Crate & Barrel Splits With TBWA\Chiat\Day

The Playa del Rey, Calif., office of TBWA\Chiat\Day is splitting with client Crate & Barrel at the end of April when the agency’s contract with the retailer ends, sources said.

Representatives at the Omnicom Group agency declined comment and referred calls to the marketer, which did not respond to Adweek inquiries.

The Northbrook, Ill.-based chain reportedly is reaching out to design shops. It hired TBWA\C\D in April 2012 after a review in which Mother, New York, was the other finalist. That search occurred after Crate & Barrel hired new CMO Jennifer Olsen in July 2011. Olsen, who previously had marketing roles at Gap Inc.’s Piperlime and Banana Republic, left Crate & Barrel in October 2013.

Sources said that while annual media spending on the business was estimated at $12 million when TBWA\C\D won the business, it actually totaled just $6 million in 2012 and $4 million in the first nine months of last year, according to Kantar Media.

As lead creative agency, TBWA\C\D replaced Los Angeles brand strategy shop Phenomenon, which also worked with Crate & Barrel unit CB2.