Sabato De Sarno - Designer, Creative Director of Gucci

[NoInvite]

Go Ancora gooooo.

 

[LadyJunon]

Sabato's collection only hit the stores mid February, so this report is not indicative of his performance, more so of that between designers-no direction limbo. We'll have to wait the next couple of quarters to really get the diagnosis.

Apparently, according to BoF, most of the collection hasn't even arrived stores yet. It seems that Kering is aiming for a "soft relaunch".

The first collections by De Sarno did not arrive in stores mid-February, Kering flagged. The new collection, whose availability will gradually be ramped up over the coming months, is “meeting with highly favourable reception,” the company said.

With that on top of critics' general apathy towards Sabato, this could go very badly for a 10 billion EUR brand.

 

[yslforever]

Apparently, according to BoF, most of the collection hasn't even arrived stores yet. It seems that Kering is aiming for a "soft relaunch".

With that on top of critics' general apathy towards Sabato, this could go very badly for a 10 billion EUR brand.

On a full year that's 8 billions instead of 10, so it jeopardize their profits, their real estate deals in NYC and Paris, and presumably the Valentino deal... the implications are wider than just SdS fate.

 

[Lola701]

For me it was never about his personal attributes but the work itself. What we have seen in the past year have not been coherent in all aspects. Wearing Cartier in the first press image was already a sign.

Corporate culture is not that deep in Europe where a designer couldn’t wear another brand…
And Kering doesn’t have a direct competition to Cartier (Boucheron doesn’t count).

Clothes aren't even 10% of the sales, they are usually 45% leather goods, 45% shoes, 10% the rest (sunnies, RTW, homeware etc) ... it's not brilliant at BV neither apparently.

Clothes are 15%, shoes 20% and leather goods 53%.
And those are 2023 numbers…
Let’s be honest, even if I think the studio collections weren’t bad, there was clear lack of push from Kering. They relied too much on ugly logo stuff when it was time to focus on timeless product and cohesive communication.

RTW is 10% at BV, which is not bad IMO. I remember the time when it was less than 5% under Tomas Maier. I like Blazy’s RTW but I’m less a fan of the bag they are pushing (the Andiamo). I’m not sure it has the classic allure of their classic cabas for example.

 

[AVC]

Apparently, according to BoF, most of the collection hasn't even arrived stores yet. It seems that Kering is aiming for a "soft relaunch".

With that on top of critics' general apathy towards Sabato, this could go very badly for a 10 billion EUR brand.

From what I saw most stores don’t have the latest collection, only the major flagships and A-markets. It’s mostly e-commerce atm. And I still don’t understand why Ancora men’s was not released with women’s… boggles the mind.

Kering already stated their profits will be soft this year, it looks like it’s worse than anticipated but it isn’t shocking. What I didn’t expect, but maybe should have, is that the slide is mainly triggered due to China lagging in sales.

 

[TerraVera]

not to come to his defense, but based on my understanding, china's sluggish economy is partially why sales are down - that's the cover story, but deep down, kering is scared customers won't warm to de sarno's designs as much or enough to break the slide the sales (aka they might be sober enough to not want to spend on his overpriced crap stuff)

personally, due to the weak and weird marketing, and, yes, his designs, i don't think is clothes with be any where near to or the minimalist version of alessandro's bonanza for gucci, not enough to meet their sales goals, at least for Q2. kering chose wrong and are gonna have to eat it this year.

and that's the thing about some of these corporate suits: you can't outrun a major country's economy. xi ain't gonna take his authoritative foot off of china's neck anytime soon. plus, kering has the second weakest stock to burberry this year. let's see if de sarno registers with other demographics, but i doubt it. kering has to recalibrate their strategy and that might mean leaning more into fragrances and beauty, including cutting prices. they need a viral beauty moment imo.

 

[yslforever]

not to come to his defense, but based on my understanding, china's sluggish economy is partially why sales are down - that's the cover story, but deep down, kering is scared customers won't warm to de sarno's designs as much or enough to break the slide the sales (aka they might be sober enough to not want to spend on his overpriced crap stuff)

personally, due to the weak and weird marketing, and, yes, his designs, i don't think is clothes with be any where near to or the minimalist version of alessandro's bonanza for gucci, not enough to meet their sales goals, at least for Q2. kering chose wrong and are gonna have to eat it this year.

and that's the thing about some of these corporate suits: you can't outrun a major country's economy. xi ain't gonna take his authoritative foot off of china's neck anytime soon. plus, kering has the second weakest stock to burberry this year. let's see if de sarno registers with other demographics, but i doubt it. kering has to recalibrate their strategy and that might mean leaning more into fragrances and beauty, including cutting prices. they need a viral beauty moment imo.

