PARIS (Reuters) – The luxury giant Kering announced on Monday the appointment to the post of managing director of Luca de Meo, who will have the delicate mission to straighten Gucci, his flagship brand in difficulty.

This announcement, which intervenes the day after that of the surprise departure of the Italian leader of the automaker Renault, plans a broader reshuffle of the governance of the luxury group with the dissociation of the functions of president and general manager.

François-Henri Pinault, current CEO of Kering and whose family is the main shareholder of the group, will only retain the functions of president, Kering said in a highly anticipated statement.

Luca de Meo, who will leave his duties at Renault on July 15, should take the direction of Kering on September 15.

“The experience [de Luca de Meo] At the head of an international group listed, its fine understanding of brands, its sense of strong and respectful corporate culture, convinced me that he was the leader I was looking for to instill a new vision and pilot this chapter in the history of our group, “said François-Henri Pinault quoted in the press release.

The latter will remain president of the group and specified during a conference call with analysts that he would remain involved in strategic orientation while ensuring that Luca de Meo would benefit from freedom in the appointments and the definition of Kering priorities.

“I will not short-circuit the new CEO in terms of priorities and key appointments,” he said.

Pinault says “not to recruit a firefighter”

The current CEO of the group has dismissed the specter of the crisis, saying “not recruiting a firefighter”.

François-Henri Pinault revealed that he had met Luca de Meo a few months ago, as part of a recruitment procedure.

The arrival of Luca de Meo at the luxury group was revealed on Sunday evening by Le Figaro and then confirmed in Reuters by five sources close to the file. Even before formalization, the Kering stock market course flew 11.76%on Monday.

“Recruiting someone who does not come from the luxury sector may seem risky, but their profile seems well suited to direct Kering. We see a good eye the appointment of a person outside the company, and Luca de Meo could be the ideal profile to carry out the recovery,” said Kepler Cheuvreux analysts in a note.

The transfer of Luca from Meo to Kering marks a radical change within the luxury group which struggles to convince investors of the recovery of Gucci, the main contributor to sales and operating profit of the group.

In the first quarter, Kering’s turnover fell 14% and Gucci sales by 25%. The group’s management had warned during the presentation of the results that a two -digit drop was also expected in the second quarter.

In March, Kering appointed Demna Gvasalia, who calls himself Demna, as a new artistic director of Gucci, a controversial choice that did not convince the market.

Since the start of the year, and at the end of Friday, the Kering action has accused a withdrawal of more than 27%.

(Written by Mara Vîlcu and Blandine Hénault)

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