Major events in the history of French fashion group Kering

(Reuters) -Gucci owner Kering is reported to be close to appointing Renault's ex-boss Luca de Meo as its new CEO.

According to sources, current Kering chief Francois-Henri Pinault, whose family controls the heavily indebted luxury conglomerate and who has been leading it for 20 years, is mulling splitting the roles of CEO and chairman.

The following is a timeline of major events in the French luxury fashion group's history.

1962 - Francois Pinault founds Etablissements Pinault, a timber trading company based in Rennes that will transform into Kering.

March 1999 - The firm, now called PPR, begins its transformation into a luxury group by acquiring a 42% stake in the fashion group Gucci for about $3 billion.

July 2001 - The group buys the Balenciaga fashion house, which soon becomes a celebrity-favoured strategic brand within the PPR-owned Gucci Group.

March 2005 - Francois-Henri Pinault, the founder's son, replaces Serge Weinberg as chairman and CEO of the group and begins to sell off non-core activities to fund further acquisition in the fashion sector.

November 2011 - The group announces the acquisition of Italian luxury house Brioni, famous for designing James Bond's suits, in a bid to strengthen its high-end menswear profile.

December 2012 - The conglomerate makes its first-ever acquisition in China by purchasing a majority stake in fine jewellery company Qeelin.

March 2013 - The firm changes its name to Kering to herald its exit from mass market retail brands.

April 2013 - The firm takes over jewellery brands including Italy's Pomellato and DoDo.

November 2022 - The group confirms the departure of Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele, ending a more than 20-year tenure over "different perspectives".

July 2023 - Kering buys a 30% stake in Italian fashion brand Valentino for 1.7 billion euros ($1.97 billion) in an attempt to revitalise struggling Gucci, which is wrestling with a fading post-pandemic fashion boom.

It also strikes a deal to buy high-end French fragrance label Creed, for which it reportedly pays 3.5 billion euros.

September 2023 - Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri leaves the post after eight years, as Kering reshuffles its top ranks in a bid to restore momentum at its star label.

October 2024 - The firm highlights major headwinds to profits at Gucci, hampered by weak demand in China.

February 2025 - Gucci design chief Sabato De Sarno leaves the label after less than two years in the job as the brand strives to attract wealthier shoppers and reverse its weak sales.

March 2025 - Kering fails to reassure investors with its appointment of in-house talent Demna as artistic director at Gucci, losing $3 billion in stock value in a single day.

April 2025 - The group finds itself in dire straits as its most recent results show a deepening crisis at the flagship Gucci label.

($1 = 0.8642 euros)

(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega and Anna Peverieri; editing by Matt Scuffham and Jan Harvey)