September 13, 2011
Swatch Group ends partnership with Tiffany & Company
NEW YORK, USA — Watchmaker Swatch Group has ended its partnership with Tiffany & Co., accusing the jeweler of trying to block and delay a joint venture the companies entered about four years ago.
Tiffany responded that it was Swatch that was unwilling to “work cooperatively.”
The companies’ partnership goes back to late 2007, when they announced a 20-year agreement where Swatch would create a new company, Tiffany Watch Co. Ltd., to make and sell watches under the Tiffany brand.
Swatch, based in Switzerland, says in a statement it decided to end the agreement because of Tiffany’s “systematic efforts to block and delay development of the business.”
Swatch says it will file claims against Tiffany for compensation for lost future business.
