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Kering has hired Stefano Cantino as deputy CEO of Gucci, a newly created position, effective 2 May. He will report to Jean-François Palus, Gucci’s president and CEO. Cantino comes from LVMH, where he has been SVP of communications and events at Louis Vuitton since 2018. Before that, he spent over 20 years at Prada Group, and lastly, as communication and marketing director.
Cantino joins a relatively new team at Gucci. Palus, who was appointed interim CEO of Gucci amid an executive shake-up in July 2023, has been installed in the role permanently, Kering said in February. Creative director Sabato De Sarno presented his debut collection for the Italian house last September at Milan Fashion Week — and it is currently rolling out in stores.
“[Cantino’s] extensive experience in strategic roles in prominent companies in the luxury sector is a valuable addition to Jean-François’s strong leadership and Sabato’s creative strength. Together with them and the entire Gucci team, we will write a new and highly successful chapter in the history of our magnificent brand,” Francesca Bellettini, Kering deputy CEO who oversees brand development, said in a statement.
It comes as sales have continued to falter in response to weakened demand. On 19 March, Kering warned that sales at Gucci will decline 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 (and group revenue will decline 10 per cent), which sent the Kering share down by 15 per cent overall. Following the sales warning, HSBC lowered its forecasts: it expects 2024 sales to decline by 1 per cent — versus a 4 per cent rise previously — and EBIT to decline 15 per cent year-on-year. “In our forecasts, we have integrated a return to double-digit growth at Gucci in the fourth quarter of 2024 with limited conviction, however, the depletion pace of previous seasons’ products will be key in achieving such a performance,” HSBC analysts wrote in a note on 5 April. “We remain convinced that actions currently taken at Gucci should bear fruit eventually,” they continued. Kering is to report its first-quarter sales on 23 April.
“I am very proud to join Gucci, the house that owns the richest heritage in Italian luxury, as it begins a new chapter in its history,” Cantino stated. “I look forward to contributing with full dedication to the definition and implementation of the strategy that Jean-François Palus has initiated, and I can’t wait to work with all the Gucci team toward success.”
Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton has appointed Blake Harrop as executive vice president, image and communications, chairman and CEO Pietro Beccari announced in an internal note on Thursday. Harrop was president of advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy since 2022, after heading the agency’s offices in Shanghai, Tokyo and Amsterdam. Prior to that, he was global head of digital marketing at Samsung in South Korea, rolling out the company’s first social media campaigns. “He deepened his knowledge of the luxury sector while working with several major industry leaders,” Beccari wrote in the internal note.
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