Kering Reshuffles Management, Francesca Bellettini Promoted to Group Deputy CEO
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MILAN — Kering’s major management reshuffle revealed on Tuesday leaves the group’s cash cow, Gucci, in a transitional phase and question marks eventually swirling over the top executive position at Yves Saint Laurent after a stellar upward trajectory over the past few years.
Kering is rewarding the person responsible for Saint Laurent’s growth, president and chief executive officer Francesca Bellettini, who appointed Anthony Vaccarello creative director of the French brand in 2016. She has been named a Kering deputy CEO, in charge of brand development. All Kering brand CEOs will now report to Bellettini, who is tasked with steering them in their next stages of growth.
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In addition to Gucci and Saint Laurent, Kering is parent to Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté. In 2022, Kering had more than 47,000 employees and revenue of 20.4 billion euros.
But along with Bellettini’s promotion, Kering revealed the loss of one of its star executives, Gucci president and CEO Marco Bizzarri, who will leave the group effective Sept. 23 after the brand’s show in Milan. This confirms a WWD scoop on Tuesday. The September show will mark the debut of Gucci’s new creative director Sabato de Sarno.
Jean-François Palus, currently Kering Group managing director, has been appointed president and CEO of Gucci ad interim. He will relinquish his position on the board of directors of Kering and relocate to Milan until a successor for Bizzarri is named.
Bellettini joined Saint Laurent in 2013 after stints as executive director at Bottega Veneta and Gucci.
A graduate of Bocconi University in Milan, she worked in investment banking in London before joining Prada Group in 2002 and starting her 20-plus year career in fashion.
Saint Laurent reported sales of 2.4 billion euros in 2021, up from 1.7 billion euros in 2020 — a jump from 400 million euros in 2013 when the executive joined the company.
To ensure a smooth transition, Bellettini will gradually assume her new responsibilities over the coming months and a new Saint Laurent top management lineup has been put in place.
Giovanna Brambilla, partner at Milan-based executive search firm Value Search, said that Bellettini “is very much loved by those who work with her; she succeeds in blending strategic vision, understanding of both financial indicators and product knowledge with an ability to build, empower and motivate teams. These are all winning assets — and it’s also a plus that we now see a woman in such a position of responsibility.”
“Kering is in transition, as the relaunch of its mega-brand Gucci is still work in progress,” said Luca Solca, senior research analyst, global luxury goods at Bernstein. “The departure of Marco Bizzarri seems timed to give full visibility to the ‘new chapter’ (just ahead of [Sabato] de Sarno’s maiden fashion show in Milan) and is not totally unexpected. It becomes even more important that the new Gucci team will score some goals and win some matches, to give investors some confidence we are indeed on the right path.”
Jean-Marc Duplaix, chief financial officer since 2012, also has been appointed a Kering deputy CEO, in charge of operations and finance.
“We are building a more robust organization to fully capture the growth of the global luxury market,” said François-Henri Pinault, Kering chairman and CEO. “I look forward to working with Francesca in her new executive leadership role; while being instrumental in multiplying revenues sixfold since she joined Saint Laurent, she has been a fantastic partner, and all brands as well as the Group will now benefit from her expertise.”
Pinault continued by highlighting how Duplaix oversaw the transformation “into an integrated luxury group, and I count on him to continue infusing discipline and responsibility across the organization and foster the continuing development of best-in-class practices in all our operations. Jean-François [Palus] has been my right-hand man and a daily sparring partner for several decades; he will now focus his energy on getting our largest asset in top shape, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
He concluded by thanking Bizzarri “for his spectacular contribution to the success of Gucci and of Kering, and I wish him well in his future endeavors. I am confident that the changes we are announcing today will set Kering on a path to success and profitable growth over the long term.”
In addition, former Chanel global CEO Maureen Chiquet will join the Kering board in September. Pinault touted Chiquet’s professional experience, “her deep knowledge of our sector and her international background, which will be fundamental to further enrich the diversity of our board.”
Chiquet, who exited Chanel in 2016, began her career with L’Oréal in France, later moved to San Francisco and rose through the ranks at The Gap as a merchant under the tutelage of Millard “Mickey” Drexler. She also helped launch Old Navy and was president of Banana Republic before being recruited for the Chanel post in 2003. In 2020 she was named chair of Golden Goose.
Rumors about a possible exit of Bizzarri circulated in Milan around the time former creative director Alessandro Michele exited the brand in November. But in January, Pinault told WWD that Bizzarri would stay put, expressing trust in the executive and confidence in the success of the next chapter.
To be sure, sources in Milan said Bizzarri had recently renewed his three-year contract, making his departure now quite sudden.
Bizzarri led a textbook turnaround at the Italian luxury brand. With Michele’s gender-fluid, retro-tinged glamor, the size of Gucci tripled since 2015, reaching sales last year of 9.73 billion euros. The designer left suddenly amid disagreement over the future of the brand, sources said at the time.
Bizzarri was appointed Gucci president and CEO in December 2014, and he promoted Michele to the top creative spot in 2015, with the goal to make Gucci more directional and the brand’s shows must-sees.
Bizzarri started his career at Andersen Consulting, now Accenture. Leaving Andersen for Mandarina Duck in 1993 was a big leap — the first of many in Bizzarri’s career. He developed the brand’s international markets, setting up factories in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Hungary, and, after 10 years, he moved on to Marithé + François Girbaud for a brief stint.
After Michele’s appointment in 2015, Gucci posted growth exceeding 35 percent for five consecutive quarters by the first quarter of 2018, prompting Bizzarri to set a 10 billion euro revenue target for the brand in June that year. However, the brand has struggled over the last few years with slower growth than many of its luxury peers.
Bizzarri chose de Sarno, a Valentino designer, to succeed Michele. Since Michele’s exit, the collections have been designed by Gucci’s in-house team.
As reported, organic sales at Gucci were up 1 percent in the first quarter, compared with a 14 percent drop in the prior three months.
The figures were slightly above a consensus of analyst estimates, which had called for a 1 percent rise in overall comparable sales to 5.04 billion euros. Like-for-like sales at Gucci had been forecast to remain flat.
Gucci has been working on raising the brand’s profile in key markets through initiatives that include the launch of Salon, permanent and temporary spaces where high rollers can order bespoke luggage, exotic leather goods, furniture and high jewelry, with prices ranging from about 40,000 euros to 3 million euros.
The first ultra-luxe Salon store opened in Los Angeles in April, complete with fresh-off-the-red-carpet gowns.
Commenting on Kering’s first-quarter results, Duplaix said the Italian brand saw an acceleration in sales in March and April but remains in the midst of a turnaround plan in China, aiming to enhance the retail experience, admitting weakness compared to some peers.
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