Gucci owner Kering bets on crisis specialist de Meo to lead revival
By stepping aside to let de Meo run a luxury sector giant, Pinault has acknowledged the urgent need to address Kering's problems, including the 75% drop in its value since the summer of 2021, according to Reuters conversations with industry experts and investors.
"It's a bold move ... We now have a CEO (de Meo) who is a great professional," said Ariane Hayate, European equity fund manager at Edmond de Rothschild.
"There's now a real willingness by Francois-Henri Pinault to take a step back after years of underperformance."
Kering confirmed in a statement on Monday it had picked de Meo as CEO and that he would start in his role in September. Pinault, who told analysts he had met de Meo only a few months earlier during the recruitment process, would retain the role of chairman.
"I will be fully involved in the strategic orientation of the group as chairman," Pinault said. "But I won't step in and short circuit the new CEO in terms of priorities or key appointments."
Kering's share price rose nearly 12%, its best daily performance since 2008.
The group's swoop for de Meo also suggests that its problems are bigger than perceived from the outside and go beyond Gucci, said one large European investor on condition of anonymity in discussions relating to individual investments.
Despite his lack of experience in the luxury sector, de Meo does bring skills that can help Kering at this critical juncture, industry players say.
Having successfully managed a turnaround at Renault, he is likely to accelerate a Kering cost-cutting push that includes store closures, real estate sales and redundancies to reduce its more than 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) of net debt, according to two industry players and one person who knows him.
De Meo will also need to address Kering's planned acquisition of the 70% of fashion brand Valentino that it doesn't already own. Kering bought 30% in 2023 for $1.9 billion and intends to buy the remainder in 2028.
The purchase from Qatari-backed luxury fund Mayhoola could cost a further 4 billion euros, Kering's annual report said.
Options included in the original deal might force Kering to buy the other 70% as early as next May, company filings show, which could require partial payment in Kering shares, Kering finance chief Armelle Poulou said in April.
"Coming from outside the industry, de Meo's learning curve is going to be super steep, but at the negotiating table he could do well," said one person familiar with Valentino, declining to be named owing to the sensitivity of the matter.
Mayhoola, which does not have a press office, did not respond to a request for comment sent to its corporate email address.
A person close to the fund described de Meo's expected arrival at Kering as good news.
De Meo's most pressing challenge, however, is Gucci.
The Italian label has struggled since star designer Alessandro Michele left in late 2022 and the company's recent appointment of creative director Demna from Balenciaga disappointed investors.
Coming with three decades of automaking experience, de Meo may initially focus on costs, said a Kering adviser who declined to be named, while luxury sector adviser Mario Ortelli said it could be difficult for de Meo to come from a different industry and give an opinion on a creative designer.
But the aforementioned cross-sector successes of Polet, Nair, Vigna and Marchionne offer hope for de Meo.
Polet, who joined Gucci as CEO in 2004 after a 26-year career at Unilever, is credited with reviving the label after the departure of famed designer Tom Ford.
Nair switched from Unilever to Chanel in 2022 and lifted sales to $18.7 billion in 2024 from $15.6 billion in 2021.
Other cross-sector success included Ferrari boss Benedetto Vigna, who joined the supercar manufacturer from chipmaker STMicro in 2021 and led a push towards highly profitable personalised offers to clients.
