The thud of Gucci in the fourth quarter was foretold. The October-December period coincided with the resignation of Alessandro Michele and the arduous search for a replacement. Analysts were expecting -11%: Kering ‘s balance sheet data instead says that the meltdown was 14% on a comparable basis. The result dragged the parent company’s revenues to -7% in the same period, a negative performance worse than the -3% expected by the market. “Gucci did not meet our expectations,” says Kering Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Duplaix. Which remains “very confident for the brand in 2023 and in the long term”. The good news for the French holding are the records of Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta. Report by La Conceria.

The glass half empty: the thud of Gucci

After stellar growth in 2015-2019, Gucci has lost momentum in recent years, falling behind competitors such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès. But also compared to other Kering brands. The Italian brand closed 2022 with revenues of 10.5 billion euros (+8% at current exchange rates and +1% on a comparable basis). Operating profit is 3.73 billion euros, on the same line as that of 2021. In the last quarter of 2022, the brand blamed the backlash from China, where it lost 14% in sales compared to the same period a year ago. “A difficult year” writes Kering in her report. Duplaix points out that the group’s efforts for Gucci are aimed at the long term. The financial director himself declares that the beginning of the year was ” very encouraging ” in China. Reuters reports it.

The glass half full: healthy brands

To represent the glass half full of the Kering balance sheet is above all Saint Laurent, which closed “once again an exceptional year” with 3.3 billion in turnover (+31%). Operating profit grew by 43%, exceeding one billion euros. In the fourth quarter of 2022, sales increased by 4% on a comparable basis. Bottega Veneta did well, +16% to 1.74 billion in 2022 and +6% on a comparable basis in the fourth quarter of 2022. The “other maison” division, which includes Balenciaga, recorded +16% to 3.87 billion for the whole year. In the fourth quarter, thanks to Balenciaga’s difficulties in December, revenues decreased by 4% on a comparable basis.

Kering like Louis Vuitton

Overall in 2022 Kering had a turnover of 20.35 billion euros (more or less the same as LVMH’s Louis Vuitton alone), with a growth of 15%. The group’s net profit is 3.6 billion euros, up 14%.}