Kering: Stefano Cantino appointed deputy chief executive officer of Gucci

"Gucci is pleased to announce that Stefano Cantino has been appointed deputy chief executive officer". A note from the Kering group, of which Gucci is the flagship brand, announces the new appointment for the Italian manager, formerly of Louis Vuitton and formerly of Prada, who will take up the position from 2 May next and will report to the president and ceo, Jean-François Palus, who has been in office for about a year. "In this new role, Stefano Cantino will share with Jean-François Palus the responsibilities in the definition and implementation of Gucci's strategy," the statement from the company controlled by the French Kering group read further.

Cantino joins the Florentine fashion house after five years at Louis Vuitton, where he oversaw the brand's communication and image strategies. With a degree in Political Science from the University of Turin, before his experience at Louis Vuitton, Cantino spent over twenty years in the Prada group, holding positions of increasing responsibility in the Marketing and Sales areas, until he was appointed Communication & Marketing Director.

"I am thrilled that Stefano Cantino is joining Gucci to contribute to the new chapter we are writing with determination and a long-term vision," said Palus. "Cantino's appointment is another step in the consolidation of the brand's management team. Thanks to his extensive experience in strategic roles at leading companies in the luxury industry, Stefano will be able to make a valuable contribution to Jean-François' established leadership and Sabato's strong creativity. Together with them and the entire Gucci team, we will write a new chapter of success in the history of this magnificent brand of ours," said Francesca Bellettini, deputy ceo of Kering, responsible for Brand Development of the group. Finally, the manager also said: "I am proud to join Gucci, the maison that boasts the most precious historical-creative heritage of luxury in Italy, as it opens a new chapter in its history. I look forward to contributing to the definition and implementation of the strategy initiated by Jean-François Palus, and to working with the entire Gucci team towards new successes'.

The eyes of the entire fashion and luxury world are on the Gucci brand. The flagship brand of the group led by François Henri Pinault has a complicated two-year period behind it. After an initial slowdown that led to a change in creative direction - Alessandro Michele left the brand in December 2022 passing the baton to Sabato De Sarno, who concretely took over the role in mid-2023 - and to that of management, with the farewell of Marco Bizzarri and the arrival of Palus, in 2023 the brand was back under the EUR 10 billion revenue threshold (precisely at EUR 9.9 billion, down 6%). The figures expected on 23 April, when the French luxury giant will announce its performance for the first quarter of 2023, will show an even sharper drop: in a note, in fact, Kering has already announced that it expects revenues to fall by 10 per cent in the quarter, with Gucci sales at -20 per cent. These figures do not reflect the change of pace on the creative front: the imprint of Sabato De Sarno, who with his Gucci Ancora has transformed the style of the fashion house, moving away markedly from the opulence of Alessandro Michele's collections, is recognisable starting with the spring-summer 2024 collection which debuted in some Gucci shops from the end of February. It is therefore more likely that the second quarter figures will offer a more reliable snapshot of the luxury consumer public's feedback on the maison's new direction.

Cantino's appointment, in this context, seems in line with the brand's desire to work on its image in order to consolidate the relaunch that began last September.