Discussion: The State of Kering

[Lola701]

They have already sold real estate, they are selling their entities. Next stage is brand.
I don’t understand their jewelry operations so maybe they should sell Dodo and others.

Regarding McQueen, I can see them selling it and Renzo Rosso buying it.

But for me, selling beauty was a stupid move. De Meo didn’t have that much option but prior to him, they didn’t even tried.

Doing niche fragrances for the brands wasn’t going to generate huge numbers anyway. If you want to sell fragrances, do it seriously!

Why not terminate him and get like anyone who can sew two pieces together in here ?

He is under contract and it may cost them more money to fire him now than to wait for his contract to end.
Gucci is a big house so they could afford to get rid of Sabato.
McQueen has downsized a lot since the pandemic.

 

[Nimsay]

I mean, Kering still hasn’t properly paid for Pedogate. We will decide when their pound of flesh has been accounted for.

 

[FashionPower]

Bottega Veneta, the only brand from the roster performing decently, has a perfume selection comprised of EIGHT niche fragrances.
What about focusing on just one with a big celeb endorsement. What was the last time we had Julianne Moore being the face of a beauty / perfume campaign? Dumb choices over dumb choices.
At Balenciaga they had Nicole, they have Michelle Yeoh, Naomi Watts, Kim Kardashian, Isabelle Huppert and none of them has been chosen to push one of the ten perfume releases...

 

[PDFSD]

Kering’s stock is up 30% since the beginning of the year. It started to climb after Luca de Meo’s appointment was announced. I guess it will take some time before we see the first effects of any changes he’s proposing.

constructed optimism because some people want their money out with higher value because more companies got a sudden stock price up.
he has more to learn than i thought before he started speaking out on his plans ...i guess the shinny people in fashion got to him already ...its so blinding :-)

 

[PDFSD]

Bottega Veneta, the only brand from the roster performing decently, has a perfume selection comprised of EIGHT niche fragrances.
What about focusing on just one with a big celeb endorsement. What was the last time we had Julianne Moore being the face of a beauty / perfume campaign? Dumb choices over dumb choices.
At Balenciaga they had Nicole, they have Michelle Yeoh, Naomi Watts, Kim Kardashian, Isabelle Huppert and none of them has been chosen to push one of the ten perfume releases...

because Blazy thought he was armani prive lol

 

[PDFSD]

With Burton leaving they lost all the customers who loved and enjoyed her sharp tailoring.
Mcqueen business was sustained by those very tacky "status symbol" platform sneakers, the skull head clutches / accessories and the tailoring.
Under McGirr the brand became insipid and just bland, no one is going to spend those figures for a C-list brand when you can get status symbol Dior and LV by splurging 20%...it's not like a Mcqueen jacket is 1k and a Dior one is 4k...
The funniest thing is that Mcqueen lost the tailoring when Sarah left but Givenchy didn't earn it when Sarah joined lol. Givenchy's current selection is abysmal.

she just stared givenchy menswear so lets see but for me the brand is dead both Mc Q and Givenchy

 

[PDFSD]

Luca de Meo at Kering: Revolutionizing Luxury with Speed and Customer Focus

Explore Luca de Meo's new rules to revive Kering: halving production times, customer-centric approach, and early positive results at Gucci. A paradigm shift from automotive to fashion.

www.nssmag.com

good luck lol with this markething industrialist manifesto also the 20-80 split is nothing new at all the big brand even at gucci.

the way its told is contra productive for luxury /high fashion they will see :-)

 

[style_expert]

Two possibilities involving Kering recently came up in a podcast with Lauren Sherman and Luca Solca:

• If L’Oréal buys the majority of Armani, they may choose to outsource the license for RTW/leather goods, and Kering was mentioned as a likely candidate (similar to the Estée Lauder–Zegna deal for Tom Ford).
• After Kering Beauté, it seems Kering is now also considering selling its eyewear division.

The latter would be another huge mistake. If I’m not mistaken, eyewear is one of the few areas performing well. I understand the need to raise cash to pay off some of that enormous debt, but again selling off one of your potentially strongest assets?

And finally, there was talk about them off-loading the McQueen brand, which honestly wouldn’t be surprising at this point.

 

[LadyJunon]

Two possibilities involving Kering recently came up in a podcast with Lauren Sherman and Luca Solca:

• If L’Oréal buys the majority of Armani, they may choose to outsource the license for RTW/leather goods, and Kering was mentioned as a likely candidate (similar to the Estée Lauder–Zegna deal for Tom Ford).
• After Kering Beauté, it seems Kering is now also considering selling its eyewear division.

The latter would be another huge mistake. If I’m not mistaken, eyewear is one of the few areas performing well. I understand the need to raise cash to pay off some of that enormous debt, but again selling off one of your potentially strongest assets?

And finally, there was talk about them off-loading the McQueen brand, which honestly wouldn’t be surprising at this point.

They should keep the eyewear and sell off McQueen. It's their second smallest brand and it doesn't seem to be doing well at all. It would do better under a smaller group that can handle a less mainstream image.

