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Discussion: The State of Kering

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.
 
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.
 
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)
 
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.
 

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

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.
 
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?
 
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?
 
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
 
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!
 
Gucci is going to crash and burn to a point of no avail. Balenciaga is going to be fine as it is still a small house that will not matter much rather PPP screws it up or not. As for Bottega, it will be another cruel fashion tenure for a woman designer.
 

BOF​

Seeking to Reduce Gucci Dependence, Kering Created a Debt Problem​

A string of acquisitions piled up debts just as the industry entered a prolonged slump. Now, those debts are getting harder to manage.
Gucci storefront on Rue Montaigne in Paris.

Since the pandemic, Pinault has struggled to choose between bold fashion creations and more classical looks as the best way to revamp Gucci, Reuters reported. (Getty Images)

By Reuters
28 May 2025
BoF PROFESSIONAL

In trying to reduce Kering’s over-reliance on struggling flagship label Gucci, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has created another problem, as a string of acquisitions piled up debts just as the industry entered a prolonged slump.

Those debts are getting harder to manage, with Kering shares down 60 percent over the past two years and US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats dashing hopes of a sector rebound, and are weighing on the group as it vies with deep-pocketed rivals.

Pinault’s family holding Artemis, which controls Kering and also has a stake in sports brand Puma is also heavily indebted, and will likely have to pay back €500 million ($567 million) to investors in cash following Thursday’s cut-off date for a convertible bond, after Puma shares underperformed.

Kering may also need to find billions of euros to buy the remaining stake in fashion house Valentino as soon as next year.


The company is cutting costs and selling stakes in properties, but if the debt situation does not improve, it could face a third credit rating downgrade in three years, two Kering bondholders told Reuters, declining to be named.

That could further hamper its ability to revive Gucci and compete with the likes of Hermès, Chanel and LVMH, which have little to no debt and are investing heavily in their brands.

“This is the worst of times, because you’ve got a fall in sales, which is going to translate into a fall in profit, and at the same time, interest rates are rising. So they can’t renegotiate their debt,” said Eric Pichet, economics professor at the Kedge business school in France.

Kering declined to comment for this story.

Pinault, who in 2005 took the helm of the conglomerate founded by his father Francois, enjoyed years of spectacular growth at Kering thanks to Gucci and the “ugly-chic” designs of its former creative director Alessandro Michele.

But as shoppers tired of Michele’s fur-lined loafers after the pandemic, Pinault sought to diversify through acquisitions, including a 30 percent stake in Valentino, high-end perfume maker Creed, prime real estate and — via Artemis — a Hollywood talent agency.

The strategy left Kering with net debt of €10.5 billion at the end of 2024, up from close to nothing in 2021 and half its market capitalisation, and an even larger debt pile at Artemis, according to the latest available filings.

Three graphs showing Kering’s and Artemis’s net debt rose significantly since 2021, while its free cash flow steadily declined.


Shopping Spree​

Since the pandemic, Pinault has struggled to choose between bold fashion creations and more classical looks as the best way to revamp Gucci, a person who advised Pinault and other Kering executives during that period told Reuters.

With Kering’s moneyspinner sagging, Pinault moved to snap up perfume maker Creed for €3.5 billion and 30 percent of Valentino for $1.9 billion in 2023, both in cash.

In less than two years, Kering also splashed out roughly €4 billion on properties including on New York’s Fifth Avenue, and on prestigious shopping streets in Milan and Paris.

A company insider said Kering paid chunky premiums to outbid rivals, fearing its own labels — which also include Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga — could lose access to prime sites.

Kering, whose free cash flow fell by almost 30 percent in 2024 to €1.4 billion, is now rushing to sell stakes in these buildings, hoping to free up €2 billion in cash by 2026, it told analysts in February.

But the stakes may go for less than their book value. Kering recently took a €100-million charge on the sale of a 60 percent stake in three Paris properties, its 2024 annual report shows.

There are other pressures too.

Kering has said it intends to fully acquire Valentino in 2028 from luxury fund Mayhoola, backed by Qatar’s royal family.


But put options included in the deal might force Kering to buy the remaining 70 percent stake as soon as May 2026, company filings show. This could add €4 billion to Kering’s cash needs, depending on Valentino’s performance.

Kering said in April it was confident cost-cutting measures, including store closures and redundancies, would enable it to fund an early deal, if necessary. Plus it can pay for part of the remaining stake with up to 3 million Kering shares, or 2.4 percent of its equity.

Mayhoola would welcome a stake in Kering as part of its expansion strategy, a source close to the fund told Reuters.

But this option would only finance a fraction of the overall price tag, based on Kering’s current market value.

Luxury share price moves since January 2023, showing Kering shares underperformed those of sector rivals LVMH, Richemont, Prada and Hermès.

Downgrade Risk​

Kering’s adjusted net debt, which includes rental lease liabilities, stood at 3.8 times core earnings (EBITDA) at the end of 2024, ratings agency S&P told Reuters, while declining to comment on the timing of any potential ratings review.

UBS analysts estimated in a recent note that Kering’s leverage ratio could reach 4.1 times at the end of 2025. Surpassing four times typically increases the chances of a rating downgrade, one of the bondholders told Reuters.

Replicating the acquisition strategy at his family holding company, 63-year-old Pinault, who is married to Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek, used Artemis to buy a 53 percent stake in talent agency CAA for €3.5 billion, according to Artemis filings.

Artemis’ own net debt, which includes Kering’s, stood at €20.2 billion at the end of 2023, more than double the previous year, the filings — the latest available — show.

While Kering, which usually distributes at least half of its net income to shareholders, could in theory cut its dividend to save cash, that would only compound problems for Artemis.
 
The strategy left Kering with net debt of €10.5 billion at the end of 2024, up from close to nothing in 2021 and half its market capitalisation, and an even larger debt pile at Artemis, according to the latest available filings.
This is rather shocking indeed. And what did they get in return? They grossly overpaid for Creed, and I have yet to understand the full economic rationale behind acquiring CAA. Valentino isn't exactly positioned to turn things around for them either.

Another issue is that Kering has become an increasingly unreliable player in the real estate market—both for leasing and buying. In the most prime locations, competitors can now easily outbid them. It seems they’ve overpaid for nearly every acquisition in recent years.

I wonder what Mayhoola makes of all this, and whether they might seize the opportunity to acquire a significantly larger stake in Kering.
 
Henri Pinault really had more luck than sense, and now that things have turned, it's just getting more apparent. I wonder what his father thinks about all of this.
 

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