Lourdes Rodriguez’s Post

What can Kering Group can do to turn Gucci around quickly? I think Gucci suffers from the issue not having a clear defined USP to the market, without a plan to directly attract customers from a different pillars. They have the Tennis Star Jannik Sinner carrying Gucci bags on court and generated quite a bit of earned media. However, there is nothing else that Gucci has painted to drive new customers as well as the high end level repeated customers. Whether it's because their design is full of monograms and doesn't sync with the quiet luxury trend is not the core issue. People are having difficulty connecting with Gucci regarding their heritage, craftsman ship, and being bespoke. Also, the Gucci beauty line fails to attract the young generation to be their brand users and start developing an affiliate to the brand. Gucci is at a crossing path whether they would be able to jump the hurdle to reinvent itself. It's totally doable. Burberry has done it and turn things around. Tom Ford successfully turned Gucci around in mid 1990s and drove an explosive growth during his helm. Gucci now needs to reevaluate that their core values are, what type of customers that they really want to attract, and what should be the entry points to drive new customers. They also need to rethink their entire creative and media strategy to be bold and do something different to make people fall in love with them again. The last thing I want to see is a demise of Gucci like what GUESS?, Inc. has suffered globally. If you know anyone working at Kering or Gucci HQ, I would love to have a chat. #luxurymarketing #strategy #gucci #kering https://lnkd.in/gkJSE7M8

New Year…  Gucci Vault: OUT  Gucci Vintage: IN    That’s right, news just landed that Gucci will be replacing Vault, the fashion houses’ digital, collaboration heavy, slightly weird but wonderful digital platform with the new: Gucci Vintage.    Gucci Vintage will showcase and sell one-of-a-kind reconditioned items, redefined by the House’s artisans. Making way for an endeavour which celebrates the legacy of the iconic, Gucci.    And iconic it is, with some of Gucci’s original designs already selling at auction for figures as high as $150k, it’s clear there is an appreciation for the history of the brand.    Never underestimate legacy.    Some of the brands who have had the most dynamic and impressive years yet (shout out our brand partners Levi Strauss & Co.’s and Timberland, a VF Company!) are leaning on it, knowing that younger consumers DO stop to look back and not just forward. #newyear #vault #vintage #legacy #appreciation

BILLIONAIRE PINAULTS FIGHT TO PULL GUCCI OFF THE DISCOUNT RACK Bloomberg by Angelina Rascouët and Tara Patel: Some investors and analysts are questioning whether CEO François-Henri Pinault is the right man to overhaul Gucci’s parent Kering at this critical juncture. On a recent Friday afternoon, shoppers at a Gucci boutique waded through heaps of heavily discounted, past-season merchandise: Yellow pumps, furry slippers, flamboyant jackets and bright green clutches. A sale of that sort at an outlet in a nondescript suburb of Paris, near Disneyland, would be unthinkable for rival purveyors of luxury like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès. But for Gucci, it’s the result of a muddled vision of its place in high fashion and a dysfunctional management strategy that have left its parent Kering SA struggling to stem a sharp decline in revenue while other groups in the €362 billion ($385 billion) global personal luxury goods industry remain more resilient as the sector cools down. The more than doubling of shares at competitors LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Hermès International SCA since March 2020 has made the former’s founder, Bernard Arnault, the world’s richest person and the family behind the latter into Europe’s wealthiest. In contrast, Kering, which gets more than two-thirds of its profit from Gucci, has lost about a third of its value, leaving the group facing one of its biggest challenges since its own controlling billionaire family — the Pinaults — got into luxury at the turn of the century.As Kering dives into a critical attempt to turn things around, about 10 long-term investors, former insiders and industry observers say the group needs a far more drastic overhaul than it has planned. Some who asked not to be named discussing private views even question if chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault, the 61-year-old son of the founder widely known as FHP, is the right man for the job after nearly two decades at the helm. It may be time for him to hand over the reins to someone like co-deputy CEO Francesca Bellettini to reinvigorate the group, they say. “Gucci is a story of turnarounds and re-branding, but the one it’s in the midst of now could be one of its toughest because they have to fix the corporate side as well as the brand,” says Stefania Saviolo, a lecturer in fashion and luxury management at Bocconi University. Representatives for FHP and Kering declined to comment. The wild swings in Gucci’s — and hence Kering’s — fortunes over the years can be traced to its effort to find a sweet spot straddling fashion and luxury, two segments with business models that can be at odds with each other. learn more: https://lnkd.in/e_P7KkmU #fashion #crisis #investment #metaverse #btc #web3

