Fossil Group Nearly Doubles This Year and It's Not Done Yet
- Watchmaker’s growth helped by partnerships with BMW, Puma
- Recent Citizen agreement set to grow hybrid smartwatch sector
Men's wristwatches sit in the window display of a Fossil store.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergFossil Group’s stock has nearly doubled this year, thanks in part to agreements to make watches and other accessories for well-known consumer brands, like BMW and Puma.
Yet the accessories maker is taking a different role under its latest partnership -- licensing its hybrid smartwatch technology to Japan’s Citizen Watch Company for not only its own watches, but also for gears and components that may be sold to other watchmakers. The deal, announced earlier this week, is the first time Fossil Group has licensed its technology; Fossil has six in-house brands and 11 licensed brands, including Michael Kors and Armani Exchange, as well as the deals with BMW and Puma it signed earlier this year.