French luxury company Kering names Stefano Cantino as Gucci CEO

PARIS (Reuters) -French luxury goods company Kering has named Stefano Cantino as CEO of its star label Gucci, firming up management of the Italian fashion house it has been seeking to revive, and adding he would succeed Jean-Francois Palus in January.

“I am confident that, building on what has been set up over the past 15 months, Stefano and the Gucci team will succeed in the mission to take Gucci back to the leadership the brand deserves,” Kering Deputy CEO Francesca Bellettini said.

Palus, the right-hand man of Kering Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault for three decades, was named Gucci CEO last year to oversee a transition period at the label, which fell behind rivals during the pandemic.

Cantino joined Gucci in May 2024 as deputy CEO, after five years at LVMH-owned Louis Vuitton, the world’s biggest luxury label, where he was head of image and communications.

Cantino, who also has two decades of experience at Prada, in communications and marketing roles, will have a seat on Kering’s Executive Committee.

Kering has been revamping the century-old Italian fashion house that accounts for half of group sales and two thirds of profit, ushering a new streamlined aesthetic under the artistic direction of Sabato de Sarno.

But the efforts have been complicated by a downturn in the global luxury market, while China’s rebound – traditionally Gucci’s most coveted market – was held back by a property crisis and high youth unemployment just when Western markets retreated after a post-pandemic spending splurge.

The changes at Kering follow a flurry of senior management and designer changes across the luxury industry as it adjusts to the downturn.

Kering declined to comment on what role Palus could take following his replacement by Cantino in January.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mimosa Spencer;Editing by Dominique Vidalon and Barbara Lewis)