We’re in December 2014, and the mutli-brand luxury group Kering announces the departure of Patrizio di Marco and Frida Giannini, respectively Gucci’s CEO and artistic director. This wave of departures from Gucci comes as no surprise, and marks the beginning of a fresh start for the Florentine brand. Set up in 1921 by Guccio Gucci and acquired in 1999 by the ancestor of Kering, PPR, the double G brand was, at the time, going through a rough patch. 2013 has proved to be a downturn in the brand’s sales, a situation that worsened in 2014, with lower sales volume of 1.8% at 3,49 billion euros. Considering that Gucci is the…
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Saint Laurent: A Strategy For Success
Saint Laurent has undergone major changes in the last month. The fashion world rendered homage to Hedi Slimane’s departure from his position as creative director and welcomed Anthony Vaccarello as his successor. What’s more, last week Kering reported buoyant growth in revenues up 27% in the first quarter of 2016, driven by retail sales and double-digit growth in all geographies and all product categories. What are the pillars of this winning strategy? Earlier this morning an interview with YSL CEO Francesca Bellettini by Imran Amed (BoF’s editor in chief), helped giving some clarity to the quasi-abnormal growth, and cleared the air after the confusion and press talk after Slimane left.…
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The Business Strategy Behind The H&M x Balmain Collaboration.
Balmain and H&M are two very distinguished fashion companies, in terms of their pricing, customer profile, product quality and company size. Thus, it seemed unnatural that the two collaborate on a collection. After identifying itself as a high-fashion brand, wouldn’t a collaboration with H&M ruin Balmain’s reputation? Some argued the collaboration stained the brand’s credibility whereas others rejoiced to the fact they could finally afford an item associated to the Balmain name. And both reactions are completely understandable. Previous owners of Balmain pieces should be annoyed that others are getting Balmain products for cheaper, and that the luxury value of Balmain clothing decreases.