Another was the late Sergio Marchionne, architect of the successful Fiat-Chrysler merger and a former boss of de Meo, who joined Fiat from verification company SGS.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
G7 leaders urge Trump to ease off trade war
At a summit where host Canada hopes to avoid stoking Trump's anger, and with attention on events in the Middle East, leaders still urged the US leader to reverse course on his plans to slap even steeper tariffs on countries across the globe as early as next month. "Several participants asked to end the tariff dispute as soon as possible. They argued that this dispute weakens the G7's economies and in the end will only strengthen China," a senior German official told reporters on condition of anonymity. The six other countries urged Trump to end his trade conflict as soon as possible, telling him that his protectionist policies were only "damaging to ourselves," the official added. Most countries represented at the G7 are already subject to a 10 percent baseline tariff imposed by Trump, under a temporary easing of higher rates, with European countries and Japan also slapped with additional levies on cars and steel and aluminum. Britain in May was the first country to sign a preliminary deal with Washington to avoid deeper tariffs, and the two leaders at the G7 said they had agreed on the accord's final points and signed the agreement. "I like them. That's the ultimate protection," Trump told reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on the G7 sidelines. Trump opened a folder to display the signed documents, only for the paperwork to slide out and spread across the ground. "Oops, sorry about that," he said as Starmer scrambled to gather up the loose sheets and stuff them back in the folder. 'Get it done' The trade issue is of particular interest to Canada after the Trump administration announced several extra levies on Canadian imports in recent months, throwing the country's economic future into deep uncertainty. After a meeting between Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney, the Canadian government indicated that the two sides could come to a trade truce deal in the next 30 days. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will also have her face-to-face time with Trump as her country tries to renegotiate its three-way North American free trade agreement that also includes Canada. While there is little expectation that the summit will see a breakthrough in the trade negotiations between the US and the rest of the world, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is part of Trump's delegation. Dozens of countries are locked in negotiations with Washington to clinch some sort of trade deal before the US imposes stinging reciprocal tariffs, threatened for July 9. But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week said that the date could be pushed back later for countries thought to be negotiating in good faith. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters he would team up with his counterparts from France and Italy to discuss the US trade threat with Trump directly. A source at the summit said that French President Emmanuel Macron urged the American leader to quickly end the trade conflict once and for all. The European Commission handles trade negotiations for the 27-country bloc, and the EU's trade chief Maros Sefcovic was also attending the summit, accompanying the delegation of EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. The EU institutions are official members of the G7, and during the morning session, von der Leyen argued to the leaders that "tariffs -- no matter who sets them -- are ultimately a tax paid by consumers and businesses at home." Von der Leyen also met with Trump one-on-one on trade issues in a sit-down that US officials said was at her request. "We instructed the teams to accelerate their work to strike a good and fair deal. Let's get it done," she said in a post on X.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Gucci owner Kering bets on crisis specialist de Meo to lead revival
By stepping aside to let de Meo run a luxury sector giant, Pinault has acknowledged the urgent need to address Kering's problems, including the 75% drop in its value since the summer of 2021, according to Reuters conversations with industry experts and investors. "It's a bold move ... We now have a CEO (de Meo) who is a great professional," said Ariane Hayate, European equity fund manager at Edmond de Rothschild. "There's now a real willingness by Francois-Henri Pinault to take a step back after years of underperformance." Kering confirmed in a statement on Monday it had picked de Meo as CEO and that he would start in his role in September. Pinault, who told analysts he had met de Meo only a few months earlier during the recruitment process, would retain the role of chairman. "I will be fully involved in the strategic orientation of the group as chairman," Pinault said. "But I won't step in and short circuit the new CEO in terms of priorities or key appointments." Kering's share price rose nearly 12%, its best daily performance since 2008. The group's swoop for de Meo also suggests that its problems are bigger than perceived from the outside and go beyond Gucci, said one large European investor on condition of anonymity in discussions relating to individual investments. Despite his lack of experience in the luxury sector, de Meo does bring skills that can help Kering at this critical