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It’s the end of an era at Gucci. Kering announced Tuesday that the brand’s longtime president and CEO Marco Bizzarri will leave the company effective 23 September — the day of creative director Sabato de Sarno’s debut show at Milan Fashion Week.
Bizzarri, who has led Gucci since 2015 and has been a member of Kering’s executive committee since 2012, “has masterminded the execution of Gucci’s outstanding growth strategy”, according to the press release. “I want to thank Marco for his spectacular contribution to the success of Gucci and of Kering, and I wish him well in his future endeavours,” François-Henri Pinault, Kering chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
After an abrupt departure from Gucci’s metaverse and gaming division last month, Moncler-owned Stone Island has appointed Robert Triefus as CEO.
Jean-François Palus, currently Kering Group managing director, has been named president and CEO of Gucci for a transitional period. He is tasked with strengthening Gucci’s teams and operations as the house rebuilds influence and momentum, and readying its leadership and organisation for the future. Palus will relinquish his position on the board of directors of Kering and relocate to Milan.
It’s part of a broader executive shakeup underway at Kering. Francesca Bellettini, president and CEO of Saint Laurent since 2013, has been appointed Kering deputy CEO, in charge of brand development. All brand CEOs will report to her, and she’ll also keep her current role. “Bellettini will be responsible for steering the group houses in their next stages of growth. To ensure a smooth transition, Bellettini will gradually assume her new responsibilities over the coming months and a new Yves Saint Laurent top management lineup has been put in place,” according to the statement.
Additionally, Jean-Marc Duplaix, chief financial officer since 2012, has also been appointed Kering deputy CEO, in charge of operations and finance. Duplaix will head all group corporate functions and be responsible for enhancing efficiency and accountability.
Bizzarri’s exit is a big one for Kering that completes a series of high-profile departures. After years of explosive growth led by Bizzarri and previous creative director Alessandro Michele — a formerly untouchable duo — Gucci has begun to slow down. In November 2022, Michele exited. Robert Triefus, CEO of Gucci Vault, departed earlier this year. In 2022, Gucci sales were up 1 per cent to €10.48 billion. In the same period, sales at Saint Laurent grew by 23 per cent to €3.3 billion; LVMH fashion and leather goods division was up by 20 per cent; and Hermès saw a rise of 23 per cent.
The news comes just a few days before Kering reports its first half earnings. HSBC on 29 June downgraded Kering to “hold” from “buy”. “We upgraded Kering to buy from hold on 31 May 2022, hoping that strategic actions taken, especially in Asia (appointment of a new head of Greater China, strengthening of its local team), would bear fruit. Despite many more changes — a new head of merchandising, new creative designer and a step-up in marketing spending — signs of improvement are not visible yet, with Gucci performance disappointing quarter after quarter, lagging behind luxury sector peers,” the HSBC note reads. “Q2 2023 performance is unlikely to impress, with Gucci sales at constant FX still growing in the low single-digit territory despite an easing basis of comparison in China, whereas most sector peers could approach or even exceed 20 per cent growth.”
HSBC analysts continued: “Despite the group announcing a new designer for Gucci, with Sabato De Sarno joining this May and his first products likely to be available in stores at the very back end of this year or early next year, some investors will question if this is going to be enough to reignite the Gucci brand. 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.”
“Kering is in transition, as the relaunch of its mega-brand Gucci is still work in progress. The departure of Marco Bizzarri seems timed to give full visibility to the “new chapter” (just ahead of De Sarno’s maiden fashion show in Milan) and is not totally unexpected,” says Bernstein analyst Luca Solca. “It becomes even more important that the new Gucci team will score some goals and win some matches, to give investors some confidence we are indeed on the right path.” Consensus expects Gucci sales to be down in the high single-digits for Q2, says Solca.
“We are building a more robust organisation to fully capture the growth of the global luxury market,” reads Pinault’s statement. “I am confident that the changes we are announcing today will set Kering on a path to success and profitable growth over the long term.”
All eyes will be on Bizzarri’s next move — following de Sarno’s debut — which is yet unannounced.
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