Migros and Mondaine end brand dispute over M-Watch
For years, the retail giant Migros and the watch manufacturer Mondaine were locked in a dispute over the M-Watch brand. The conflict is now over, and the two companies are joining forces.
The dispute lasted for years and went all the way to the Federal Supreme Court. Whether the "M" in M-Watch stands for Migros or Mondaine was never finally clarified in legal terms. Instead, it was agreed in 2015 that both companies would sell the M-Watch with different logos.
How the SonntagsZeitung in its current issue, the dispute is now water under the bridge. Migros is removing its own M-Watch from its range and is instead including Mondaine's M-Watch watches on its shelves. These will be available for purchase in 138 stores and in the M-Electronics online store. The new sales channels would mean "a massive increase in sales for Mondaine," André Bernheim, co-owner of the watch company, is convinced.
The two companies cooperated in the past from 1983, launched the first M-Watch on the market and sold up to 300,000 watches a year. In 2010, there was a break with the exclusive partner Migros, and Mondaine sold its own M-Watches through Manor, resulting in a significant drop in sales.
Apparently, the end of the cooperation was also not in the interest of the retail giant Migros. According to Bernheim, Migros has taken the first step towards resuming business relations. At Migros, the contract with the previous supplier of the M-Watch had expired, and the company had been looking for new collaborations in the watch segment. The choice finally fell on the former partner Mondaine. Mondaine will continue to sell the M-Watch at Manor and other stores.
