We have already added two
people to our marketing team since
Movado bought Mvmt in order to
make sure that we capitalise on the
expertise they bring to us. Some of
the stuff we are doing with our PR
agency is now around improving
our storytelling online and on social
media, rather than focusing on
getting coverage in traditional media.WatchPro: It is an interesting story
that you are taking one of the
myriad brands that have grown
up selling direct via ecommerce
and social media, and turning it
into a wholesale brand for the
UK. How are your retail partners
reacting?
Steve Brydon: Something like 75%
of the entire turnover of the UK
watch industry is in the hands of 10
brands. 90% of turnover is from 20
brands. The opportunity for up-and-
coming brands has been shrinking
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shrink. That does not mean there
are not retailers out there looking for
something new, but it is very easy
stick with the old stalwarts because
they are known quantities.
Many of the most successful
retailers have grown on the back
of new brands, whether that was
Daniel Wellington in its day or Olivia
Burton more recently. Some retailers
invested early and strongly andShare of Great Britain Watch
Market by Price Point in 2013Share of Great Britain Watch
Market by Price Point in 2017Share of Great Britain Watch
Market by Price Point in 2018Above:
Steve Brydon,
general manager of
Movado Group UKunits of those sets, so we know the
demand is there. Adding jewellery
also gives us more to promote and
sell through the shop-in-shops we are
rolling out.WatchPro: Are you seeing a trend
for gender neutral watches and
jewellery?
Steve Brydon: We are seeing a
little of that, but in general we still
sell smaller watches to ladies and
men tend to want something more
technical. The market for men’s dress
watches is weaker, but where we
offer something in the sport-lux area
such as chronographs and GMTs,
we are seeing strength not only
from our brands, but also from our
competitors.WatchPro: One of the hottest
watch trends this decade has
been Scandi-style minimalism.
How is that trend performing
now?
Steve Brydon: I do not see the
overall value of sales for that type of
watch going down, but we are seeing
shifts in market share between
brands. Historically there were two
or three brands in that area, now
there are quite a few more chasing
the same customers. We have two
ourselves with Hugo Boss and Mvmt.
[Editor’s note: Olivia Burton, which
Movado Group acquired in 2017, isrun independently from the other
Movado Group UK brands.]
Movado bought Mvmt last year
and we are just now launching it into
the UK. It went live in John Lewis,
Ernest Jones and H. Samuel in June,
BOEXFBSFWFSZDPOlEFOUXJUIUIF
brand. We know it is already a $
million plus brand worldwide, but it
is entirely online because that is how
it was built by its founders in Los
Angeles.
The job we have to do is convert
Mvmt into a retail brand because
its customers have not just stopped
going to shopping centres. We
need to get our execution right. The
product is great, the story is great,
the imagery is really strong.WatchPro: Mvmt is one of those
brands born and bred online and
on social media.
Steve Brydon: Yes. You see the
difference when you go to their
headquarters. Most UK operations
are strongly sales-led and the
majority of staff are in sales, visual
merchandising and customer service.
At Mvmt, the vast majority of its
people are experts in marketing. In
the short time Movado has owned
Mvmt, we have learned a lot from
them. They have made us realise that
the collateral we need for our brands
online and on social media needs to
be better. They do it superbly.< £ 100 £ 1O0- £ 500 £ 5O0- £ 1000 >£ 100049%20%28%5%66%18%12%4%72%14%10%4%£212,000,£287,000,£53,000,£538,000,£177,000,000 £262,000,
£213,792,£65,000,000 £55,640,£964,000,000 £1,135,592,£160,362,THE BIG INTERVIEW / MOVADO GROUP UK
20 WATCHPRO / AUGUST 2019 / watchpro.com