The appointment of Sabato De Sarno to reinvigorate the Gucci brand barely moved shares of French luxury group Kering in early trading Monday.
Gucci’s parent company has had a very complicated 2022 in the stock market, with a much steeper decline than those of LVMH and Hermès. Kering has indeed seen its share price plunge 32.7% accusing the fourth largest decline in the CAC 40, while LVMH and Hermes have well limited the damage (-6.5% and -5% respectively).
After Gucci’s disappointing performance – which overshadowed the excellent momentum of the group’s other brands – the group had been under pressure to quickly appoint someone as Gucci’s lead designer following the abrupt departure of Alessandro Michele last November.
De Sarno, a senior stylist at Valentino, will be tasked with reviving the fortunes of a brand that accounted for two-thirds of Kering’s profits in 2021.
The label has been on the decline in recent years after dramatic growth in 2015-19.
Read also > Alessandro Michele to leave Gucci
Featured photo : © Gucci