The management of luxury houses is indeed a matter of pairs, in good times and in bad. Six months after separating from Alessandro Michele, the emblematic artistic director of Gucci, Kering, parent company of the Florentine leather goods manufacturer, is giving its leave to its CEO, Marco Bizzari.
Since 2015, the duo had been responsible for three crazy years of sales growth for Gucci. But he was not able to manage the sudden stop due to the Covid. On September 23, Marco Bizzari will therefore be replaced by Jean-François Palus, current Deputy CEO of the group, “ for a transitional period”. At the start of the year, François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, made no secret of the need to get his brand back “on track” with 10 billion euros in turnover.
This change in management demonstrates its desire to accelerate the relaunch of a label weighing half of Kering’s activity and two-thirds of its profitability. Struggling particularly in China, Gucci was largely left behind by its main rivals, Louis Vuitton and Hermès. Its sales only increased by 1% in the first quarter of 2023. While the search for a new CEO of Gucci is launched, Jean-François Palus, close to François-Henri Pinault since their studies at HEC, will ensure the interim. He will leave his position as administrator of Kering and will settle in Milan.
This change is part of a global reorganization of the group. Francesca Bellettini, CEO of Yves Saint Laurent since 2013, will oversee the development of all of the luxury giant’s brands (Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, etc.), with the title of deputy general manager of the group. Jean-Marc Duplaix, the financial director, is promoted to deputy general manager in charge of operations and finance.
