The time of de Meo is here. The CEO of Kering, who took the reins of the giant in mid-September, seems to have a clear strategy, and within days of his appointment he decided to convene hundreds of executives to share a new approach. A vision, his own, already put down in black and white in a summer memo (circulated before his confirmation) that outlines a lucid diagnosis and proposes more than twelve operational directions. These include repositioning the customer as the focus and a review of the creative role. That is why Kerin,g under de Meo, is preparing to return to luxury as a system. Less authorial visions, more listening to the market, more product designed to be sold
Kering under de Meo
In the strategy document drafted before officially taking office, Luca de Meo questions one of the pillars of contemporary luxury, namely the absolute centrality of the creative director. As La Lettre reports, while he recognizes its value for the most iconic and experimental 20% of products, he also stresses that 80% of the offerings – small leather goods, footwear, clothing – must respond to logics closer to consumer goods. Translated: less self-referential visions, more attention to the real needs of the public. A paradigm shift that aims to make luxury more accessible, without distorting its identity.
New structures
In addition to refocusing on the customer, the new CEO sees a need to drastically reduce product development time, going from sketch to boutique in six months, as opposed to the current twelve. An acceleration that requires a major overhaul of internal processes, but one that could restore to the group the responsiveness that is indispensable today. De Meo spoke openly about rationalization, reorganization, and repositioning of underperforming brands, with the aim of reducing debt and strengthening the structure. A new era for Kering.
Net of the latest news, then, one wonders if what we saw on the runway is not already the result of some (at least creative) downsizing. Given that almost every collection – from Bottega Veneta to Balenciaga – has preferred product to narrative. It remains to be seen how Gucci will untie the knots. Because Demna is the least “systemic” among the designers, and because already in his debut at the helm of the Florentine fashion house he focused on a well-made product, but still focusing on the stories to be told. By suppressing them.
Photo from Kering
Read also:
- Kering appoints Francesca Bellettini as new CEO of Gucci
- Gucci in crisis, Kering under pressure: de Meo’s entrance
