Discussion: The State of Kering

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By Reuters
May 13, 2025

Kering Facing Drop in US Consumption, CEO says​

The Gucci owner’s chief executive François-Henri Pinault said, ‘The drop in consumption, which has been going on for several weeks now, is quite strong.’

Gucci-owner Kering has seen a stark decline of demand for its luxury and fashion goods in the United States, its chief executive François-Henri Pinault told French senators at a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.

“The drop in consumption, which has been going on for several weeks now, is quite strong,” Pinault said.

Kering last month reported weak first-quarter sales, dragged down by a 25 percent drop at Gucci.

 

[FashionPower]

Demna needs to release appealing basic Gucci merchandise items as soon as possible, like one minute after his final Balenciaga couture show.
Kering is in desperate need of Demna Gucci hoodies, belts, sneakers, bumbags...basically all the core items that under Michele let Gucci skyrocket sales.
The main assumption is that prior to Covid, Gucci fluorished cause Michele floored the market with these entry level items and accessories (Marmont minibags, Marmont belts, Princeton mules, Ace sneakers, logo trasksuits). These items were never intended to cater the people who usually spend great amounts on luxury, but instead they were targeted to mid-low class spenders willing to splurge once every year on a trendy item with a flashy logo or easily visually identifiable (in 2017-2018 even people with no fashion knowledge / interest knew that a loafer with fur applique was from Gucci). After Covid and especially after Michele's departure, fashion savvy people moved to other brands (either quiet luxury or lifestyle brands) while mid-low class spenders simply stopped buying high fashion and moved to cheaper alternatives that are not considered high fashion. It's funny to think that Gucci's recent success was built on people who were not supposed to buy Gucci in the first place.
Gucci lost revenues from mid-low class, simple as that. Judging Balenciaga success among gen Z, it makes quite a lot of sense for Cantino and Bellettini to go all in to stop the sales dropping.

 

[FashionPower]

Gucci cruise show in few hours in Florence under total global irrelevancy...well at the least the paid influencers / celebs are gonna enjoy their full paid 5 star hotel stay in Florence.
Since Demna is gonna officially join the company in couple month and swipe off everything created by Sabato and the interim design team to build his own vision, maybe it would have been better to save few millions and cancel the show. There is no need for a fashion show to see GG monogram bags and RTW items that are Not even going to be produced (look at the Seoul Cruise 2024 show under Davide Renne)

 

[PDFSD]

agree on tne above

Gucci cruise show in few hours in Florence under total global irrelevancy...well at the least the paid influencers / celebs are gonna enjoy their full paid 5 star hotel stay in Florence.
Since Demna is gonna officially join the company in couple month and swipe off everything created by Sabato and the interim design team to build his own vision, maybe it would have been better to save few millions and cancel the show. There is no need for a fashion show to see GG monogram bags and RTW items that are Not even going to be produced (look at the Seoul Cruise 2024 show under Davide Renne)

its an advertising show to get media free impression etc the cost is covered with this ....... to have gucci in the press with the collection will be full of commercial stuff unlike seoul which was another time , the ceo is hands on with the collection development and the team of additional people that just joined also get to work in /test drive etc

it helps to have clients come over and keep a connection with VIG etc its not just the show and have events plan around the show etc and shopping as well like high JWL etc . all not public

its normal for the big brands all the above as you know

this is the same team that already started with Demna even if some will be replaced in time by his own selected gang.

 

[PDFSD]

Gucci’s Chief Industrial, Supply Chain Officer Massimo Vian Has Exited Brand​

WWD has learned that following Vian’s departure for personal reasons, the industrial operations units that previously reported to him — leather goods, footwear, ready-to-wear, and jewelry — will report directly to Stefano Cantino, although this is said to be ad interim.
ByLUISA ZARGANI

MAY 22, 2025, 12:42PM​

Massimo Vian COURTESY OF GUCCI

MILAN — Gucci’s chief industrial and supply chain officer Massimo Vian has exited the company.
According to sources, he left Gucci for personal reasons and in agreement with the brand.
The departure is seen as being in sync with Gucci’s chief executive officer Stefano Cantino’s reorganization.
WWD has learned that following Vian’s departure, the industrial operations units that previously reported to him — leather goods, footwear, ready-to-wear, and jewelry — will report directly to Cantino.