juncture, industry players say. Having successfully managed a turnaround at Renault, he is likely to accelerate a Kering cost-cutting push that includes store closures, real estate sales and redundancies to reduce its more than 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) of net debt, according to two industry players and one person who knows him. De Meo will also need to address Kering's planned acquisition of the 70% of fashion brand Valentino that it doesn't already own. Kering bought 30% in 2023 for $1.9 billion and intends to buy the remainder in 2028. The purchase from Qatari-backed luxury fund Mayhoola could cost a further 4 billion euros, Kering's annual report said. Options included in the original deal might force Kering to buy the other 70% as early as next May, company filings show, which could require partial payment in Kering shares, Kering finance chief Armelle Poulou said in April. "Coming from outside the industry, de Meo's learning curve is going to be super steep, but at the negotiating table he could do well," said one person familiar with Valentino, declining to be named owing to the sensitivity of the matter. Mayhoola, which does not have a press office, did not respond to a request for comment sent to its corporate email address. A person close to the fund described de Meo's expected arrival at Kering as good news. De Meo's most pressing challenge, however, is Gucci. The Italian label has struggled since star designer Alessandro Michele left in late 2022 and the company's recent appointment of creative director Demna from Balenciaga disappointed investors. Coming with three decades of automaking experience, de Meo may initially focus on costs, said a Kering adviser who declined to be named, while luxury sector adviser Mario Ortelli said it could be difficult for de Meo to come from a different industry and give an opinion on a creative designer. But the aforementioned cross-sector successes of Polet, Nair, Vigna and Marchionne offer hope for de Meo. Polet, who joined Gucci as CEO in 2004 after a 26-year career at Unilever, is credited with reviving the label after the departure of famed designer Tom Ford. Nair switched from Unilever to Chanel in 2022 and lifted sales to $18.7 billion in 2024 from $15.6 billion in 2021. Other cross-sector success included Ferrari boss Benedetto Vigna, who joined the supercar manufacturer from chipmaker STMicro in 2021 and led a push towards highly profitable personalised offers to clients. Another was the late Sergio Marchionne, architect of the successful Fiat-Chrysler merger and a former boss of de Meo, who joined Fiat from verification company SGS.
Fashion Network
3 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Workwear meets fashion: Carhartt WIP launches Paris pop-up spotlighting iconic 'Heart' logo
Carhartt WIP, the lifestyle-driven European offshoot of American workwear brand Carhartt, has opened a limited-time pop-up inside Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées in Paris. Located on the first floor, the space will remain open through June 30, offering visitors a bold visual showcase centered around the brand's distinctive 'Heart' logo. The pop-up highlights a modern reinterpretation of Carhartt's original branding from the 1920s, bringing the 'Heart' emblem to life through a curated selection of styles from the Spring/Summer 2025 and Pre-Fall 2025 collections. The logo appears across a range of pieces in the Drewe, Furoshiki, Arcan, and Heart II Hartt lines. Designed as an immersive experience, the space incorporates industrial elements such as aluminum structures, red canvas, and custom-printed carpeting—echoing the brand's signature utilitarian aesthetic. This initiative is part of Carhartt WIP's global retail expansion strategy. The brand recently debuted a hybrid café-store concept in New York at Nordstrom, combining branded design with a dedicated coffee bar under the WIP name. In Munich, it opened a second store in the city's Glockenbachviertel district—a 120-square-meter space featuring interiors inspired by traditional Bavarian architecture. Meanwhile, several Carhartt WIP stores in France have been redesigned to reflect a more premium retail concept aligned with the label's evolving identity. While many fashion brands navigate an unpredictable market, Carhartt WIP has quietly emerged as a rare example of consistent growth. Its success reflects a clear, long-term strategy to evolve the American workwear legacy into a modern, lifestyle-driven brand with global appeal. The brand is operated by Work in Progress, founded in 1994 by Edwin Faeh, which holds the exclusive global license to develop Carhartt outside the United States. Carhartt WIP first gained momentum in Europe by reimagining classic workwear through a street-culture lens—drawing from hip-hop, rock, and skateboarding. Since then, it has teamed up with high-end labels such as Sacai, Junya Watanabe, and A.P.C., while growing a global retail network of more than 100 stores across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Carhartt WIP has moved into a significantly larger headquarters in Paris' 10th arrondissement as part of its continued growth. The new space reflects the brand's identity—located near Place de la Bastille, an area long associated with music and skate culture in the French capital. The company is now led by Wilfried Atzert, a long-time executive who has been with the brand for over 20 years and has played a key role in every stage of its expansion.
