Tiffany CEO Departs As It Returns To TV With Gaga

Tiffany & Co.’s CEO of two years headed for the door yesterday even as a low-key but well-received spot for its new spokeswoman, Lady Gaga, made its debut just before her spectacular, gymnastic Super Bowl halftime show got underway. Shot in back and white, it opens with Gaga languidly blowing on a harmonica — a sharp contrast to her dazzling entrance in the night sky at NRG Stadium in Houston. 

The commercial “[plays] into the more subtle Gaga that fans have grown accustomed to seeing following the release of her latest album ‘Joanne,’ writes Lyndsey Havens for Billboard, while pointing out that it’s Tiffany’s first television ad in two decades. It’s also very New York-centric, with Gaga telling us, “I grew up in New York City and I was born there …,” as the harmonica chord fades. 

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“As fiercely feminine as the new Tiffany HardWear collection, the legendary Lady Gaga captures the spontaneity and creative spirit of New York City,” asserts a teaser for the :60 “film” that’s featured on the homepage of the Tiffany site this morning. 

(For an analysis on how all the Super Bowl LI spots fared against an unusually “amazing” game, see Sarah Mahoney’s story below.)

Meanwhile, Frederic Cumenal officially “stepped down” from his CEO position yesterday and will be replaced temporarily by Tiffany board chairman Michael J. Kowalski, who had preceded him in the first place, as a search gets underway for a successor. 

“The Board is committed to our current core business strategies, but has been disappointed by recent financial results,” Kowalski says in the release issued by the company.

Cumenal is “a Frenchman who joined Tiffany in 2011 to oversee worldwide sales and distribution and later also took on design, merchandising and marketing functions before becoming CEO in April 2015,” Phil Wahba reports for Fortune.

“Under Cumenal’s watch, Tiffany was rocked by a slump in tourism spending and headwinds caused by the strong U.S. dollar. Sales declines in Europe and the Americas marred its holiday season. Another headache: Stepped-up security at its flagship store next to Trump Tower in New York hurt traffic,” observes Stephanie Hoi-Nga Wong for Bloomberg. “To cope, Tiffany has been cutting costs, rolling out new products and increasing its marketing.”

Last month, the company announced that “global net sales rose 1% from the same period of 2015, and comparable sales slipped 1% when viewed on a constant-exchange-rate basis. Although the company said holiday season sales grew 7% in Asia-Pacific and 16% in Japan, the increases were offset by continuing declines in the Americas and Europe…,” Kevin McCoy reports for USA Today

It also announced that it “had hired iconic fashion designer Reed Krakoff to the new position of chief artistic officer, a role that will see him lead design for Tiffany jewelry and accessories, the first of which should appear by the holiday season,” Fortune’s Wahba points out. “Krakow had made his name at Coach, which he turned into a global handbag powerhouse.” 

Tiffany’s earnings malaise is making the rounds in well-appointed quarters and boardrooms.

“Tiffany is the latest luxury company to experience an executive shake-up, underscoring the pressure on established brands to reinvent themselves for a fast-changing market, where social media allows upstarts to quickly gain a footing and consumers are no longer loyal,” writes Suzanne Kapner for the Wall Street Journal. “Last week, Ralph Lauren Corp. said its chief executive, Stefan Larsson, will leave the company in May after less than two years on the job due to creative differences with the company’s founder.” 

CNBC’s Krystina Gustafson pointed out last week that “the legacy jeweler is working to build a stronger connection with Millennial shoppers, who have shied away from traditional brands in favor of more modern, unique merchandise.”

The Gaga ad that debuted last night introduces the Tiffany HardWear collection, “which was inspired by a 1971 unisex bracelet from the company's archives. The pieces will be available on Tiffany.com starting April 18, and will be its stores April 28.”

“The brand is definitive and iconic, yet continues to push and evolve with the times,” Gaga said in a statement quoted by Gustafson.

Meanwhile, it might serve the flagstaff store to evolve itself to a more accessible location — at least for the duration.

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