The one blot on new Kering CEO Luca de Meo's CV
And why it matters for Gucci
Once again, corporate argy-bargy at a major luxury group is making more headlines than the creativity that’s supposed to be flowing down the runway. So, who is the new CEO of Kering?
This is who he is:
Le Figaro got the scoop: Renault CEO Luca de Meo, 58, is leaving the car world for fashion, to take over as CEO of Kering. The 10 per cent boost to Kering’s share price makes a change from the 12 percent drop when Demna Gavasalia was appointed creative director of Gucci, which was François-Henri Pinault’s last major move.
Demna Gavasalia’s first collection for Gucci is fast becoming one of fashion’s most highly anticipated events, but for all the wrong reasons. Top of de Meo’s to do list will be clearing up the mess at Kering’s most important brand, which accounts for up to 40 per cent of the group’s revenue.
Having said that, and this is what the Kering executives will be crossing their fingers and toes for: Gucci has a history of being rescued by unexpectedly brilliant collections from relative unknowns at the time, including Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele.
Unfortunately, nothing in the Demna back catalogue suggests a particularly adaptable approach to design, and the awkward hipster streetwear and viral design gags (€3,000 Ikea bags for Balenciaga) for which he is known — a look which is now aging badly — suggests very strongly that his Gucci will be a disaster. But, and this is a huge BUT, he remains one of the most influential designers of his generation, so you never know. This huge gamble on him could result in the greatest ever corporate turnaround luxury has ever witnessed. Or not.
The news of de Meo’s coronation was preceded by rumours of a see-now, buy-now strategy for Gavasalia’s debut Gucci collection, which smacks of a lack of confidence. All of this and more is why Puck’s Lauren Sherman wrote that “there really aren't any soft-luxury executives – not even the hard-nosed guys who will never get the top job at LVMH – prepared for this kind of turnaround project”.
He starts on 15 September, and FHP will step down from the role, retaining his position as chairman and shareholder. The former CEO of Gucci Patrizio di Marco said, speaking to Milano Finanza Fashion, “Luca de Meo is the right choice, the stock market proves him right… the stock market is not always a perfect indicator, but seeing Kering shares rise by 10-11 per cent at the mere news of de Meo's arrival, while Renault loses ground, is a clear signal”, he said. (Milano Finanza Fashion)
An “elegant” Milanese watch collector, as French magazine Challenges describes him, de Meo has an impressive track record in the car industry, where he has spent the whole of his 30-year career. He is “very product-oriented”, according to Kepler Cheuvreux analyst Charles-Louis Scotti, in contrast with other more cost-cutting focused car industry executives such as Carlos Tavares at Stellantis, which makes Fiat, Peugeot and Opel cars. De Meo is also responsible for several high-profile marketing successes, including the Fiat 500, the high-end Cupra brand at Seat, and the rejuvenation of the Alpine brand and recently relaunched EV Renault 5 at his most recent job. (Challenges)
Opinion writers at the FT and Bloomberg News seem pleased with the choice too. Lex in the FT writes that “a little discipline never goes amiss”, and Andrea Felsted and Chris Bryant say he has a good shot at reviving Kering, citing Renault’s recent launches of high-end and expensive models of the Renault 5 and Alpine A110. (Bloomberg News)
In many ways, the “hard luxury” car business has some similarities to “soft luxury”. Both require strong brand storytelling, reinterpreting house codes in new and novel ways, iconic products, and getting the best out of mercurial creatives. De Meo has done all that and more at previous companies in a practically unblemished career, barring one major misstep during his time at Lamborghini, which Dark Luxury can exclusively reveal beyond the paywall. It raises serious questions as to whether de Meo has what it takes to adapt to the zeitgeist — a vital skill in the fast moving world of fashion and to Gucci’s turnaround.
Paid subscribers can find out why, and what this says about him below. But first, here’s our weekly news round-up.
The American coming for Swatch
Swatch, the owner of Omega, is one of the most-shorted luxury brands in the world, indicating that investors believe its share price has further to fall. Even though the control of the company is firmly in the hands of the founding Hayek family and the company has little debt on its balance sheet, that’s not stopped American activist minority shareholder Steven Wood from campaigning to try and get a board seat.
His latest attempt to get attention is this colourful feature by the Wall Street Journal’s Margot Patrick — which includes mentions of Swiss (cuckoo?) clocks in the background of his Zoom calls, and photos of Wood wearing several of the brand’s colourful designs. It’s a stark illustration of the potential culture clash between European, family-owned and controlled luxury firms, and the brash Americans who want them to make more money but who don’t understand how to influence them.
Wood calls himself a “constructivist” investor, but it’s clear the Swatch family is rather annoyed by him. Wood, not unreasonably, wants the company to go more up-market in the face of weakness in China and much more successful performances by rival Rolex, Patek and Piguet brands. Sales are cratering, the company is reportedly sitting on nearly $10 billion in unsold stock, and staff are reportedly being paid to do nothing. Chris Hall’s excellent write-up in May also mentions the ongoing legal action over Omega’s VP of product development and other employees, who allegedly conspired with criminal elements to defraud the company.
