Burberry, Fossil Sign Pact
By William George Shuster, Senior Editor -- JCK Online, 4/1/2002 2:00:00 AM
Burberry has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with the Swiss division of Fossil Inc. to produce Swiss-made watches for the British luxury brand.
"Our partnership with Burberry [is] another important facet in our rapidly evolving Swiss strategy," says Enrico Margaritelli, Fossil's vice president of marketing and strategic direction. Last autumn, Fossil—whose fashion watches are sold in 80 countries—bought the Swiss-made Zodiac brand as well as three Swiss companies with the design, sourcing, and production capabilities to make and market Swiss watches.
Under the Burberry agreement, signed in late 2001, Fossil will manufacture, distribute, and merchandise the new Burberry timepiece collection, working closely with Burberry's in-house team on design and marketing. The collection will be manufactured in collaboration with Roventa-Henex of Switzerland, a company known for its technical expertise in Swiss-made watches.
The Burberry collection will be available this fall worldwide at fine department, specialty, and jewelry stores as well as at Burberry retail stores, said a Fossil spokesperson.
