US JEWELLER Tiffany has filed a $590 million (€449 million) counter-claim against Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaker said yesterday, the latest volley in the companies’ feud over a failed deal to sell watches together.
Tiffany’s claim for 542 million Swiss francs in a Dutch arbitration court comes three months after Swatch, the world’s largest watchmaker, sued it for lost profits it estimated at 3.8 billion francs (€3.2bn). The companies ended their deal in September.
Swatch said Tiffany’s claim “has no factual or legal basis” and it would contest it. Tiffany did not return a request for comment.
The strategic alliance, signed in 2007, was meant to boost the development, production and worldwide distribution of Tiffany branded watches, but it never turned into big business for either company. According to Tiffany’s most recent annual report, the deal with Swatch represented less than 1 per cent of sales.
Swatch has accused its former partner of systematically trying to block and delay development of the business and not giving the watches, marketed under the Tiffany brand, enough prominence in its stores. – (Reuters)
