Struggling Gucci owner names new CEO
PARIS: French luxury group Kering announced Monday that it had appointed Luca de Meo, who helped drive automaker Renault out of crisis, its new chief executive as it tries to turn around the fortunes at its struggling flagship brand Gucci.
De Meo’s appointment “marks a decisive step in the evolution of Kering’s governance and strengthens the Group’s leadership as it enters a new phase of its development”, the company said in a statement.
It said de Meo would take over the reins on September after shareholders approve the change in the governing structure that will see the chief executive and board chairman roles split at the group that owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and other premium brands.
Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the holding that is the largest shareholder in Kering, will remain board chairman.
Kering has struggled to turn things around at Gucci, the Italian fashion house famous for its handbags and which accounts for half of the group’s overall sales.
Shares in Kering shot nearly 12 percent higher on reports of de Meo’s imminent appointment, which was only confirmed by the company after the closing of the Paris stock exchange.
Renault shares, however, fell 8.7 following its announcement Sunday that Luca de Meo, 58, would step down on July 15 “to take on new challenges outside the automobile sector” after five years at the helm of the company.
Turnaround engineer
Known as a skilled communicator and marketing expert, de Meo is credited with bringing stability to a company that was in turmoil when he took over in 2020.
The automaker was reeling from more than a year of crisis in the wake of the scandal involving Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance who fled Japan to avoid trial.
De Meo accelerated the group’s shift to electric vehicles and pushed for an upmarket move in an effort to steer the company out of trouble. Renault also owns the Dacia and Alpine brands.
The automaker managed to avoid the sales slowdown that has hit its main rivals, and has maintained its guidance for a gross operating margin of more than seven percent this year.