieces were greatly in vogue. The ultimate result of these efforts was the Concord Delirium, which created a sensation as the world's thinnest watch.

These and other successes buoyed Grinberg's North American Watch company to considerable growth, and in 1993, it went public.  Three years later, the company changed its name to the Movado Group.  Currently, the Movado Group achieves around 500 million in sales, and markets and distributes a number of luxury brands, including Swiss watchmaker Ebel, whom it acquired in 2004.  Also under the aegis of the Movado Group are a variety of licensed fashion timepieces.  This category includes LaCoste, Juicy Couture, Hugo Boss, Coach, and Tommy Hilfiger, whose watch products the Movado Group has designed and produced since 2001.

"My father was a great man who touched many lives through his generosity as a business leader, a philanthropist, and a patron of the arts," said Efraim Grinberg, 50, President and CEO of the Movado Group. "He will be sorely missed by his family, his friends, employees and customers." 

Efraim Grinberg will succeed his father as Movado Group Chairman.  The younger Grinberg has been with the company since 1980, and Chief Executive Officer since 2001.