French Luxury Goods Company Kering Names Stefano Cantino as Gucci CEO

The logo of fashion house Gucci is seen outside a store in Cannes, France, May 16, 2024. (Reuters)
The logo of fashion house Gucci is seen outside a store in Cannes, France, May 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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French Luxury Goods Company Kering Names Stefano Cantino as Gucci CEO

The logo of fashion house Gucci is seen outside a store in Cannes, France, May 16, 2024. (Reuters)
The logo of fashion house Gucci is seen outside a store in Cannes, France, May 16, 2024. (Reuters)

French luxury goods company Kering named Stefano Cantino as CEO of Gucci, the Italian fashion house it has been seeking to revive, adding he would succeed Jean-Francois Palus in January.

"I am confident that, building on what has been set up over the past 15 months, Stefano and the Gucci team will succeed in the mission to take Gucci back to the leadership the brand deserves," Kering Deputy CEO Francesca Bellettini said.

Cantino, who joined Gucci in May 2024 as deputy CEO, will have a seat on Kering’s Executive Committee.

Kering has been revamping the century-old Italian fashion house that accounts for half of group sales and two thirds of profit.

But the efforts have been complicated by a downturn in the global luxury market, while China's rebound - traditionally Gucci's most coveted market - was held back by a property crisis and high youth unemployment just when Western markets retreated after a post-pandemic spending splurge.



Uniqlo Risks Boycott in China after CEO's Xinjiang Comment

People shop at a UNIQLO store during the grand opening of the The Hudson Yards development, a residential, commercial, and retail space on Manhattan's West side in New York City, New York, US, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
People shop at a UNIQLO store during the grand opening of the The Hudson Yards development, a residential, commercial, and retail space on Manhattan's West side in New York City, New York, US, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Uniqlo Risks Boycott in China after CEO's Xinjiang Comment

People shop at a UNIQLO store during the grand opening of the The Hudson Yards development, a residential, commercial, and retail space on Manhattan's West side in New York City, New York, US, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
People shop at a UNIQLO store during the grand opening of the The Hudson Yards development, a residential, commercial, and retail space on Manhattan's West side in New York City, New York, US, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Casual wear giant Uniqlo is facing calls for a consumer boycott in China after the CEO of the clothing company's owner said it does not source cotton from China's Xinjiang, which has faced allegations of forced labor in recent years.
Fast Retailing CEO Tadashi Yanai made the comment during an interview in Tokyo with the British Broadcasting Corporation that was published on Thursday.
Two hashtags on Yanai's comment went viral on Friday on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where several users slammed the company and vowed to never purchase its products.
"With this kind of attitude from Uniqlo, and their founder being so arrogant, they're probably betting that mainland consumers will forget about it in a few days and continue to buy. So, can we stand firm this time?" one user wrote.
Fast Retailing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
China is Fast Retailing's biggest overseas market and it has more than 900 stores on the mainland. Greater China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, accounts for more than 20% of the company's revenue.
The issue of sourcing from Xinjiang has been a geopolitical minefield for foreign firms with a large presence in China.
This was demonstrated by the consumer boycott Uniqlo’s rival, H&M, faced in China in 2021 for a statement posted on its website where it expressed concern about the allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang and said it would no longer source cotton from there.
H&M saw its stores removed from major e-commerce platforms and its store locations moved from map apps in China as it bore the brunt of consumer anger at companies refusing to source cotton from Xinjiang, although other Western brands including Nike, Puma, Burberry and more were also caught up in the controversy.