Gucci treated top saleswoman who sold $50M of gear like a SLAVE, mocked her age ... trends now
Gucci treated a top saleswoman who sold $50 million of designer goods like a slave, mocked her age and bullied her until she wasted away to skin and bones with her hair falling out, a lawsuit claims.
Tracy Cohen worked as a client advisor-sales associate for Gucci's Chicago store on Michigan Avenue for eighteen years. She sold more than $50 million of goods - including $5 million in 2021 alone. But in October 2023, she was terminated without severance.
Cohen, 58, claims she was discriminated against because of her age and that bosses preferred under-40s. She also claims she was targeted because of her gender and disability - anxiety and depression.
She was told she was 'crazy' and 'old' for complaining that she was being worked 24/7, it is alleged.
Cohen says she was deprived of thousands in commission to punish her for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaint and the Illinois human rights department.
In the complaint, Cohen claimed the top boss of Gucci ignored her pleas. When she went to her manager and human resources, hoping she would finally get help, she was told she was suspended and 'under investigation.'
The lawsuit against Kering, Gucci, Gucci, Gucci America, Inc. and Gucci North American Holdings was filed on January 22, 2024 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
Tracy Cohen worked as a client advisor-sales associate for Gucci's Chicago store (pictured) on Michigan Avenue for eighteen years
President and CEO of Gucci Marco Bizzarri (pictured) wearing Gucci left the brand in November 2023 after disagreeing with management about Gucci’s direction, as per The New York Times
Models strut down the catwalk at Gucci's RTW 2024 Fashion Show in Milan, Italy in February
The lawsuit alleges that 'during Ms. Cohen's employment, rather than decorate her with recognition and give her opportunities to succeed, Gucci instead consumed nearly every second of her life, exploiting her through a modern-day slavery scheme of psychological abuse, manipulation, and discrimination where her employees- Gucci and Kering - destroyed her sense of self and made her live in constant fear of losing her job.'
Cohen was hired by Gucci in 2006. In 2018, she became the number one salesperson in Gucci Chicago, surpassing at least twenty other sales associates. She was responsible for 15 percent of the store's entire monthly quota.
In 2021 - the year she shifted $5 million of goods - she was given a bonus of just $20,000, it is alleged.
According to the complaint, Gucci and Kering created an elaborate scheme of trickery to push Cohen to sell more Gucci product, while keeping her afraid of losing her job.
'Defendants controlled nearly all aspects of plaintiff life by isolating her from society, demanding that she work off-the-clock while attached to her electronic selling devices, making negative comments about her age and mental health, and giving her a monthly sales quota that was nearly two to three times the quota of her peers,' according to the suit.
When she was suspended, something that never happened in her 18-year career, and was told she was 'under investigation.'
The company continued to punish her and told her she could still sell from home, during the 5-day suspension, it is claimed. But bosses forbade her from speaking to any of her co-workers while she was 'under investigation,' further isolating her, traumatizing her, and bullying her, the lawsuit alleges
