Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 9, 2025
PARIS -Incoming Kering chief executive Luca de Meo told a shareholder meeting on Tuesday he would bring the struggling luxury group back on track, which will include taking "clear and strong" decisions that won't be easy.
"We will get the group back to the place it should be," de Meo said in a speech, adding that first decisions to make the group faster, more integrated and profitable will be implemented before the end of the year.
"We must continue to reduce our debt, reduce our costs. And where necessary, rationalise, reorganise, reposition some of our brands," de Meo said, adding: "These decisions won't always be easy."
The arrival of de Meo, the first outsider to run the company in two decades, marks a bold move for Kering, which has struggled to regain its footing since the departure of star designer Alessandro Michele from its brand Gucci in late 2022.
De Meo takes up the position at a difficult time for the luxury industry, which is facing a prolonged slump, with the Chinese market hobbled by a property crisis while U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war is weighing on U.S. consumer confidence and threatening margins at European high-end brands.
The formal vote to rubber-stamp de Meo's hire is due later on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Mimosa Spencer and Makini Brice)
