Gucci-Parent Kering Posts Higher Revenue as Revival Plan Continues — Update

By Andrea Figueras

Kering reported an increase in revenue for the most recent quarter as the French luxury group works to restore the appeal of its brands, particularly Gucci.

The Paris-based company logged revenue of 3.65 billion euros ($4.15 billion) for the quarter through June. This was 1% higher than a year earlier in reported terms and up 2% excluding currency and portfolio changes. The result compares with the 3.63 billion euros expected by analysts, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

"Across the group, we are seeing early signs of progress in brand desirability, commercial momentum and operating performance," Chief Executive Luca de Meo said.

Group revenue returned to growth in the quarter for the first time since late 2023.

Earlier this year, the company rolled out a series of restructuring measures under the leadership of de Meo, the former auto-sector executive who took over as CEO of Kering in September 2025.

The group's crown jewel, Gucci, booked sales of 1.41 billion euros, down 3% on year in reported terms. Despite the decline, the company noted that the brand's new collections continued to gain traction. Sales from directly operated stores were still negative, recording a 2% decline on a comparable basis, but improved 7 percentage points compared with the previous three months. This marks Gucci's strongest sequential acceleration in several quarters, Kering said.

In recent years, Kering has suffered more than some of its competitors due to the global decline in spending on luxury goods. Gucci tended to focus on seasonal designs catering to less affluent customers who shy away from excessive spending during tough economic times.

Industry leader LVMH published its own figures for the second quarter on Monday, which showed an improvement in key divisions. However, LVMH's results didn't show any gains versus the previous quarter in the important Chinese market.

The global slowdown in demand for pricey goods has been especially pronounced in China, a country that once drove the sector's growth. Earlier this year, Gucci's CEO, Francesca Bellettini, said that the brand needed to restore its appeal among Chinese shoppers, to which the brand is highly exposed.

During the second quarter, the flagship brand saw improving trends across all regions. While North America continued to be the key growth engine, the performance in China remained challenging, the company said. There is still work ahead for Gucci, but the changes that have been implemented so far are paying off, Chief Financial Officer Armelle Poulou said during a call.

For this year, Kering continues to target a return to growth and an improvement in margins, but noted that the geopolitical and economic contexts remain uncertain.

Recurring operating profit reached 921 million euros in the first half, flat compared with the same months last year.

Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2026 13:09 ET (17:09 GMT)