Dive Brief:

• Tiffany & Co. announced Thursday it appointed luxury industry veteran Alessandro Bogliolo as CEO, effective in October, according to a company press release.
• Bogliolo spent 16 years at Italian jewelry and luxury brand Bulgari, where he served as chief operating officer and as an executive vice president for jewelry and watches. Most recently, he held the CEO spot at the Italian clothing company Diesel.
• Bogliolo replaces Frederic Cumenal, who stepped down in February amid declining sales at Tiffany. 

Dive Insight:

Michael Kowalski, Tiffany’s chairman and interim CEO, said in a statement that Bogliolo brought with him a “reputation for creativity and execution” — both qualities Tiffany’s needs from a CEO as it tries to maintain customer interest in the luxury brand and improve its financial performance.

Tiffany has been scrambling as tourist sales have dropped and the dollar has risen. The iconic American jeweler’s flagship New York City store also finds itself at a disadvantage thanks to its proximity to Trump Tower, which has seen a rash of protests, especially since the November election. (Tiffany has taken steps to mitigate the impact of increased security on its nearby flagship store’s sales and traffic.)

Tiffany's failure to catch the attention of younger consumers is particularly acute at the holidays, which was once an especially key time for purchases of upscale jewelry that is the brand's specialty. But since the Great Recession, higher spending shoppers haven’t been buying those sparkly things as gifts nearly as much as they once did, GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders told Retail Dive earlier this year. “Jewelry is no longer at the top of the Christmas list,” he said. “For a brand like Tiffany, where lavish gifting is an important driver of buying, such a trend is distinctly unhelpful.” In an effort to reach millennials (without lowering prices) and boost its online sales, the company inked a deal last April with Net-A-Porter. 

Cumenal's departure was the latest in a series of changes across Tiffany's C-suite. In September, the company named Mark Erceg, former CFO of Canadian Pacific Railway, as its CFO. He replaced Ralph Nicoletti, who left after just two years to become CFO of consumer products company Newell Brands. In January, Tiffany promoted Reed Krakoff to the newly created role of chief artistic officer; Krakoff, who spent 17 years as the creative director of accessories retailer Coach, held a senior design role at Ralph Lauren, before serving as a creative collaborator for Tiffany with the relaunch of a luxury accessories collection.