March 2, 2011
Firing Talent to Save the Brand
French fashion house Dior was forced to fire its creative director after he allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks, plus the rest of today's news.
What do you do when your star employee becomes embroiled in scandal?Television producers have Charlie Sheen to deal with; the fashion industry now hasJohn Galliano, Christian Dior's creative director known equally for his fashion genius as well as his flamboyant persona. But when it came out that Galliano had allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks in a Parisian restaurant (a crime that could carry jail time in France), Dior decided it had enough, and canned Galliano. Clearly, Dior's decision to deal swiftly and directly with Galliano made sense in order to protect the brand. But it also underscored a broader question for CEOs: when does an employee's personal life endanger the overall health of the company? Earlier in the month, Googleannounced its support of Wael Ghonim, a leader of the revolution in Egypt, which provoked a wide range of emotions among Google users. By acting quickly, some posture that Dior even improved its brand image by firing Galliano; Ronald Frasch, the president and chief merchandising officer at Saks Fifth Avenue, told The New York Times, “My initial reaction is they gained respect by dealing with this directly."
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