PARIS (Reuters) – Marco Bizzarri will step down as chairman and chief executive of Gucci, which he has raised to the rank of flagship brand of Kering, the French luxury group announced on Tuesday, which has also promoted Francesca Bellettini to the post of deputy general manager responsible for the development of all the houses.
In office since 2015, Marco Bizzarri will leave the company on September 23, Kering said in a press release, while Gucci has been facing a slowdown in sales for several quarters after a period of meteoric expansion.
He is temporarily replaced by Jean-François Palus, Deputy CEO of Kering, who will move to Milan and “has the mission, while the house regains influence and dynamism, to strengthen the teams and operations of Gucci, and prepare its management teams and organization for the future.”
“For several decades, Jean-François has been, on a daily basis, my right arm and my teammate; he will now devote all his energy to fortifying our main asset, and I am immensely grateful to him”, said François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, quoted in the press release.
The change at the helm of Gucci comes as part of a wider management shake-up at Kering, which will see Francesca Bellettini become deputy managing director in charge of “house development”, with the bosses of all the brands reporting to her. She also retains her position as CEO of Yves Saint Laurent.
“We are building a more solid organization to fully capture the growth of the global luxury market”, commented François-Henri Pinault.
The departure of Marco Bizzarri comes less than a year after that of Gucci’s artistic director, Alessandro Michele.
Together, Marco Bizzarri and Alessandro Michele steered the spectacular recovery of the brand, which has become Kering’s main source of profits.
Between 2015 and 2019, Gucci thus experienced dazzling growth, with a profit multiplied by almost four and a turnover almost tripled.
In recent quarters, however, the brand has seen its growth slow, with its performance in China, a key market for the luxury sector, even becoming a source of concern for investors.
In the first quarter, Gucci thus benefited less than its rivals from the rebound in consumption in China and saw its revenues decline in the United States.
Alessandro Michele was replaced last May by the little known Sabato De Sarno as artistic director of the brand.
Among other changes announced on Tuesday, Jean-Marc Duplaix, chief financial officer of Kering since 2012, has been appointed deputy managing director in charge of operations and finance.
(Written by Victor Goury-Laffont and Bertrand Boucey, with Mimosa Spencer, edited by Kate Entringer and Jean Terzian)
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