The North American luxury fashion distributor, MadaLuxe Group, has launched a new licensing division with a primary focus on acquiring the worldwide exclusive licensing rights for all fashion categories from leading global luxury brands.

The new unit will be headed up by Steven Barbery, who has been promoted from SVP of Timepieces to the newly created role of president of licensing and timepieces.

“Steven Barbery has continually proven his skill and vision by building our timepieces business to its current position as the largest distributor of luxury fashion Swiss Made watches in North America,” said Adam Freede, CEO of MadaLuxe Group.

“He has been promoted to this new role to continue leading that growth and to oversee all operations of our MadaLuxe licensing arm in addition to MadaLuxeTime.com, our full-price e-commerce channel for timepieces, which will grow into a multicategory full-line business.

“We’re extremely confident in his ability to advance our business as we continue to expand into new categories and areas of operation.”

Barbery joined MadaLuxe in 2017 to establish a watch division when the company acquired the exclusive distribution rights for Versace, Salvatore Ferragamo and Versus Versace watches. He created a distribution strategy that paralleled the parent brands’ strategies and expanded distribution into Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and other fine and luxury watch stores.

In 2019, MadaLuxe acquired the North America distribution rights for Fendi Timepieces.

The launch of the licensing arm is MadaLuxe’s most recent move to expand and evolve its business. In September, the company launched SLS Journey, an investment arm led by the group’s co-founder, Sandy Sholl. The investment division focuses on high-potential emerging companies that sit at the intersection of wellness, beauty, fashion and technology and that align with MadaLuxe’s vision in the luxury sector.