In an interview with Michael J. Kowalski, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Tiffany & Co., we discussed corporate social responsibility, ethical sourcing and responsible mining, lessons in leadership, and much more.
When you think about corporations in the jewelry business, particularly of the size and stature of Tiffany & Co., what kinds of issues or challenges come to mind?
Michael J. Kowalski: A company of the size and stature of Tiffany & Co., operating in a highly fragmented and largely “unbranded” jewelry marketplace, confronts both the benefits and challenges of industry leadership. We clearly have the resources to do what few in the industry can do in terms of building a secure, vertically integrated supply chain, including cutting and polishing most of our diamonds and crafting a large percentage of our jewelry in Tiffany workshops around the world. But we also face a deservedly higher set of expectations than many of our less famous competitors do. The power of the Tiffany brand provides us with both opportunity and responsibility.
Recently, you’ve talked about ethical sourcing and responsibility being integrally tied to the brand promise of Tiffany & Co. What did you mean by that?
[two_third]I would like to think that the majority of consumers are genuinely concerned about ethical sourcing. But candidly, such concerns are rarely “top of mind” when considering the purchase of jewelry. Nevertheless, I do believe that Tiffany customers trust, either explicitly or through assumption, that Tiffany – as part of our brand promise – has in fact attended to those concerns. That promise begins with an assurance that the materials were sourced and crafted responsibly, including the use of recycled precious metals and a focus on mines that minimize impact on the environment and respect human rights. It also includes an effort to provide economic opportunities beyond mining in developing countries that host mining operations. For many of our customers those promises may be implicit, but it makes them no less real. And should we fail to deliver on those promises, the damage to our brand will most certainly be real.[/two_third]
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“We believe the definition of conflict diamonds needs to be expanded. […] And over the long term, […] consumers will increasingly demand responsible behavior.”
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