Tiffany & Co has established a Swiss watch-making subsidiary following a disastrous and costly first partnership with Swatch Group.
Tiffany’s Q1 report states: “The Company [Tiffany] is proceeding with plans to design, produce, market and distribute TIFFANY & CO. brand watches through a Swiss subsidiary. The effective development and growth of this watch business will require additional resources and will involve risks and uncertainties.”
Tiffany and Swatch Group first launched a watch-making partnership in 2007 with Swatch then announcing it would be ending the partnership in 2011 after a breakdown of the process. Swatch followed up with a $4billion (£2.38billion) law suit while Tiffany countersued for $600million (£357million). A Dutch arbitration court awarded Swatch $450million (£268million), a figure that resulted in Tiffany posting a 2013 Q4 loss.
Tiffany has since gone back to court asking that the arbitration be annulled. WatchPro reported as far back as 2012 that Tiffany would seek to re-establish the production of Tiffany & Co watches once the legal action had concluded.
