Movado Studying Ways to ‘Mitigate’ Tariffs on Fashion Watches, if They Occur, Says CEO

Though the Trump administration “so far” hasn’t targeted “fashion watches” for Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports, “that could be a potential for the future,” said Movado Group CEO Efraim Grinberg on a Wednesday earnings call. “We are looking at different ways to hope to be able to mitigate that, if that were to occur,” he said. “In the short-to-medium-term, if they were to occur, that would be a threat to the overall margins.” Movado expects to close its $100 million MVMT Watches buy around Oct. 1, said Grinberg. MVMT, only four years old, has built “a truly special business that is targeted in millennials,” based on “a community of social media followers,” he said. “While others believe that young consumers would not be interested in the watch category,” MVMT “proved them wrong,” he said. “In MVMT, we are acquiring a company with over 4.5 million followers on Facebook and Instagram, a brand that offers beautiful quality products at prices that are accessible to young consumers and a digital brand experience that resonates with millennials.”