Guess has lost 21% of its value in the last two trading days after model Kate Upton accused Paul Marciano, one of the founders of the brand, of sexually harassing women.
Shares of the company fell almost 18 percent on Thursday, marking the worst trading day since 2012. Yesterday, they lost 3.3 percent of their value. “It’s disappointing that the iconic brand for women like Guess still strengthens Paul Marciano as his creative director,” Upton wrote on Wednesday on Twitter. She later added to her index that “he should not be allowed to use his power in the industry to harass women sexually and psychologically.”
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It included the #MeToo, which has become the symbol of the movement against sexual harassment since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke out last fall.
It’s disappointing that such an iconic women’s brand @GUESS is still empowering Paul Marciano as their creative director #metoo
— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) January 31, 2018
Upton did not elaborate or give examples of Marciano’s alleged misconduct. The company said in a statement to the SEC yesterday that “Mr. Marciano denies any misconduct with respect to Ms. Upton.” The company also said it would investigate Upton’s claims if it found any basis, adding that the model did not raise specific charges.
The TMZ website reported that Marciano spoke to his team and said he denied any wrongdoing and was shocked by the accusation. “If she has an argument, there is one place to say the truth and that is the court or the police,” he said.
Marciano founded Guess with his brother in 1981. He is currently the chairman and creative director of the company, after leaving the position of CEO in 2015. Marciano is also one of the company’s largest shareholders. He currently owns over 12 million shares, meaning that the fall cost him about $ 40 million personally.
Upton has appeared in several company campaigns, which used her photos in many of her Twitter publications, including the #GuessGirl.
Guess attributed to Marciano the “jump-off” of a number of famous models, including Upton, Claudia Schiffer and Gigi Hadid.