Gucci accounts for ~50% of Kering sales and ~66% of Kering profits. Louis Vuitton accounts for ~25% of LVMH sales and ~50% of LVMH profits. Both companies are highly vulnerable to the fortunes of their flagship brands. We have already seen the impact of Gucci's decline on Kering's stock price where the company has lost ~60% of its value since it's pandemic era high. Imagine the fate of LVMH stock if Louis Vuitton sales were to falter in the forthcoming recession. Watch this Bloomberg News mini-documentary on Gucci’s fall from grace. #lvmh #kering #louisvuitton #gucci How Gucci Went From High Fashion to Discount Rack

Gravity comes for Gucci After years of strong growth (pandemic aside), Gucci is falling out of favor. The brand’s parent company, Kering, has warned that sales of its flagship brand are expected to be down ~20% year-on-year in the first quarter. This announcement last week sent shares in Kering down 14%, wiping more than $6 billion off the company’s value, as demand in the crucial Asia-Pacific region softens. In 2023, Gucci sold nearly $11 billion of luxury goods, making up over half of Kering's total revenue and nearly two-thirds of its profits. Now, as the flagship brand's allure dims in China — which has been the engine of its growth for much of the last decade — Kering will look to the remainder of its budget-breaking portfolio of labels, including Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and BALENCIAGA, to make up the difference. Solo misery Misery loves company... but unfortunately for Kering, its sales woes are mostly its own, with rival luxury behemoths LVMH and Hermès both announcing double-digit sales growth recently. Indeed, Gucci rides economic cycles arguably more strongly than other high-end labels, with the buzz surrounding its designers appealing to “aspirational shoppers” — think people who might own 1 or 2 luxury pieces rather than an entire wardrobe — who are often the first to cutback on luxury spending in downturns. Company execs will be hoping that a burst of creativity from a new designer will get Gucci back to being Gucci. Source: Chartr #gucci #luxury #retail #luxuryretailers #economics #stocks #shareprice

While many Americans are struggling to buy groceries and gasoline, multinational fashion giant Kering - the parent company of Gucci, Balenciaga, and Yves Saint Laurent - had $2 billion in free cash flow from operations last year, and is on a real estate spending spree. It recently paid $1.4 billion or $1766 per square foot for a retail property on the prestigious Via Montenapoleone, the Rodeo Drive of Milan. The seller was genius US REIT Blackstone. It paid $1.2 billion in 2021 for a 14 property portfolio of which the Via Montenapoleone property was only one. So the other 13 properties were free. The price represents a 2.5% cap rate. This follows the purchase this year of 715-717 Fifth Avenue in NYC for $963 million, or $2000 per square foot. #retail #commercialrealestate #blackstone

Gucci & BALENCIAGA need a new strategy Luxury Group Kering brands Gucci and Balenciaga suffered a slow down in sales at the end of 2022. Gucci for the last few years have been very focused on brand collaborations to attract young aspirational luxury customers. Unfortunately demand from this customer has declined strongly in the last year. Gucci during this time reduced the amount of products it made for the wealthier older top spending luxury customers who are more attracted to heritage timeless products. This customer is actually spending the same or more on luxury products. Kering brand BALENCIAGA was very focused on shocking marketing to attract this young customer and was criticised for it's creative direction in an advertising campaign in 2022. Interestingly Kerings brands Bottega Veneta and Saint Laurent performed well with price increases, new leadership and Saint Laurent moving back to it's heritage roots. Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michelle has left the brand and they have opened stores tailored just for customers who spend over £40k on luxury in a year. Balenciaga have been focusing more on their more expensive couture products made for the highest spending luxury customers. Hopefully this new strategy will turnaround the two brand's fortunes in 2023. Sources: Kering The New Yorker Vogue Business The Business of Fashion The Cut #luxurymarket #marketresearch #luxuryfashion #thefreshkid

Yemi L.'s article delves into Gucci and BALENCIAGA's recent sales slowdown and evolving strategies. It vividly illustrates Gucci's struggles with attracting young luxury customers, while BALENCIAGA's daring marketing received criticism. Both brands are now pivoting, with Gucci targeting high spenders and Balenciaga focusing on couture, aiming for a brighter 2023. Navigating shifting consumer preferences is paramount. #luxuryfashion #RetailStrategy #fashion

Kering Lags Luxury Peers Quarterly sales fell by 9 percent, with weakness at Saint Laurent and Balenciaga as well as work-in-progress Gucci, as the group struggles to cope with slowing luxury demand. Read More: https://shorturl.at/pDQRX #LuxuryConnect #LuxuryCruxx

Today's push towards sustainability often means rethinking materials and practices that have long been integral to brands’ identities. However, this isn't the first time a luxury brand has faced such a dilemma. Gucci's history reveals a similar struggle with material shortages. In response, Gucci turned this challenge into an opportunity for innovation, leading to the creation of the iconic bamboo bag—a testament to how limitations can spark extraordinary creativity. I invite you to dive deeper into Gucci's journey! Do you believe that limitations can be a source of inspiration? #SustainableFashion #GucciInspiration #InnovationInStyle #LuxurySustainability #EcoChic #CreativeResilience #BrandEvolution