{"id":42098,"date":"2018-06-15T10:13:27","date_gmt":"2018-06-15T09:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watchpro.com\/?p=42098"},"modified":"2018-06-15T10:13:27","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T09:13:27","slug":"ebel-president-says-watch-brand-sleeping-beauty-ready-awaken-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watchpro.com\/ebel-president-says-watch-brand-sleeping-beauty-ready-awaken-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"Ebel president says the watch brand is a sleeping beauty ready to awaken in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is 15 years since Movado Group bought the Swiss watch brand Ebel from LVMH. A key member of the team that managed that acquisition was Flavio Pellegrini, who is now president of Ebel as well as managing director for Movado Group International. Last month WatchPro<\/em>\u2019s Rob Corder caught up with the executive at at the company\u2019s spiritual headquarters, Le Corbusier-designed La Villa Turque in Switzerland\u2019s La Chaux-de-Fonds, to discuss the past, present and future for the brand.<\/strong><\/p>\n Flavio Pellegrini admits that Ebel has enjoyed better days in the UK than the market is witnessing right now. In the mid-noughties, the Swiss watch designer was a household name as it signed a five year sponsorship deal with Arsenal Football Club and in 2007 hired supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Gisele B\u00fcndchen as brand ambassadors for high profile advertising.<\/p>\n Mr Pellegrini, now managing director for Movado Group International and president of Ebel and Concord, was central to the MGI team that acquired Ebel from LVMH in 2003, and spent his early years in the company integrating the luxury Swiss watch brand into the American Movado Group\u2019s sprawling empire. The early signs were good as the investment in marketing combined with the quality of the brand\u2019s designs and the finishing of its Swiss production team carved out a reputation for beautifully made, contemporary and stylish timepieces. But the brand plateaued several years ago and now feels in need of fresh investment if it is to recapture its glory days in the UK.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n