Movado’s Q3 Sales Down 3% Amid ‘Challenging’ Environment

Paramus, N.J.—Movado Group posted declining sales in its third-quarter results, adjusting its full-year guidance to reflect an expected continuation of the current “challenging” environment.

In the third quarter ending Oct. 31, net sales fell 3 percent year-over-year (4 percent on a constant dollar basis) to $182.7 million.

Net sales year-to-date were down 3 percent to $478.7 million.

“As a team, we recognize this year has not delivered our desired results. Together, we are energized on returning the company to a higher level of profitability while improving revenue trends,” said CEO Efraim Grinberg on an earnings call on Dec. 5.

Movado attributed the decrease in Q3 and year-to-date to unfavorable sales mix and decreased volumes from its wholesale customers, mainly in the U.S., partially offset by an increase in online retail in the U.S. and the positive impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

Grinberg said the company has increased marketing spending in an effort to drive revenue growth and brand awareness.

The company released a new marketing campaign in September for the Movado brand, called “When I Move You Move,” a nod to the lyrics in Ludacris’ song “Stand Up,” featuring famous faces like Ludacris, Julianne Moore, Jessica Alba, Tyrese Haliburton, and Christian McCaffrey.

The campaign was positively received, Grinberg said, noting sales on the Movado brand website were up 17 percent in Q3.

Grinberg said the campaign did especially well in India, where the company saw a 20 percent increase in sales, adding India “can become a big market for us.”

The “Movado Bold” and “Movado Heritage” watches performed well, driven by new product introductions to the lines.

“While net sales are down 2.9% for the year-to-date period, we continue to believe that the investments we've made have strengthened our brands and provide a solid foundation for growth in the coming years,” Grinberg said.

Third-quarter gross profit was $98.4 million, or 54 percent of net sales, compared with $102.3 million, or 55 percent of net sales, in the previous third quarter.

Year-to-date gross profit was $260.3 million, or 54 percent of net sales, compared with $273.6 million, or 56 percent of net sales, in the previous first nine months.

The decrease in gross margin percentage in Q3 was attributed to the unfavorable impact of sales mix, the decreased leveraging of higher fixed costs as a result of lower sales, and a negative impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.

Grinberg said the company has made progress on several of its strategic initiatives, including introducing new product families across its brand portfolio and bolstering its marketing and storytelling efforts.

Looking at its licensed brands, the segment saw sales grow 4 percent year-over-year, driven by Coach, Lacoste, Calvin Klein, and Hugo Boss.

Its jewelry offerings were a standout, driving growth at a few of its licensed brands.

Grinberg highlighted Coach, noting it performed “extremely well” year-to-date, driven by new products, including an oval-shaped watch collection, inspired by the turnlock on Coach bags, that is resonating with Gen Z shoppers.

For Tommy Hilfiger, the “Automatic Charter” collection, worn by basketball star Jayson Tatum in the holiday campaign, is a top seller, as is the TH 85 Chronograph.

The brand’s jewelry is also performing well, particularly the men’s bracelets, which complement the watches, and the two-tone heart jewelry in the women’s “Love” collection.

The Lacoste brand saw strong sales growth, driven by its jewelry collection, including the “Metropole” bracelet.

“Metropole has been a hit since we first introduced it, and it continues to grow at a double-digit rate,” said Grinberg.

Its Calvin Klein brand also saw growth driven by its jewelry offerings, which Grinberg noted presents a “significant opportunity.”

Hugo Boss returned to growth, bolstered by sales of the “Time Traveler” collection and the introduction of the new “Bossmatic” line, which features an automatic quartz hybrid movement.

Looking to the U.S., quarterly sales were down 7 percent year-over-year, while international sales were up less than 1 percent.

Year-to-date net sales in the U.S. were down 5 percent, while international sales were down 2 percent year-over-year. 

Given the “challenging environment,” both for its business and retailers in the U.S. and Europe, the company is taking steps to improve its financial performance.

The U.S. retail environment was also impacted by a later Thanksgiving holiday than in 2023 and uncertainty surrounding the election, Grinberg said.

“Our focus now is on a successful holiday season and building a strong business model for next year that will reduce costs, continue our brand-building initiatives while rationalizing marketing investments, delivering on key growth opportunities such as jewelry and growth markets like India and Southeast Asia and returning North America and our Movado brand to higher levels of profitability,” said Grinberg.

As for the holiday season, Grinberg said its new products and marketing campaign have been positively received, which he expects to lead to an improved performance at its retail partners.

“The next few weeks are the most important selling period for our stores, which got off to a good start during the Black Friday weekend. Each day is now more important than last year with the shortened period between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Grinberg.

Looking to the year ahead, Movado revised its guidance, citing an “expected continuation of a challenging environment, including the impact of retailers continuing to tightly manage inventories in both the U.S. and Europe.”

It now expects fiscal 2025 net sales of around $665 million, the low end of its prior guidance range of $665 million to $675 million.

Gross profit is still expected to be 54 percent of net sales.

Operating income is expected to be around $23 million, near the low end of its prior guidance of $23 million to $26 million. The revised outlook is attributed considers $18 million in investments in brand-building initiatives.

“I am optimistic about the category overall beginning to see improvements in the future. But we are really focused as a company on continuing to focus on what we can control and very focused on driving down our expenses next year as a company and returning to an acceptable level of profitability,” said Grinberg.