Gucci-Owner Kering Paid $3.8 Bln for French Fragrance Label Creed 

The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)
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Gucci-Owner Kering Paid $3.8 Bln for French Fragrance Label Creed 

The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of French luxury group Kering is seen at Kering headquarters in Paris, France, February 13, 2023. (Reuters)

Gucci-owner Kering paid 3.5 billion euros ($3.83 billion) for acquiring high-end French fragrance label Creed in June, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The French luxury group made the acquisition since flagging intentions earlier in the year to create an in-house cosmetics business.

The all-cash deal to acquire 100% of the fragrance house from funds controlled by BlackRock and by the company's current chairman Javier Ferran is expected to close in the second half this year.

Part of the reason the details of the transaction were not provided earlier was that the companies did not want to broadcast Creed's steep profit margins, according to the FT report.

Kering and Creed did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.



H&M Abandons 2024 Earnings Margin Target, Q3 Profit Lags

People walk past a closed H&M clothing store in Omsk, Russia, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko
People walk past a closed H&M clothing store in Omsk, Russia, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko
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H&M Abandons 2024 Earnings Margin Target, Q3 Profit Lags

People walk past a closed H&M clothing store in Omsk, Russia, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko
People walk past a closed H&M clothing store in Omsk, Russia, March 3, 2022. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko

H&M, the world's second-largest listed fashion retailer, said on Thursday it no longer expected to reach its full-year earnings margin goal, while reporting a lower-than-expected operating profit for the June-August period.

H&M has struggled to boost its profitability amid high inflation and stiff competition from its bigger Spanish rival Zara, owned by Inditex, and the rapid growth of cut-price online fast-fashion retailer Shein.

"At present we estimate that this year's operating margin will be lower than 10%," Chief Executive Daniel Erver said in a statement.

The accumulated margin stood 7.4% for the first three quarters.

The full-year operating margins for 2022 and 2023 were 3.2% and 6.2% respectively, and H&M had cautioned in June that factors such as materials costs and foreign currency had made the 2024 target more difficult to reach.