Movado will focus on new products to offset major sales drop

By

Emily Jensen

Published
May 26, 2017

Movado Group Inc. saw a major drop in net sales for the first financial quarter of 2018, from $114.1 million in the same quarter last year to $99.3 million. The New Jersey-based watch company says it plans to focus on new products to increase sales in the year ahead.

 
The net sales of $99.3 million represent a 13 percent drop compared to the same quarter last year. Movado also saw a decrease in operating costs from $55.9 million to $52.8 million, due to a decrease in retail points.
 
Movado’s chairman and CEO Efraim Grinberg attributed the drop in sales to a challenging retail environment in the U.S.

“We recognized this trend early in our planning cycle and mitigated this impact through decisive actions to significantly reduce our planned operating expenses for the year. As we look to the balance of the year, we continue to anticipate a challenging U.S. retail marketplace and expect modest growth in our international markets,” said Grinberg.
 
Grinberg emphasized new product launches and initiatives to improve sales for the coming year including a smart watch using Google technology. In addition to its partnership with Google, Movado also announced an upcoming collection with designer Rebecca Minkoff.

“Our strategy is to focus on designing unique and compelling products across our brands while investing in our digital marketing and e-commerce initiatives to enable us to navigate the evolving retail landscape,” he said.
 
Last month, the company announced it would be reducing its workforce in North America and Switzerland to save on operating costs. Movado also recently saw Ricardo Quintero step down from his role as president at the company.