What's going on?

Late on Sunday, Tiffany�s CEO resigned following lacklustre financial results � and now the company is putting its old CEO back in the driver�s seat.

What does this mean?

Tiffany�s board was not happy with its recent performance, which included holiday sales that were lower than expected. A continued slowdown in the global luxury market and a stronger dollar have hindered performance more generally (for more background, click here). It was even hurt by the election: fewer people visited its flagship store on Fifth Avenue due to its proximity to the high security area around Trump Tower. Now, the board wants to pick up the pace of recent initiatives aimed at boosting sales (see more below).

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Traditional retail is struggling and needs to innovate.

As has been widely reported, traditional �bricks and mortar� retail is struggling. And a big shift to online shopping gets a lot of the blame. In response, existing retailers are going to have to adapt their business models, perhaps by developing hybrid stores that combine the personal experience of traditional retail with the ease of online shopping.

For markets: Tiffany has a strategy to help differentiate itself.

Tiffany does have a very strong brand. And this may be one reason its share price has actually held up relatively well in recent years. Tiffany�s strategy for the future involves better marketing itself (yesterday it aired its first ever Super Bowl ad), launching new products and �enhancing its customer experience� (to use Tiffany�s words). But it might have to come up with more innovative ideas in order to succeed.