Gucci is also historically a leather company, they should be the first choice to pop in mind when one is looking for a leather jacket, but right now they offer absolutely nothing, a total of 16 mid-looking pieces (mens and womens RTW)

 

[TerraVera]

Gucci is also historically a leather company, they should be the first choice to pop in mind when one is looking for a leather jacket, but right now they offer absolutely nothing, a total of 16 mid-looking pieces (mens and womens RTW)

exactly. they're gonna have to suffer through this self-inflicted identity crisis. it was paramount for de sarno to come out with an it-bag or some big leather attention grabber, yet he failed in doing so.

gucci shouldn't be waisting their time trying to big this guy up - they need to be coming up with ideas on how to save their bottom line and reputation. even at this point i would suggest outsourcing their leather goods through doing limited edition collabs, re-issuing popular designs (what prada and dior did), and re-centering the focus on what they do best: leather.

i also believe chanel's greedy pice hikes present an opportunity for gucci to satisfy a segment they're abandoning for lofty goals: aspirational luxury. since they want to transition into "quiet" "everyday" luxury, they should produce solid, chic, high quality bags at reasonable prices in order to gain the trust of new and current customers. this is one thing one can't fault LV or hermes for: they always remember who they are at their core (leather).

 

[plentyofhorns]

exactly. they're gonna have to suffer through this self-inflicted identity crisis. it was paramount for de sarno to come out with an it-bag or some big leather attention grabber, yet he failed in doing so.

gucci shouldn't be waisting their time trying to big this guy up - they need to be coming up with ideas on how to save their bottom line and reputation. even at this point i would suggest outsourcing their leather goods through doing limited edition collabs, re-issuing popular designs (what prada and dior did), and re-centering the focus on what they do best: leather.

i also believe chanel's greedy pice hikes present an opportunity for gucci to satisfy a segment they're abandoning for lofty goals: aspirational luxury. since they want to transition into "quiet" "everyday" luxury, they should produce solid, chic, high quality bags at reasonable prices in order to gain the trust of new and current customers. this is one thing one can't fault LV or hermes for: they always remember who they are at their core (leather).

Sadly no one seems to want to be an aspirational brand these days, which really sucks.

 

[plentyofhorns]

Sadly no one seems to want to be an aspirational brand these days, which really sucks.

Except courreges ))))

 

[Lola701]

not to come to his defense, but based on my understanding, china's sluggish economy is partially why sales are down - that's the cover story, but deep down, kering is scared customers won't warm to de sarno's designs as much or enough to break the slide the sales (aka they might be sober enough to not want to spend on his overpriced crap stuff)

personally, due to the weak and weird marketing, and, yes, his designs, i don't think is clothes with be any where near to or the minimalist version of alessandro's bonanza for gucci, not enough to meet their sales goals, at least for Q2. kering chose wrong and are gonna have to eat it this year.

and that's the thing about some of these corporate suits: you can't outrun a major country's economy. xi ain't gonna take his authoritative foot off of china's neck anytime soon. plus, kering has the second weakest stock to burberry this year. let's see if de sarno registers with other demographics, but i doubt it. kering has to recalibrate their strategy and that might mean leaning more into fragrances and beauty, including cutting prices. they need a viral beauty moment imo.

There’s two things: The Chinese market has matured and the Chinese market isn’t a leading market in terms of influence.
It’s been years now since Chinese customers are very well informed and educated about fashion and of course, they spend accordingly. The drop is sales is kinda expected in a way because it needs some balance and stability but now, the most dynamic market is South Korea and they are as leading in taste in Asia as the Japanese were for years.

When I’m talking about leading in terms of influence and taste, all comes to Europe and the US still. The arbiters of taste are in Europe, what validate their taste is a success in the US. And when there’s a success in the US, it is literally spread all over the world. The Asians customers are quick catchers and their spending power is huge but to maintain it in terms of time, you need a good response in the first 2 historic markets, even if they are small in numbers.

We saw it with Burberry by Riccardo Tisci. They had a strong marketing in Asia and their market was stable there but all over the world, it never clicked. And so the Asian dynamic died.

And the problem is that Gucci, unfortunately doesn’t stand out in this highly competitive market.
Are the clothes so good that an aspirational customer will buy a bag from the brand because it’s deemed as « cool »? No!

Alessandro introduced his Gucci with a very commercial proposition that made the brand look cool or at least, fresh. When the shock of his first collection was passed and he reaffirmed his vision one month leather with the womenswear, he had two leading products for the customer to get into his new Gucci: the Princetown mules and the Dyonisus bag.

