Gucci CEO, Marco Bizzarri is set to leave the brand as owner of Gucci brand Kering SA Francois-Henri Pinault seeks to turn around the previously high-flying Italian label following a slump in its performance.
Gucci CEO, Bizzarri, who’s been running Gucci since 2015, will leave the company on Sept. 23, Kering said on Tuesday. Jean-Francois Palus, currently group managing director, will lead the brand for a “transitional period.”
What owner of Gucci brand has to say?
“We are building a more robust organization to fully capture the growth of the global luxury market,” Pinault, owner of Gucci brand said in a statement.
“Jean-Francois has been my right-hand man and a daily sparring partner for several decades, he will now focus his energy on getting our largest asset in top shape, and I couldn’t be more grateful,” added owner of Gucci brand.
Why the shuffle?
Bizzarri’s departure comes after growth at Gucci, which accounts for about two-thirds of Kering’s profit lagged behind rivals in recent years. Its previous creative director, Alessandro Michele, left in November and was replaced by Sabato de Sarno, who is scheduled to unveil his first collection for the brand in September.
The interim Gucci CEO, Palus will focus on strengthening Gucci’s teams and operations to revive the brand’s influence and momentum, the Paris-based luxury group added. Palus will relinquish his position on Kering’s board and relocate to Milan.
Kering Gucci said that Palus “is tasked with strengthening Gucci’s teams and operations as the House rebuilds influence and momentum, and readying its leadership and organization for the future.”
Kering Gucci sales
Kering last year saw sales rise nine percent on a comparable basis, with Gucci’s sales edging up only one percent.
Not only has Kering Gucci suffered from a lack of growth, but also sluggish sales at Balenciaga. That brand’s performance was hurt after an ad campaign late last year was perceived as sexualizing children, prompting an apology from the label.
Artistic changes at Gucci
Kering Gucci has already begun to change artistic direction with this year’s appointment of Sabato De Sarno, a relatively unknown designer, as creative director.
Bizzarri was the architect of Gucci’s stellar growth in 2015-2019, but the brand failed to bounce back as strongly as rivals after the pandemic.
Kering is in transition, as the relaunch of its mega-brand Gucci is still work in progress,” said Bernstein analyst Luca Solca, noting that Bizzarri’s departure seemed timed to give visibility ahead of De Sarno’s debut fashion show in Milan in September.
Regrouping at Kering Gucci
As part of a wider reorganization at the top of Kering, Francesca Bellettini, the CEO of Yves Saint Laurent, will take on the additional role Kering Gucci group deputy CEO, with all the brand’s chiefs reporting to her. A new top management for Yves Saint Laurent will be eventually put in the place, Kering Gucci added.
Jean-Marc Duplaix, Kering’s chief financial officer, will also become a deputy CEO, overseeing operations and finance.
Owner of Gucci brand François-Henri Pinault, said the shakeup is aimed at fully capturing the growth of the global luxury market.
Kering share price
There has been hardly any changes in the Kering share price. Kering share price have risen less than 4% this year, compared with gains of more than 25% at LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE and Hermes International.
HSBC downgraded its rating on shares of the French group to hold from buy in late June, saying there were no signs of improvement at Gucci yet, with the brand’s performance “disappointing quarter after quarter, lagging behind luxury sector peers”.
“Some investors are clearly asking for a change of Gucci CEO even if that leads to a brand reset with margins being cut before any rebound is seen,” said HSBC at the time.
