2021 AMC Relaunch Press Release
COVID-19 crisis demands renewed collaboration between african marketing professionals.
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS
Top Unilever FMCG executive poached to head up fashion brand
By our News Team | 2021
Leena Nair to leave senior role at Unilever to take over the day-to-day running of luxury fashion house Chanel.
In a surprise move, one of the world’s top luxury goods brands has poached a senior executive from FMCG giant Unilever to be its new CEO.
Leena Nair, who is currently global head of HR at Unilever, joins French-founded but UK-based fashion house Chanel from early in the new year. She has been with Unilever for three decades and filled various roles, including being a member of the company’s powerful executive committee.
Top-end fashion houses like Chanel rarely make such appointments from outside their tightly knit industry, and often CEOs will come from the families that traditionally control many of these brands. There are occasional exceptions, though, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that Estee Lauder recruited Fabrizio Freda, a snack-food executive at Procter & Gamble, to become its Chief Executive in 2009.
Leena Nair photo by Shinykatie, via Wikipedia
Wertheimer brothers have held the reins
Chanel is a privately run business, with brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer holding the reins. Alain has been its CEO, but moves on to become Executive Chairman.
“In swapping fast-moving consumer goods for luxury, Ms. Nair joins a sector that analysts say is poised for rapid post-pandemic growth,” the Journal reported. “Bain & Co. forecasts that global luxury revenues will rise from an estimated €283-billion, equivalent to US$320-billion, this year to around €370-billion, or $418-billion, in 2025.
“Chanel, whose lines include fashion, fragrances, jewellery and skin care, was the world’s sixth-largest luxury group by revenue in 2020, according to Deloitte, with sales of $10.1-billion. Like other big luxury groups, Chanel’s sales took a hit from the pandemic, declining 17.6% in 2020 relative to the year before. That compared with an 11% decline for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and a 17.5% decline at Kering SA.”
Nair is a British citizen of Indian descent and her appointment has caused widespread excitement in India. She will be based in London.
Social media marketing
Study of sports industry in 2021 says Nike leveraged a massive 16 236 commercial partners on social media to produce US$617m in ad value.
Brand Purpose
Prominent fund manager believes the focus is excessive and a factor in Unilever’s poor business performance last year.
Shopper Behaviour
As Africa’s retail landscape shifts in due to the pandemic, festive season shopper research provides new insights.
Advertising
Corporate banker Rand Merchant Bank confirms Grey as its new creative agency as it seeks to ‘energise’ and ‘bring life’ to the brand.
Purpose-led Marketing
Do consumers care how a company behaves, if the product and price is right? Research shows they do favour brands with a social purpose.
Doing Business
Business confidence amongst South African small business owners was decidedly low towards the end of 2021, after a notable increase in the second quarter of last year.
Online Meetings
Pitching a new campaign to a client, or a revised strategy to management, is stress-inducing. Doing it online has added a new dimension.
Consumer Trends
Report reveals the key themes businesses must understand to keep pace with rapidly evolving consumer preferences around the world.
Media Strategy
Marketers wanting to target TV audiences in two Portuguese-speaking African countries now have two new options to consider.
App-based Marketing
It started as a messaging app for connecting families, friends and social groups. Now WhatsApp is an effective marketing tool in Africa.
Reputation Management
Consumer watchdog believes some fashion brands may be making misleading claims about environmental credentials in their marketing.