Kering S.A. (French: [k?:?i?]) is an international luxury group based in Paris, France. It owns luxury goods brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron and Brioni, Pomellato.
The company was founded in 1963. It was known as Pinault S.A. until 1994, as Pinault-Printemps-Redoute from 1994 to 2005, as PPR from 2005 to 2013, and became Kering in 2013. It has been quoted on Euronext Paris since 1988 and has been a constituent of the CAC 40 index since 1995. The company has been headed by François-Henri Pinault since 2005.
Video Kering
History
Building a retail empire with wood
In 1963, with a loan from his family and a bank, François Pinault opened the Établissements Pinault in Brittany (France) and specialized in timber trading. The company grew organically and through successful acquisitions. In 1988, Pinault S.A. was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, multiplying the group's financial power.
In 1989, it purchased 20% of CFAO, a French distribution conglomerate active throughout Africa. In 1990, Pinault S.A. and CFAO merged, and François Pinault became head of the newly formed group. This accelerated its acquisitions in the retail sector: Conforama (French furniture retailer) in 1991, Printemps (department stores in Paris) in 1992, which also owned 54% of La Redoute (French mail-order shopping retailer), and Fnac (French bookstore, multimedia and electronics retailer) in 1994. To align the group's identity with its new activities, it was renamed Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) in 1994.
Offloading retail assets to invest in luxury
In 1999, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute purchased a controlling 42% stake of the Gucci group for $3 billion. Through the Gucci deal, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute also acquired the brand Yves Saint Laurent. It confirmed this new strategy with its following acquisitions, which included the French high-jewelry house Boucheron (2000), the Italian leather goods maker Bottega Veneta, and the fashion house Balenciaga (2001). In 2001, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute also signed strategic partnerships with ex-Givenchy fashion designer Alexander McQueen and with Stella McCartney.
With a new strategy for the group, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute offloaded its assets in the retail sector one after the other: Pinault Bois et Matériaux, upon which the whole group developed and grew, was acquired in 2003 by the British group Wolseley.
In 2003, François Pinault handed over the helm of Artémis, the family holding company that controlled Pinault-Printemps-Redoute and other assets (Château Latour, Christie's, etc.), to his son François-Henri. In 2004, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute acquired almost all of the remaining shares of the Gucci group to reach a 99.4% ownership of the Italian luxury company. In 2005, François-Henri Pinault chose a hands-on approach to managing Pinault-Printemps-Redoute and decided to take over the position of CEO. The group officially changed its name to PPR.
The divestment of the group's retail assets continued: Le Printemps (2006), Conforama (2011), CFAO and Fnac (2012), and La Redoute (2013). In the meantime, PPR acquired the Sowind Group (owner of Swiss high-end watchmaker Girard-Perregaux) and the Italian bespoke tailor Brioni (2011), the Italian group Pomellato (Pomellato and Dodo jewelry brands), the Chinese jeweler Qeelin (2012), the fashion designer Christopher Kane, and luxury watch manufacturer Ulysse Nardin (2014).
PPR also developed a Sport & Lifestyle portfolio with the acquisition of Puma in 2007, Cobra Golf in 2010, and Volcom in 2011.
Kering, a new luxury company
On March 22, 2013, PPR changed its name to Kering in order to fully achieve the group's shift towards luxury goods. Pronounced [k?:?i?], to sound like the English word "caring", the new name is a reference to the Pinault family's region of origin, Brittany, where kêr means "home". The new logo has an owl as its emblem, a bird that can rotate its head 270 degrees, giving it extraordinary vision, and François Pinault's favorite animal.
In December 2014, Alessandro Michele, an unknown accessories designer, was named creative director of Gucci, and quickly revitalized the brand's creativity, fashion relevance, and profitability. From 2014 to 2017, Gucci's sales doubled from 3,497.2 million euros to 6,211.2 million euros.
In 2015, following Hedi Slimane's four-year success at the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent, Kering named a new creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, to pursue the evolution of the brand while maintaining its growth pace. In October 2015, Kering named Georgian-born designer Demna Gvasalia as creative director of Balenciaga, quickly turning the house into a performing brand on the fashion scene.
