Kering's François-Henri Pinault steps aside, remains board chairman
François-Henri Pinault, 63, who has been at the helm of luxury group Kering since 2005, will step aside and relinquish the operational running of the group founded by his father François. In recent years, Kering has been negatively affected by the woes of its leading label, Gucci.
At the end of April, Pinault said that Kering's 'fundamentals' were 'solid.' But 'the international situation is having an effect' and the 27% nosedive of the group's share price since the start of 2025 'primarily reflects our negative performance, chiefly at Gucci, our leading label' ahead of Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Boucheron, Pinault added.
Kering has made official in a press release that current Renault boss Luca de Meo will join the group as its new CEO, while Pinault will remain as chairman of the board of directors.
Pinault was born in Rennes and is the youngest son of François Pinault, a timber merchant who became one of France's most powerful businessmen. François-Henri cut his business teeth at the family company, Pinault- Printemps -Redoute (PPR, which became Kering in 2013) after graduating from the HEC business school in 1985.
He has worked as a salesman at Pinault Distribution, was the managing director of France Bois Industries, then in 1993 became the president of CFAO, a subsidiary active in pharmaceuticals and automotive distribution in Africa. He then took charge of the Fnac retail chain, and in 2000 he was named deputy managing director of PPR.
At the time, François Pinault had recently bought a 42% stake in Gucci, snatching the Italian label from his eternal rival Bernard Arnault, boss of LVMH. The group's new lean towards luxury was confirmed by the subsequent acquisitions of Yves Saint Laurent, Sergio Rossi, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, while PPR remained the owner of mass-market retailers Fnac, Conforama, Printemps, La Redoute and Surcouf.
In 2001, François Pinault elevated his son's position by calling him to his side as co-CEO of Financière Pinault, the holding company that ruled his empire. And in 2005, aged 43, François-Henri, an aficionado of new technology and football found himself alone at the helm of the family conglomerate founded in 1963. His first name was François, and he decided to add to it his third name, Henri, to distinguish himself from his father.
New focus on luxury
'I was faced with a key question: Should I leave things as they had been under my father, or take a new direction? PPR owned an eclectic set of companies. The group had to be more international, and more profitable. I therefore focused on the luxury fashion and accessories segment, which had great potential for long-term growth,' François-Henri told the Harvard Business Review in 2014.
Something of a Daniel Craig lookalike, FHP, as he is known within the group, then decided to sell off the group's mass-market businesses. He also veered towards sportswear, and in 2007 he bought Puma for over €5 billion. However, the German sport equipment brand didn't live up to expectations, and François-Henri sold it off in 2018.
'François-Henri Pinault wanted to do things his way and target a younger clientèle, but it didn't work. Coming to terms with this setback was hard, but he smartly decided to back down,' said Arnaud Cadart, portfolio manager at Flornoy, talking to AFP in 2021.
Having refocused on luxury goods, the group initially benefited from the growth of its flagship label Gucci. But in the early 2020s the Florentine label ran out of steam, and its revenue has been plummeting since.
In 2024, Gucci recorded a 23% slump in revenue, and the early 2023 appointment of a new creative director, Sabato De Sarno, failed to revive its fortunes. In March this year, De Sarno was replaced by Georgian designer Demna, until then at Balenciaga.
In 2021, Cadart believed that François-Henri had 'made a name for himself and had successfully expanded on his legacy, fighting very strong competitors like LVMH, Hermès and several independent Italian labels,' but that the group was still missing 'another major, transformative acquisition' as his father's purchase of Gucci had been.
In 2023, Kering bought perfume brand Creed for an estimated €3.5 billion, and in 2024 it acquired a 30% stake in Valentino.
François-Henri Pinault married Mexican actress Salma Hayek in 2009, and they have four children.
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