Increased visibility for MGI Luxury Group in Bienne
MGI Luxury Group increases its watchmaking presence on Swiss soil by inaugurating new headquarters in the Silver Tower in Bienne, together with the Factory One building.
By Joel Grandjean
Editor-in-Chief
September 9, 2013, was a big day in Bienne. The watch corporation formerly known as Movado Group relocated to the so-called Silver Tower in the city. The building will house the Group's management and administration and act as a hub for all commercial and marketing activities aimed at increasing their brands' presence in Europe and the Middle East. From now on, it will be the enterprise's cockpit, one filled with the most modern furnishings, and it will be the Group's way of increasing its visibility by means of a large architectural display. MGI Luxury Group designs, produces and distributes luxury watches internationally for the following brands: Movado, EBEL, Concord, ESQ Movado, Coach, HUGO BOSS, Lacoste, Juicy Couture and Tommy Hilfiger.
Close by is the newly renovated Factory One, which testifies to the group's growing participation in regional economic activity. The space comprises contemporary amenities and will include distribution, logistics management and warehousing, as well as watchmaking activities and after-sales service workshops. It is from Factory One that all the international markets will be flooded. An unequivocal sign of growth as the MGI CEO, Rick Cote, succinctly stated in his opening speech: “The Group is expanding its activities in Europe and the Middle East, and when this new platform begins to operate, we will have the support for our growth and development in the region, thanks to the enhancement of our performance and our production capacity”.
A historical homecoming
The history of the Group begins in La Côte-aux-Fées when the late Camille Pilet, then Piaget’s sales manager, signed a sales contract for the brand in the United States. The American Piaget man was Gedalio "Gerry" Grinberg, a Cuban exile, who had fled from Castro and his secret police. Gerry managed to establish the brand from La Côte-aux-Fées in the promising United States market. He soon realized that retailers who could afford these precious and luxurious products of Swiss horology were actually requesting less expensive pieces.
Around 1970, he acquired Concord, a Swiss brand created in Bienne in 1908 which, since 1909, had had an American subsidiary. Initially a private label company, Concord managed to impress even President Truman. In 1979, the brand attracted attention by launching the thinnest watch of that time, the Delirium. Concord then went on to join the North America Watch Corporation, which also acquired and developed Movado. The latter was yet another traditional company known for the famous Museum Watch which provided Swiss horology a way in to universal culture. The company gradually became the MGI Luxury Group and now owns ten brands including Ebel. The Group set up its headquarters in Bienne in 2006, a return to the roots. Grinberg's sons, Efraim and Alex, are still the brand's directors.
