Struggling Gucci Owner’s Shares Soar Over New CEO Reports 

A model presents a creation by the Gucci Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2025. (Reuters)
A model presents a creation by the Gucci Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Struggling Gucci Owner’s Shares Soar Over New CEO Reports 

A model presents a creation by the Gucci Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2025. (Reuters)
A model presents a creation by the Gucci Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, February 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Shares in Gucci owner Kering jumped Monday over reports that the outgoing boss of French automaker Renault would take over as chief executive of the struggling luxury group.

Renault shares, however, fell following its announcement Sunday that Luca de Meo, 58, would step down on July 15 "to take on new challenges outside the automobile sector" after five years at the helm of the company.

Le Figaro newspaper reported that de Meo would take over at Kering, the French luxury group that owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and other premium brands.

Kering has struggled to turn things around at Gucci, the Italian fashion house famous for its handbags and which accounts for half of the group's overall sales.

Previous reports have said the group's chief executive Francois-Henri Pinault would stay on as chairman of the group in a management shake-up.

Kering shares rose more than six percent to 183 euros ($212) in morning deals at the Paris stock exchange.

Shares in Renault fell 6.7 percent to 40.10 euros.

Known as a skilled communicator and marketing expert, de Meo is credited with bringing stability to a company that was in turmoil when he took over in 2020.

The automaker was reeling from more than a year of crisis in the wake of the scandal involving Carlos Ghosn, the former head of the Nissan-Renault alliance who fled Japan to avoid trial.

De Meo accelerated the group's shift to electric vehicles and pushed for an upmarket move in an effort to steer the company out of trouble. Renault also owns the Dacia, Alpine, and Lada brands.



France Fines Shein 40 Million Euros for Misleading Discounts

FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo
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France Fines Shein 40 Million Euros for Misleading Discounts

FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a Shein pop-up store at a mall in Singapore April 4, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo/File Photo

France's antitrust agency said on Thursday it had fined China-founded fast-fashion retailer Shein 40 million euros ($47.17 million) for alleged deceptive business practices including misleading discounts, following a nearly year-long probe.

The agency, in charge of consumer protection as well as competition, said Infinite Style E-Commerce Co Ltd, which handles sales for the Shein brand, had misled customers about discounts, and that the company had accepted the fine, Reuters reported.

Under French regulations, the reference price for any discount is the lowest one given by a retailer during the 30 days preceding the offer. Shein infringed that rule by not taking into account previous offers, and sometimes increasing the price before applying a discount, the agency said.

It said its investigation showed the company "deceived consumers about the authenticity of discounts they could benefit from."

The probe, conducted across thousands of products on Shein's French site between October 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023, found 57% of advertised deals were not, in fact, offering a lower price; 19% had less of a discount than advertised; and 11% were in fact price increases.

In a statement, Shein said the antitrust agency had informed Infinite Style Ecommerce Co Ltd (ISEL) of breaches related to reference price and environmental regulations in March last year, and ISEL had taken corrective action within the following two months.

"This means that all identified issues were addressed more than a year ago," Shein said, adding that ISEL was committed to complying with French regulations.