The president and CEO of Gucci will step down later this year as part of a leadership overhaul at its French parent company Kering aimed at capturing more of the booming global market in luxury goods.
Marco Bizzarri, who has been at the helm since 2015, will leave on September 23, Kering said in a statement Tuesday. Jean-François Palus, who currently serves as Kering’s managing director, will take over on a transitional basis.
Kering, which also owns the Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga fashion houses, said Palus was “tasked with strengthening Gucci’s teams and operations” in an effort to rebuild the Italian brand’s “influence and momentum.”
François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chairman and CEO, added that Palus would “focus his energy on getting our largest asset in top shape.”
Gucci accounted for just over half of the €20 billion ($22 billion) in revenue Kering booked last year.
Shares in Kering shot up early on Wednesday following the announcement, which also included new appointments for executive roles in the company’s brand development and operations and finance functions. The stock extended its gains later in the day, trading 7.2% higher.
“We are building a more robust organization to fully capture the growth of the global luxury market,” Pinault said.
Luxury stocks have been on a tear this year as designer brands have reported bumper earnings, driven, in part, by the re-opening of China’s economy after a string of pandemic lockdowns.
Shares in LVMH (LVMHF) — Europe’s most valuable company by market capitalization — have soared 26% since the start of 2023, while shares in Hermès International and Christian Dior have jumped by 30% and 17%, respectively.
Meanwhile, Kering’s shares have risen nearly 11% over the same period, which is much closer to the average stock price increase of 8.4% for all companies in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index.
