Layoffs at Ted Baker, Fire at Tiffany & Co.

Welcome back to FN Daily, where we break down the biggest stories happening in footwear and retail.

Today, we have a feature about the entrepreneur behind The Athlete's Foot's newest store. Plus, we have the story on Tiffany & Co.’s flagship store catching fire and job cuts at Ted Baker.

Here's what you need to know:

Meet The Grammy Winner and Entrepreneur Opening The Athlete’s Foot’s Newest Retail Location

Two years ago, The Athlete’s Foot (TAF) pioneered the Strategic African American Retail Track (StAART), a new program to support and grow Black retail ownership. Now, the footwear franchise is gearing up see the first fruits of its efforts.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, the first-ever recipient of TAF’s StAART program, will officially open TAF’s newest retail location this summer. With this launch, the Grammy Award-winning gospel artist and entrepreneur will become one of the few Black female sneaker retail store owners.

The store is set for a grand opening in August, with a soft launch slated for some time prior to that.

Read more about Cobbs Leonard's vision for the new store, here.

Tiffany & Co.’s Newly Renovated Fifth Avenue Flagship Has Caught Fire

Tiffany & Co.’s newly renovated Fifth Avenue flagship in NYC has caught fire.

Smoke was seen by FN billowing out of a ground floor window from the 57th Street side of The Landmark store at 727 Fifth Avenue at around 10 a.m. on Thursday. Multiple FDNY fire trucks were seen around the store and down Fifth Avenue this morning as smoke continued to exit the building.

The cause and extent of the fire are still unknown. FN has reached out to Tiffany & Co. representatives for comment.

This fire comes just months after the?LVMH-owned?jewelry company reopened its historic flagship space. In April, the luxury giant lifted the curtain on Tiffany & Co.’s historic location, now called The Landmark, which is the group’s most expensive single-brand store ever built.

Ted Baker Cuts Staff as Brand Evolution Continues

More staff cuts have hit Ted Baker.

In a statement sent to FN, Ted Baker’s parent company Authentic Brands Group confirmed that there has been a “restructure” at the British fashion brand.

“Through the process less than 15 percent of Ted Baker employees were impacted,” Authentic stated. “Neither store nor customer facing employees were affected.”

And while the specific number of employees affected were not confirmed by Authentic, Drapers reported on Thursday that around 200 head office roles were eliminated earlier this month across departments including sourcing, finance, production and footwear.

Need more shoe news?

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• Meet the Changemakers From the Savannah College of Art and Design
• Breaking Down the George Santos Wardrobe

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