 

[FashionPower]

Smartest move for them, in my opinion, is to focus only on the top brands (YSL, Bottega, Gucci, Balenciaga) and sell everything else. I don't think they need jewelry maisons like Boucheron and Pomellato, are these even making margins? And yes, of course they need to keep the Eyewear division, they need to cash on merchandise especially when the prices and the audience is so polarized.
Let's see if the Demna effect will revive Gucci after Ancora's and Cantino's disastrous tenure, but they seriously need to get some decent bag designers at YSL.

 

[PDFSD]

Since 29th of september no ig posts for their 51 million followers a whole month are your so embarrassed you only show your new ads via targets banners? lol

Where is the strategy or is Demna still thinking about it with Bellatini in LA ?

what did he say again about oversized clothes and logo on it at Gucci lol

was it not: if people expect dme to do the same thing then they don't know his true artistic expression !!!????
end quote lol

 

[style_expert]

Smartest move for them, in my opinion, is to focus only on the top brands (YSL, Bottega, Gucci, Balenciaga) and sell everything else. I don't think they need jewelry maisons like Boucheron and Pomellato, are these even making margins? And yes, of course they need to keep the Eyewear division, they need to cash on merchandise especially when the prices and the audience is so polarized.
Let's see if the Demna effect will revive Gucci after Ancora's and Cantino's disastrous tenure, but they seriously need to get some decent bag designers at YSL.

Actually, they did mention (high) jewelry too in the podcast I mentioned, in that it's doing very well, especially compared to the rest of the sinking ship. Kering jewelry's brands even posted double digit growth in Q3 2025.
But their jewelry brands are relatively small to Richemont and LVMH of course.

Brioni and McQueen they need to get rid of.
Eyewear is such a relatively easy moneymaker with entry-level pricing and a huge market...why on earth would you sell it. They even produce the eyewear for Richemont's fashion brands.

As for Gucci....indeed there's very little to comment on. Apart from that first Milan outing for a very brief moment, no one is talking about it.

 

[FashionPower]

Since 29th of september no ig posts for their 51 million followers a whole month are your so embarrassed you only show your new ads via targets banners? lol

Where is the strategy or is Demna still thinking about it with Bellatini in LA ?

what did he say again about oversized clothes and logo on it at Gucci lol

was it not: if people expect dme to do the same thing then they don't know his true artistic expression !!!????
end quote lol
View attachment 1428037

A leather jacket with Gucci ribbon detail...groundbreaking.
I'm sorry but I would still prefer his Balenciaga menswear with swapped Gucci logos rather than this wannabe Tom Ford

 

[PDFSD]

i see same ancora steps of doom repeated:

- first show expression a waterdown not full expression of image remake.
- commercial products key focus money makers not aligned with any new image if there is one.
- communication is segregated creative directors expression is limited and commercial drops are not intune.
- voice of the brand is run by ceo promises not by emphasizing brand powers and new fresh creative direction etc more focus on new creative directors visible direction etc.
-lacma glitzy event that does not serve gucci bottom line while more pressing matters are begging for attention.
-gucci in standby mode from true excitement from new direction. lets wait and see next real show....


Excluding the Covid quarter (Q2 2020), Q3 2025 is Gucci’s 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟲.

Over the last 12 months, revenue reached €6.3bn — basically back to 2017 levels.

Headcount gucci staff doubled for example: 11.5k employees in 2017, versus 18.2k staff in 2025. but revenue did not.

 

[PDFSD]

puck.news​

A Kering Market Overreaction​

News and notes on market reactions to Luca de Meo’s first moves as Kering’s new C.E.O.

Luca de Meo also probably agrees with Solca: his whole mantra has been that Kering execs need to keep their head down and concentrate on the work, not the external reaction to these early moves. Photo: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Is There a Luca de Meo Bubble?​

On Fashion People this week, Bernstein analyst Luca Solca praised the initial strategy and tactics of new Kering C.E.O. Luca de Meo—from installing Francesca Bellettini at Gucci to offloading the company’s beauty unit to L’Oréal, etcetera.

He also suggested that de Meo may be inclined to sell more business units, including McQueen and Brioni. But while Solca seems extremely confident that de Meo is making the right decisions, he also thinks that the market is positively overreacting—perhaps enticed by a comeback narrative rather than more somber overall industry dynamics.

Kering’s stock is up 36 percent over the past year, mostly due to enthusiasm around de Meo’s appointment and, more recently, a positive Gucci quarter. In a note to investors on Thursday, Solca downgraded Kering to underperform. “Markets have preferred idiosyncratic self-help stories to plain vanilla-quality names, in the absence of clarity on global luxury goods demand prospects,” he said.
As usual, Solca is probably right. (This is not investment advice!) Kering—and Gucci, in particular—needs to show that its new strategy is working before he can recommend getting on board, investment-wise.

Anyway, my hunch is that de Meo also probably agrees with Solca; his whole mantra has been that Kering execs need to keep their head down and concentrate on the work, not the external reaction to these early moves. (Remember, he’s not even presenting his big plan until next year.) The real fruits of all this change won’t likely bear fruit at retail until the end of 2026 or early 2027.