We are on TFS so we care about the clothes. The thing is that ultimately, in that business model, fashion can’t be more than 20% of their sales. So even if the clothes do well, where are the products that will lead this new creative direction?
I’ve seen a lot of huge « Gucci » on straps of shoes, on sunglasses. The people are willing to go for logos only when they are seen as cool or timeless.
Today, it’s cooler to have a Celine or Loewe logo instead of a Gucci one.

And just to comment on your latest post about identity crisis.
Gucci’s competition is Louis Vuitton but somehow, they are still operating themselves like a fashion brand.
Why do we have a new visual identity when we got a new CD? New store design, new packaging, new everything.

Nicolas has changed a lot of things at Louis Vuitton in terms of products offering but never changed the core values of the house. And it’s reflected on the perception of the brand.

Prada is overpriced though even if their Saffiano leather is a beast.

 

[Phuel]

I’ve long lost interest in this brand since Tom left, so I neither feel rejoice nor repulsion towards this person (although his creepy dancing like an enraptured 13yo girl who’s just found Jesus at a Christian camp singalong is so top-tier cringe), and the brand. His designs are passable, in that highend department-store offering kind of standard. And frankly, if I were to come upon a coat/suiting that’s deeply discounted, I would have no issue snatching it up. Just rip off the Gucci label.

What is offensively hilarious is not only the Dapper Dan knockoff of the merch on the site, but the ghetto selling point: The overwhelming majority of the “menswear” resembles childrenswear/infantswear. Just hideous and cheap-looking. And looking at the suiting, it’s hilariously provincial that the label sewn on the left sleeve at the factory— the one that if the shop hasn’t removed before it hits the floor, the customer would instinctively remove before wearing it— because back in the days of standards, leaving that label on the sleeve is the equivalent of having toiletpaper hanging from your pant, is now advertised as a selling point on the product write-up LMFAO Such cheapness.

 

[ICONICA26]

Sabato?? More like SABOTAGE

LMAOOOO

 

[brandon J pierre]

exactly. they're gonna have to suffer through this self-inflicted identity crisis. it was paramount for de sarno to come out with an it-bag or some big leather attention grabber, yet he failed in doing so.

gucci shouldn't be waisting their time trying to big this guy up - they need to be coming up with ideas on how to save their bottom line and reputation. even at this point i would suggest outsourcing their leather goods through doing limited edition collabs, re-issuing popular designs (what prada and dior did), and re-centering the focus on what they do best: leather.

i also believe chanel's greedy pice hikes present an opportunity for gucci to satisfy a segment they're abandoning for lofty goals: aspirational luxury. since they want to transition into "quiet" "everyday" luxury, they should produce solid, chic, high quality bags at reasonable prices in order to gain the trust of new and current customers. this is one thing one can't fault LV or hermes for: they always remember who they are at their core (leather).

Correct

 

[brandon J pierre]

I think he's maybe a good designer but he needs to be a little bit more aggressive. he needs to think of himself like a superstar the way Tom did. But there's something boring about him as a person dull almost. Not just him but a lot of young designers there are no more superstars no Johns no McQueen no young donatella Versace nothing they're boring the personalities. the personalities reflect the clothing.

 

[Frederic01]

Does anyone have access to this article over at BOF? It sounds like an interesting read!

Can Gucci’s Turnaround Plan Still Work?​

This week, Kering flagged sales were down 20 percent at its flagship brand, knocking confidence in the group’s turnaround strategy. ‘A more drastic solution is required,’ one analyst wrote.

BUSINESS OF FASHION

 

[dodencebt]

The merch making its way to stores right now is vile. Everything is logoed in the worst way, it looks so cheap and fake.

 

[NYLA22]

(although his creepy dancing like an enraptured 13yo girl who’s just found Jesus at a Christian camp singalong is so top-tier cringe

Phuel, you slay me 😂

 

[LadyJunon]

The summary:
- Kering's sales were down 10% this quarter due to a 20% drop at Gucci, which accounts for more than half of their revenues and two thrids of their operating profit
- Kering states that this is due to their brand elevation strategy, which is a sharp shift away from the aspirational model of the Michele-Bizzari era
- Analysts doubt whether the more subtle approach of Sabato's vision will be strong and interesting enough to excite customers
- Gucci's topline is also deep in the red with blame being placed on operational holdups, such as collection/product releases and store redesigns
- Some analysts are calling for the replacement of Jean-François Palus as CEO, hinting towards Saint Laurent's Belletini due to her exacting approach
The full article:

Can Gucci’s Turnaround Plan Still Work?
This week, Kering flagged sales were down 20 percent at its flagship brand, knocking confidence in the group’s turnaround strategy. ‘A more drastic solution is required,’ one analyst wrote.

