The Italian influencer star Chiara Ferragni, suspected of fraud in the context of a sale of Christmas buns, will not be reappointed to the board of directors of the fashion group Tod’s, according to documents published on its site.
Tod’s has made public a list of nine candidates for the next term of the board of directors who will be presented to the general meeting of shareholders scheduled for April 24, of which the 36-year-old blogger is not part.
Chiara Ferragni, an Instagram star followed by 29.1 million people, was appointed in April 2021 as a member of the board of directors of the Italian group, an announcement that caused a rise in shares on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Famous in the world of fashion, the influencer is at the center of a scandal due to the sponsorship she granted to a Pandoro brand, a traditional Christmas brioche marketed at the end of 2022.
Fine of one million euros
In December, Italy’s competition watchdog fined two of Chiara Ferragni’s companies more than €1 million for deceptive business practices.
According to the authority, the influencer had deceived the buyers of these brioches by suggesting that part of the profits would be donated to children suffering from bone cancer at the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin (northwest).
The sale of this special edition of Balocco’s Pandoro brand meant more than one million euros for the companies owned by Chiara Ferragni, who assured that she had “always acted in good faith.”
The confectionery company Balocco limited itself to donating 50,000 euros to the hospital, several months before the commercial campaign.
This matter has considerably tarnished the image of the queen of influencers, who became known in 2009 with her fashion blog titled “The Blonde Salad.”
She then launched her own shoe collection in 2015, before collaborating with several brands, including Dior and Chanel, and building a multi-million dollar empire by forging lucrative partnerships with major brands.
Asked about the Pandoro affair, Tod’s CEO Diego Della Valle declared in February: “With us, Chiara Ferragni has always been very correct, she has done great things for charity.”
Source: BFM TV
