News The Geneva watchmaking and jewellery company de Grisogono has chosen to join forces with the firm Chopard to establish a sound financial base for its formidable growth. In the view of Fawaz Gruosi, the owner of de Grisogono, this strategic alliance with a family-owned partner is both a natural and a necessary move to ensure the future expansion of his company. Fawaz Gruosi now holds 49 % of the shares of de Grisogono 's capital and Chopard owns 49 %, while the remaining 2 % serve as a guarantee.
Fawaz Gruosi intends to preserve his company's identity. He will retain his total independence in the creation of watches and jewellery. Distribution, marketing and communication for the brand will also remain exclusively his responsibility. Chopard will become an active partner by making its experience and know-how available to de Grisogono.
Fawaz Gruosi established his first company in 1993 in partnership and became independent in 1995. In 1996 de Grisogono achieved its first successes by launching the black diamond fashion, which is so highly valued today. Two years ago the company made an eye-catching debut in the watchmaking world by presenting an original model, Instrumento No Uno (see photo). While this string of successes has helped the company to take off quickly, it has also required that new financial resources be found to sustain the company's momentum and to secure its strong expansion.
As proof of this constant progression, the year 2001 - which was a difficult one for many companies - saw de Grisogono increase its sales by 83%, from 57 to 104 million francs.
The four existing stores in Geneva, Gstaad, London and Rome will be joined by two further outlets, one in New York and the other in Paris.
As a realistic barometer of a brand's attractiveness, the World Watch and Jewellery Fair in Basel was a resounding success for de Grisogono. The 500 pieces in the limited and numbered series of the new original model Instrumento Doppio (see Revue FH No 7 of 18 April 2002, p. 31) were sold in only a few hours. Instrumentino, the latest model in the watch collection, got off to a very promising start. As for Instrumento No Uno, its success continues. Thus de Grisogono's watch production will increase from 1,800 to 4,500 pieces in 2002, counting all collections together.
May 02, 2002
