In context of Gucci see now by now rumors for Denma ´s debut the puck news update shows there urgency to fix things i guess :-)
Kering’s Soft Luxury Problem News and notes on Kering’s 2H25 challenges as François-Henri Pinault’s conglomerate navigates a sluggish market for soft luxury goods.
PUCKNews June 9, 2025
Caring About Kering
Over the past couple of weeks, the focus on Kering has sharpened as
François-Henri Pinault’s conglomerate navigates a challenged market for soft luxury goods, which has been exacerbated by company-specific problems—picking the wrong creative director for Gucci, an overexpansion in some markets, etcetera. Kering has lost almost four-fifths of its value since its all-time high, in the summer of 2021; the company is currently worth about $25 billion, down from about $115 billion.
Most recently, Reuters
reported that Kering was in talks to sell its stake in 715-717 Fifth Avenue, which it bought for nearly $1 billion at the beginning of 2024, to a private equity firm called Ardian. (Earlier this year, Ardian and Kering entered a joint venture giving the P.E. outfit
60 percent ownership in three prime properties in Paris.) Reps for Kering and Ardian declined to comment, but the sale would create some liquidity while allowing Kering to maintain a vested interest in properties that matter to the long-term health of the business. (As Reuters reported, Kering registered about €10 billion in debt at the end of 2024, up from virtually zero just a few years ago.)
This news will surely fuel the rumblings that Kering may be primed for some sort of merger with another group, or a financial transaction that forces the Pinault family to relinquish some control. The people at the top of the company deny that any of this is true. Regardless,
these next six months are going to determine much about Kering’s future, and I look forward to hearing what leadership says during the half-year results.