“This development is understood to align with Gucci’s ambition to sharpen its focus on the growth of its core business categories,” said one market source. “Streamlining reporting lines is intended to enhance coordination across product categories and accelerate decision-making, enabling a more integrated approach to product strategy and strengthening the link between planning and execution.”

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Additional changes are in the pipeline, sources say, adding that Cantino’s role supervising the industrial operations is believed to be ad interim.
As reported, Vian was named to his role at Gucci in January 2024. This was a new position, signaling the increasing attention Italian luxury goods companies are paying to control the organization and structure of the key manufacturing pipeline.
Before Gucci, he was chief operating officer at Prada, which he joined in 2020 after a brief stint as CEO at cashmere brand Falconeri. Previously, he was CEO for product and operations at Luxottica Group. He left the Italian giant eyewear manufacturer in 2017 after 13 years. He had initially joined Luxottica as head of industrial engineering.
Separately, Vian has most recently made some online news for a fine he has received from the Bourse watchdog Consob for a private investment he made in 2020 that sources believe refer to insider trading, although he is said to be taking legal action to ascertain that he is extraneous to the facts.

Since his appointment as CEO in October last year, Cantino has been restructuring his team, navigating the uncertain global scenario, tapping Demna as successor to Sabato De Sarno and aiming to reverse declining revenues at Gucci, which fell 25 percent in the first quarter of 2025, dragged down by low traffic and anemic demand for carryover styles.

This week, as reported, he named Maria Cristina Lomanto, currently executive vice president, brand general manager, to the post of president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, effective June 1. She will report to chief commercial officer Cayetano Fabry and succeed Matteo Mascazzini. Marcello Costa was also promoted to chief merchandising officer.
Among other key changes under Cantino’s watch have included the arrival of Valérie Leberichel from Givenchy as senior vice president of global communications at Gucci; Francesco Falai, named chief people officer; Marcello Mastrogiacomo from Armani Beauty Global as VP of digital marketing and media, a new role, and Christophe Marque, who joined last month from DFS Group, a subsidiary of LVMH Möet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, as president and CEO of Gucci Americas.

 

[FashionPower]

At this Cantino is going to entrust himself with the role of: CEO, operations director, creative director, communication director, media director, payroll director, head of Gucci NAR, LAR...
Hilarious...anyway when is Zanola going to leave the company?

 

[style_expert]

So, if we count Valentino as a kind of "Kering-lite" brand, the PPP announcement ultimately completed a rather absurd Kering merry-go-round:

-Alessandro Michele: Gucci → Valentino
-Pierpaolo Piccioli: Valentino → Balenciaga
-Demna: Balenciaga → Gucci

Keep your friends close—but your "star" designers closer, I guess?

 

[PDFSD]

At this Cantino is going to entrust himself with the role of: CEO, operations director, creative director, communication director, media director, payroll director, head of Gucci NAR, LAR...
Hilarious...anyway when is Zanola going to leave the company?

they are screening the design office as we speak denma folks are looking who is creatively worthy to stay and who is bye bye
seeing what he produced so far if he survives it will be a miracle even cockroaches don't live forever lol

 

[FashionPower]

they are screening the design office as we speak denma folks are looking who is creatively worthy to stay and who is bye bye
seeing what he produced so far if he survives it will be a miracle even cockroaches don't live forever lol

Seriously, if he's not out after 3 years of flop ads and stale artistic direction it means he has an affair with Cantino!

 

[PDFSD]

Seriously, if he's not out after 3 years of flop ads and stale artistic direction it means he has an affair with Cantino!

not his type with painted nails and shabby looks