Kering Warns on Annual 2024 Operating Profit as Gucci Sales Fall

This photograph taken during a presentation press conference in Paris on March 22, 2013 shows the new name and logo of French luxury and retail group PPR which will become officially Kering after its approval by the annual general meeting to be held on June 18. (AFP)
This photograph taken during a presentation press conference in Paris on March 22, 2013 shows the new name and logo of French luxury and retail group PPR which will become officially Kering after its approval by the annual general meeting to be held on June 18. (AFP)
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Kering Warns on Annual 2024 Operating Profit as Gucci Sales Fall

This photograph taken during a presentation press conference in Paris on March 22, 2013 shows the new name and logo of French luxury and retail group PPR which will become officially Kering after its approval by the annual general meeting to be held on June 18. (AFP)
This photograph taken during a presentation press conference in Paris on March 22, 2013 shows the new name and logo of French luxury and retail group PPR which will become officially Kering after its approval by the annual general meeting to be held on June 18. (AFP)

French luxury goods group Kering warned on Wednesday its full-year operating income would almost halve after reporting a larger-than-expected drop in third quarter sales, as weak demand in China deepened the struggles of its main label Gucci.

Revenue for the group which also owns fashion brands Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, was 3.79 billion euros ($4.08 billion), a 16% decline on an organic basis.

The figure was worse than an analyst consensus estimate of an 11% decline, according to a Barclays note.

Kering said its 2024 recurring operating income could be about 2.5 billion euros, following the larger-than-expected slowdown in the third quarter, compared with 4.75 billion euros a year earlier.

Kering's warning comes as the luxury sector suffers a slowdown, with luxury bellwether LVMH last week missing expectations and flagging a drop in Chinese consumer confidence to COVID-era lows, with a deterioration in demand for high end fashion over the quarter.

Sales at Gucci, which accounts for half of annual group sales and two-thirds of profit, continued to slide and were down 25% in the quarter, compared to analysts' consensus expectations for a 21% decline.

"We are executing a far-reaching transformation of the group, and at Gucci in particular, at a time when the whole luxury sector faces unfavorable market conditions," Kering Chair and CEO Francois Henri Pinault said in a statement.

Kering has been managing a broad overhaul of the century-old Italian fashion house, rebuilding top executive teams and introducing a new streamlined design style under the artistic direction of Sabato de Sarno, while pushing the products upmarket.

The group said in a statement that the overhaul of Gucci's leather goods category, with the introduction of a host of new products late in the quarter, was well underway.

Earlier this month, it named Stefano Cantino as CEO effective from January, replacing longtime Kering executive Jean-Francois Palus who held the role for an interim period since last year.



Ralph Lauren Hikes Annual Sales Forecast on Strong Demand for High-end Apparel

A man walks past Ralph Lauren Corp.'s flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, US, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A man walks past Ralph Lauren Corp.'s flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, US, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Ralph Lauren Hikes Annual Sales Forecast on Strong Demand for High-end Apparel

A man walks past Ralph Lauren Corp.'s flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, US, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
A man walks past Ralph Lauren Corp.'s flagship Polo store on Fifth Avenue in New York City, US, April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Ralph Lauren raised its annual sales forecast after topping quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday, on steady demand for its cable-knit sweaters and Oxford shirts in North America, Europe and China, sending shares of the company 6% up in premarket trading.
Wealthy customers continue to splurge on high-end leather handbags and Polo sweat-shirts, boosting demand across Ralph's direct-to-customer channels and helping it counter a muted wholesale business and soft e-commerce sales in North America.
The results are in contrast to a pullback in the broader luxury sector, primarily in the key China market, which has hurt larger European fashion houses such as Hugo Boss, Kering and luxury bellwether LVMH.
The Club Monaco owner now expects fiscal year 2025 revenue to increase about 3% to 4% compared with a prior forecast of a 2% to 3% rise.
The luxury retailer's net revenue rose 6% to $1.73 billion in the second quarter ended Sept. 28 from a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $1.68 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.