In March 2018, Kering announced it has agreed to sell its shares of Stella McCartney to its eponymous owner. In April 2018, Kering announced its intention to sell the sportswear company Volcom. In May 2018, Kering also offloaded its shares of Puma, retaining a minor 15.7%, thus becoming a pure player in luxury.
Maps Kering
Description
Kering is an international luxury goods group based in Paris, France. Its portfolio includes brands specialized in the design, the making and the sale of fine products, especially in the leather-goods, shoes, ready-to-wear, watches and jewelry sectors:
Commitments
Sustainability
In April 2012, Kering committed to a 4-year plan aiming to significantly reducing its impact on the environment. The group defined a set of quantifiable targets covering both environmental and social issues, and developed the Environmental Profit & Loss account (E P&L) to measure its progress.
In September 2013, Kering became part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices world and Europe, and was recognized as an industry leader in 2014 and 2015.
Published in 2016, Kering's sustainability report showed that Kering was able to control some supply/production chains more than others: while it reached 99% on its PVC-free goal, it only reached 15% on its goal to purchase its gold from verified "fairmined gold" providers, and 64% of its goal to purchase its leather from responsible and verified sources. Carbon emissions were reduced by 11%, waste output by 16% and water usage by 19%. 6,000 supplier audits were performed. Kering then announced its new sustainability program, which targets a 40% reduction of its global environmental impact by 2025, a strategy aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
In January 2018, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kering was named top sustainable textile, apparel and luxury goods corporation in the Corporate Knights Global 100 index. In February 2018, in partnership with the London College of Fashion, Kering launched the first online class (Mooc) in fashion and sustainability.
Kering Foundation
The Kering Foundation is committed to defending women's dignity and rights by combating violence against women and promoting women's empowerment. Since 2009, the Foundation initiated 47 partnerships with NGOs and supported many social projects oriented towards women's rights.
Many brands have their own philanthropic projects with the support of the Kering Foundation. Gucci launched its project Chime for Change, an international campaign to raise funds for women's emancipation, focusing on education, health and justice.
Every year since 2012, the Kering Foundation has contributed to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with the White Ribbon for Women campaign.
Women In Motion Awards
In 2015, Kering became an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival and launched Women in Motion to highlight the contribution of women to the film industry, both in front of and behind the camera. The program is based on talks where personalities share their recommendations for the advancement of women's representation in the industry. The Women in Motion Awards have been awarded annually to an inspirational figure who embodies the role of women in the film industry, and another to a promising name in cinema. Past winners include:
- 2015 - Jane Fonda, Megan Ellison
- 2016 - Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon
- 2017 - Isabelle Huppert, Maysaloun Hamoud (Young Talents Award)
- 2018 - Patty Jenkins
Governance
Board of Directors
- François-Henri Pinault - Chairman and CEO
- Jean-François Palus - Group Managing Director
- Patricia Barbizet- Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
- Laurence Boone - Independent director
- Sophie Bouchillou - Director representing employees
- Yseulys Costes - Independent director
- Jean-Pierre Denis - Independent director
- Sophie L'Hélias - Independent director
- Baudouin Prot - Director
- Daniel Ricardi - Independent director
- Sapna Sood - Independent director
Executive Committee
- François-Henri Pinault - Chairman and CEO
- Jean-François Palus - Group Managing Director
- Jean-Philippe Bailly - COO
- Francesca Bellettini - President and CEO of Saint Laurent
- Albert Bensoussan - CEO Luxury Watches and Jewelry
- Marco Bizzarri - CEO Gucci
- Grégory Boutté : Chief Client and Digital Officer
- Marie-Claire Daveu - Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of institutional affairs
- Valérie Duport - Chief Communications and Image Officer
- Jean-Marc Duplaix - CFO
- Claus-Dietrich Lahrs - President and CEO Bottega Veneta
- Béatrice Lazat - VP Human Resources
- Roberto Vedovotto - CEO Kering Eyewear
Financial results
Results
Market data
- Date of IPO: 25 October 1988, Second Marché
- Shares listed on the Bourse de Paris
- Member of the CAC 40 index since 9 February 1995
- Nominal value = euro
- Main shareholders: Artémis 40.8%
See also
- François Pinault
- François-Henri Pinault
- Artémis
- Gucci
- Yves Saint Laurent
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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