With an almost stable first quarter, François-Henri Pinault’s group is doing better than expected but not as well as its luxury competitors.
Consolation lot at Kering. While the luxury group led by François-Henri Pinault had fallen by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2022, it has achieved a revenue increase of +1% on a comparable basis to 5.08 billion euros.
This is better than the Bloomberg and Facset consensus forecasts, which were expecting 5.065 billion euros and 5.02 billion euros instead. But it’s not as good as other major luxury players, such as Lvmh (+17%) and Hermès (+23%), which achieved double-digit growth in the first quarter. Kering, particularly Gucci, has benefited less from the Chinese recovery.
“Kering’s performance in the first quarter remains mixed, as we had anticipated,” admitted François-Henri Pinault, the group’s CEO. “The gradual improvement in activity throughout the period is encouraging, and we are working to increase the desirability of our brands and develop their visibility in key markets. The numerous initiatives undertaken by our Houses further strengthen their attractiveness and exclusivity and consolidate the foundations for profitable and sustainable growth.”
Stabilization for Gucci
The group’s flagship brand, Gucci, seems to have stopped its descent into hell. Indeed, it posted a slight growth of 1% in published and comparable data to 2.6 billion euros in the first quarter of 2023. This is a welcome stabilization after a 14% decline in the last quarter of 2022, dragged down by the still-troubled Chinese market.
But if its sales in the network of its own stores are up by +1% on a comparable basis in the first quarter of 2023, those in the wholesale channel are still down (-7%).
On the other hand, “all key product categories are growing, in particular handbags, the Valigeria collection (travel accessories) and women’s ready-to-wear.”
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