Flagships performing badly
The most important brand, Gucci, had
to deal with a 5.4 % turnover drop in the third quarter. Kering had
increased the price of several articles to make the brand more exclusive, with
a turnover drop as a result.
Other luxury brands within the Kering portfolio fared better than Gucci:
Bottega Veneta grew 7.3 % and Saint Laurent added 7.2 %, while
Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen
even managed double-digit growths. The entire Kering luxury division rose
1.5 % to 1.62 billion euro. The rise would have been even higher, 5.6 %, if
exchange rates were excluded.
Kering’s sporting division did not perform as well though, dropping 7.6 % in turnover, to 896.2 million
euro. Puma, suffering from a decreased European demand in shoes, has taken
some blows. Despite its like-for-like turnover decreasing, it is only a 0.8 %
drop, whereas analysts had expected -2.3 %.
