The New Gucci Men

Francois-Henri Pinault, chief executive officer of Gucci-owner Kering Group has approved the appointment. He attended Gucci’s men’s fashion show last Monday in Milan. And, Michele made his first appearance before Gucci’s public when the brand unveiled a menswear collection for next autumn and winter that the menswear team had revamped in a five-day marathon after Giannini departed earlier than expected.

The androgynous looks, featuring silky high-collared shirts with elaborate bows, baggy tailored trousers along with sandals and loafers sporting tufts of fur, received sustained applause. Pinault is entrusting a little-known designer with the biggest creative role in his luxury portfolio. Sales have barely grown at the $4 billion brand in more than a year amid an industrywide slowdown, according to Bloomberg.

François-Henri Pinault, said that “Throughout its history, Gucci has always created attention and excitement through its innovative and distinctive products and collections as it has become Italy’s most renowned fashion house and one of the most iconic, and prominentluxury brands in the world. Alessandro Michele has both the qualities and the vision necessary to bring a new contemporary perspective to Gucci and lead the brand into an exciting new creative chapter of its history».

Michele, 42, replaces Frida Giannini, whose departure after a decade was announced last month. The first collection under Michele’s name will be the women’s ready-to-wear for next autumn and winter, to be shown Feb. 25, Gucci said in a statement. Michele joined Gucci in 2002, becoming an associate to the creative director in May 2011. Last September, he was also named creative director of the Richard Ginori porcelain brand, owned by Gucci. He previously worked as a senior accessories designer at Fendi and studied at the Accademia di Costume e di Moda in Rome. Michelle now is the men. He really needs to revamp a company that doesn´t look to good when you look at the numbers. 

Sales in Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong continue declining while sales in US have gone up 7 per cent with respect to a year ago. In Japan, the growth is really sharp: 17 per cent year-on-year. In order to diversify more its business portfolio, Kering released last year it has acquired Ulysse Nardin, a Swiss company specialized in luxury watches and founded in 1846.

Based on these results, Kering has a strong position in spite of the negative contribution of Gucci. Now, Kering is a world leader in apparel and accessories. It is present in more than 120 countries with more than 35,000 employees and it is listed in Paris Euronext. The market capitalization is €19.69 billion, P/E Ratio at 388.19 and a dividend yield of 2.95 per cent.