‘Remarkable’ year as Kering sees demand for luxury goods soar
LUXURY GROUP Kering has hailed a ‘remarkable’ year after rapid growth on the back of demand for Gucci in Asia and North America.
The French conglomerate, which has a stable of fashion brands including Alexander McQueen and Saint Laurent, saw organic revenue rise by 23.3 per cent in the final quarter to 3.7 billion euros (£3.24bn), beating analysts’ expectations.
Overall revenue for the year was up 29.4 per cent to 13.7 billion euros (£12bn).
More than half of this was accounted for by star brand Gucci, which topped 8 billion euros of revenue last year.
Demand in the Asia-Pacific region powered growth, with sales up 45 per cent. North America was close behind with a 43.6 per cent increase.
Gucci’s overall growth in the final quarter slowed slightly to 33.4 per cent after seven consecutive quarters of growth above 35 per cent.
Francois-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive of Kering, said: “Our healthy, balanced and profitable growth reflects skilful execution of our strategy, rigorous financial discipline, and a shared culture emphasising responsibility and commitment.
“Having worked throughout the year to strengthen the group and its brands, we have the ambition and the means to sustain our profitable growth momentum.”
The company’s luxury peers – LVMH and Hermes – have also reported strong quarterly figures, dispelling fears that slower economic growth in China would dampen demand for high-end labels.
Kering was founded in 1963. It was known as Pinault S.A. until 1994 before changing its name to Pinault-Printemps-Redoute from 1994 to 2005.
From 2005 to 2013 it was known as PPR before adopting the Kering name in 2013.