Billionaire Pinault CEO Laments Kering Slide as Fortune Dwindles

Francois-Henri Pinault

(Bloomberg) — The billionaire Pinault heir at the helm of Gucci owner Kering SA is unhappy about the fashion company’s stock market performance, which has led to a halving of his father’s fortune in less than three years.

“You’re disappointed, you’re frustrated — me too, I’m the first, be sure of that,” Kering Chief Executive Officer Francois-Henri Pinault told shareholders at the annual general meeting in Paris on Thursday. “It’s a permanent concern.”

The Pinault family holds a 42% stake and 59% of the voting rights in Kering, which makes up the bulk of founder Francois Pinault’s wealth. It declined to $29.4 billion through Wednesday from about $59 billion in August 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Kering shares have slid 18% this year, compared with gains of 6% and 20% at rivals LVMH and Hermes, respectively.

FHP, as the son of the founder is known by colleagues, said his teams are determined to make the fashion conglomerate’s brands more exclusive and desirable, especially the biggest label, Gucci.

“It will take some time but we’ll manage,” said FHP, who took the helm nearly two decades ago.

In his first public comments since Kering announced earlier this week that first-half profit would drop by as much as 45%, Pinault said the recent results are far from the group’s ambitions.

FHP was joined on stage Thursday by his two co-deputy CEOs, who struck similar tones. Francesca Bellettini, who’s in charge of brand development at Kering, said Gucci was too slow to update its looks following the Covid-19 pandemic, while Jean-Marc Duplaix, who oversees finance and operations, said the recent stock price performance was unsatisfactory but the company was working with “energy and determination” to boost it.

Gucci named Sabato De Sarno as new creative director in early 2023, following the exit of former star designer Alessandro Michele a few months earlier. Kering derives more than two-thirds of its profitability from Gucci. It also owns Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, among other labels.

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(Adds details about Pinault’s wealth in third paragraph)

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