Any serious sales boost prior to that is a gift, and de Meo understands that.

 

[PDFSD]

Consultor.fr

Luca De Meo chose Bain and BCG to reposition its brands following LA LETTRE
According to the October 31st article in La Lettre , Kering's new CEO, Luca de Meo , has finally chosen to commission Bain and BCG, after putting them in competition.

BCG was entrusted with three iconic brands: Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta.

Gucci, a top priority for Kering​

Gucci accounts for nearly 40% of Kering's revenue and over 60% of its operating profit. After several years of decline (-6% in 2023, -21% in 2024, -16% in the first half of 2025), the Italian brand is the focus of the group's expectations.

Bain regularly advises major luxury players on positioning and brand dynamics issues through its Luxury Goods practice, led by Claudia d'Arpizio. Based in Milan, d'Arpizio is the lead author of Bain's annual Luxury Goods report, produced since 1999 in cooperation with the Altagamma Foundation. The firm describes her as " a prominent  member " of its global Consumer Goods and Retail practices. 

However, according to information from our colleagues at La Lettre , the Bain partner is close to Francesca Bellettini, Gucci's CEO since September, appointed by Luca de Meo.
Bellettini reportedly supported Bain's choice for Gucci, even though BCG "was the preferred choice of [other Kering executives] for the entire brand portfolio." It's worth noting that the group's Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Joël Hazan, arrived directly from BCG in February 2025.

For Bain, this will notably involve helping Gucci "to redefine the different Gucci consumer clusters around the world and to resize its product offering", identifying "the segments to develop as a priority " and working on pricing.


Susanna Nicolett

Bain was already a longtime partner for Kering and the French group six months ago hired as its group head of strategy the former managing director and partner of BCG in France. Probably chosen by Bellettini in her role of deputy CEO of the Group.

So Bain, BCG, Bellettini are the pillars of the group relaunch designed by Luca De Meo.

You asked me what do I think about the “choice” of Bain and BCG by Luca De Meo.

You can choose my answer hereafter, or maybe all together or add yours:

- Much ado about nothing - Shakespeare
- Everything changes but change - I.Zangwill
- When you score in the first minutes, everything changes - E.Dzeko
- If we want everything to stay the same, everything has to change. - Il Gattopardo
- Better an experienced evil than an unknown good. - Il Gattopardo
- Groundbreaking - Miranda Priestley
- The ability to deceive oneself is essential for anyone who would lead others. - Il Gattopardo

You don't pay consultants for their solutions, you pay them for deniability.

“It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong.”
Thomas Sowell

In my experience as a C-level executive in the top brands and luxury groups as well as in my present role of brand advisor to CEOs and top executives for brand business management I learned some key points:

- inside of your company there is all the necessary knowledge to make it thrive
- you need to listen to your employees and workers first and make a deep assessment in this. And accept the reality check. It hurts but it helps.
- if you would have listened to the "voice of the employee" you wouldn't be in such a deep crisis because they not only have knowledge, they also have a deep sense of belonging and protection for the business
- you need to constantly innovate and evolve your organizations. When a company is in hot waters a strong disruption, even if well thought, can kill the business
- advisors are useful if they do a tailor made work on your company and they do not use tricks like juniors working with Chat GPT. One senior, experienced advisor is much more efficient than a clan of underpaid and exploited unexperienced juniors
- formatted solutions coming from those consulting firms that have always worked for you are just a palliative for conscience, not the solution for your business

But this is a sophisticated version of the facts that only very few entrepreneurs and top executives can embrace. They usually prefer cashing in bonuses and taking shortcuts.

That's fashion, baby!

 

[Lola701]

Bottega Veneta, the only brand from the roster performing decently, has a perfume selection comprised of EIGHT niche fragrances.
What about focusing on just one with a big celeb endorsement. What was the last time we had Julianne Moore being the face of a beauty / perfume campaign? Dumb choices over dumb choices.
At Balenciaga they had Nicole, they have Michelle Yeoh, Naomi Watts, Kim Kardashian, Isabelle Huppert and none of them has been chosen to push one of the ten perfume releases...

Having a celebrity fronting a fragrance campaign would essentially mean having to diversify the distribution.
But the appeal with « niche fragrances » is that they are supposedly unisex. And also the exclusive distribution.
That requires an investment that I think they weren’t willing to do.

It would have been more clever to launch a mainstream fragrance that would have been distributed everywhere.

The fragrances under Tomas Maier for Bottega Veneta and NG for Balenciaga were all launched with all the forces of Coty. Not really big marketing but a fair distribution.

The problem is that Kering Beauté was in the works when they were still making money and it came all into execution by the time they were loosing.

Celine launched a fragrance collection but LVMH opened fragrances dedicated stores in key retail spaces.

Bottega Veneta is already very expensive. No regular luxury customer is just showing up to the store to buy the fragrances. Corners and things like that would have been more interesting.

But I guess now L’Oreal will make it work.

 

[FashionPower]

Trust me and mark my words, but in six months we're gonna see Cassandre bags on a Saint Laurent runway for the first time since basically Anthony's appointment LOL