By ROBERT WILLIAMS
22 March 2024

BoF PROFESSIONAL
On Tuesday, Kering warned investors its sales were down 10 percent this quarter, mostly due to a 20 percent drop at flagship label Gucci, which accounts for more than half of the French group’s revenues and about two-thirds of its operating profit.

In recent calls and presentations, Kering had prepared markets for another lacklustre year as it works to give its brands a more timeless, upmarket positioning.

But Gucci’s sales performance was far worse than expected: most analysts had forecast revenues would decline by around 4 percent this quarter, with the most pessimistic among them projecting a 10 percent drop. On Wednesday, Kering shares plunged 12 percent in Paris trading, wiping €6.3 billion off the company’s market value.

With sales in free fall, Gucci and Kering face mounting concern about whether the company can execute on a long-awaited turnaround at the Italian megabrand.

Last year, the group replaced both creative director Alessandro Michele and CEO Marco Bizzarri, who had piloted Gucci through a phase of explosive growth leveraging a radical, maximalist image overhaul and a commercial strategy that had leaned heavily into accessibly-priced luxuries like little camera bags, low-top logo sneakers, bucket hats, logo tees and collaborations with sportswear brands like The North Face and Adidas.

After growth sputtered during the pandemic — with consumers flocking to blue-chip luxury brands seen as less likely to go out of style than fashion-driven Gucci — Kering has sought to push the brand in a more stable, upmarket direction.

The group has hired a behind-the-scenes designer from Valentino, Sabato de Sarno, whose first collections for Gucci have aimed to usher in a more dressed up, sexed up notion of glamour that’s in step with how many cool, young women want to dress today.

His early shows have provided a palette cleanser after Michele’s off-kilter aesthetic, which attracted super fans as well as plenty of detractors. But the jury is still out on whether De Sarno’s more subtle, sartorial approach will supply a brand story that’s strong enough to get customers excited about Gucci and into stores.

That the brand’s topline has gone deep in the red is hardly a promising sign. But operational hold-ups and waning interest in Gucci’s former aesthetic are also to blame: six months after his first show, De Sarno’s designs still make up less than 5 percent of the assortment in stores, and only two flagships have been converted to the brand’s new store concept.

Gucci is also trying to reboot itself in a deteriorating climate for high-end brands. US credit card spending on luxury goods declined 15 percent last month, following a 19 percent year-on-year drop in January, according to purchasing data from Citi.

The key Chinese luxury market also remains sluggish as the country navigates slower economic growth and depressed equity and real estate values. Kering’s revenue warning flagged poor performance in the Asia-Pacific region as a key challenge for Gucci.

“Kering’s news raises a lot of questions, mainly, have the Chinese fallen out of love with Gucci? Why, and is it fix-able?” Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said. While plenty of brands are currently struggling with cooling luxury demand, the severity of Gucci’s slowdown suggests there are specific maladies at play. Indeed, the latest numbers show the rest of Kering’s portfolio is broadly flat, which is a bit better than markets expected, according to Chauvet.

Most analysts agree more time is needed before gauging the success of designer De Sarno and new CEO Jean-François Palus’ efforts. But less than a year into the new team’s tenure, some have begun calling for shakeups to the strategy and team.

“A more drastic solution is required,” RBC analyst Piral Dadhania said, suggesting that the company may need to take more aggressive steps to clear old product (Gucci stopped markdowns in stores in 2016).

A new CEO may also be needed: “Despite Kering’s insistence that Jean-François Palus is the right interim CEO for Gucci, the market does not agree,” Dadhania wrote.

As the longtime managing director of Kering, Palus has managed the group’s fashion holdings from a distance for years. But he is seen as having an insufficient track record in the hands-on business of operating a fashion brand.

Saint Laurent’s chief executive Francesca Bellettini is also helping to oversee the turnaround in her new role as the group’s deputy CEO, but it’s hardly guaranteed that her exacting approach to brand building and distribution can be extended across multiple brands.

For now, Gucci’s gone “out with the old,” but customers are still waiting for the new.

Source: BoF

 

[Olaffo]

I believe in old fashioned approach think before act but I guess it’s extravagant in Kering. Put mediocre „designer” (of tishirts) in one of the most important fashion houses and being surprised he isn’t delivering now (emotions and desirability) and he won’t deliver (sales). My God, what a f*cking charade. It’s pathetic.