Wood published a manifesto with his plan for how to change the company — which includes a rather tactless chart which assesses the board’s level of experience, next to a picture of his grinning face. We also learn from the WSJ that Wood chose to reach out to the family through a tone-deaf tactic of sending the CEO Nick Hayek a $30 copy of the 2012 book, “The Luxury Strategy”, and a handwritten note with some ideas.
Unsurprisingly, he’s now out in the cold, with his meeting requests being rebuffed, and a terse statement from the company attached to the Wall Street Journal story. “The future of the Swiss watch industry cannot and will not be just to serve an elite of rich people, even if some financial analysts or investors want us to do so”, it said.
The sleepy world of Swiss watches has never seen anything like it. (The Wall Street Journal)
Leonard Lauder dies aged 92
Leonard Lauder, the man who turned his family’s cosmetics firm Estée Lauder into a multi-billion dollar empire, has died aged 92. He joined the company his parents founded in 1958 when the company had sales of just $800,000 a year, and took over from his mother in the mid-1970s, taking it public in 1996. Under his leadership sales grew to over $1 billion by the time he stepped down as CEO in 1999. The firm’s sales peaked at over $16 billion in 2021, although they have since declined dramatically to just $3.5 billion.
He coined the “lipstick index” theory in 2001, that as economies enter a downturn the sales of such items rise as consumers seek a mood-boosting luxury, although this was later disproved when lipstick sales did in fact fall during the great financial crisis. He also created the slanted shape on lipsticks. Until Leonard, they were all round-tipped.
He never owned a private jet or a yacht, instead piling his money into art. He donated hundreds of millions of dollars to New York’s art museums, and gave the Met 33 Picassos along with $1 billion worth of other artists’ work in 2013. (The Times)
Other Dark Luxury news
HSBC has published a note saying that LVMH is becoming “schizophrenic” by targeting the masses and the elite at the same time, and predicts its fashion and leather division (i.e. Louis Vuitton) could post a 15 per cent drop in the second quarter next month. (Miss Tweed) We also highly recommend LVMH short-seller Intern Pierre’s recent interviews with insiders who previously worked at LVMH to understand some of the broader problems at the group. (Intern Pierre)
Jaguar Land Rover has cut its 2026 financial year margin forecast down to 5-7 per cent, citing concerns over US tariffs. The revised EBIT margin, which is what’s left over after paying for all operating costs excluding interest and tax, is below the 8.5 per cent JLR said it earned in the previous fiscal year up to 31 March 2025. (Reuters)
Re-Hub’s month in luxury newsletter says that China’s 520, an unofficial Valentine’s day, “didn’t just deliver disappointment – it instead revealed a split performance across different segments of the luxury industry”. Based on data from online ecommerce platform Tmall, formerly Taobao Mall, engagement is down 23.6 per cent and user generated content is down 25.1 per cent compared with the same period last year. The number one product by revenue was the Coach City Mini Tote 15 bag (this literally sells on Shein in the UK). No signs of the China sales rebound in this data. (Re-Hub)
Luxury PR guff of the day: “The film achieves unprecedented luxury-level product consistency”, writes Moncler on its X account of an advertising video entirely generated by Google’s AI tool Veo2. It was made by creative agency R/GA, which we would usually expect to mock this kind of thing on its pithy X account. (Moncler)
Readers of Dana Thomas’s book Deluxe will remember that counterfeit luxury bag makers often ship products with stickers or elements of the logo which can be easily removed to avoid copyright laws restricting their sale. Here’s how it works according to one “dupe”-promoting account on TikTok. (All you need is pliers to turn a dupe into a fake)
And now, paid subscribers can read our exclusive story about how incoming Kering CEO Luca de Meo said no to one of the most successful luxury car launches, and what that means for his new job.
The car industry veteran who must engineer fashion’s ultimate turnaround
Luca de Meo can be forgiven for wanting out. After three decades navigating the rigid hierarchies and internal turf wars of the European auto industry, the Renault CEO may have wanted to go out on a high in accepting François-Henri Pinault’s offer to run Kering, the owner of Gucci. The European car industry is troubled, mired in regulatory paralysis, beset by creaking dealership models, and increasingly outpaced by Chinese juggernauts which are churning out stylish, luxury electric cars at rock-bottom prices. And add navigating Trump’s tariffs to the list.
His appointment to lead Kering and its most important brand Gucci, which has been in freefall, might appear unconventional to some. But de Meo has lots of experience and a solid track record as a design-focused marketer of cars. He helped engineer the revival of the Fiat 500, created the higher-margin Cupra spin-off at Seat and pushed through the Alpine brand’s resurrection as an EV marque at Renault. His appointment comes amid rave reviews for the nostalgia-inducing revival of the Renault 5 as an all-electric city car.
But de Meo’s track record is not flawless in the industry, according to one source who worked closely with him, and who requested anonymity.