PARIS - French luxury giant Kering said March 19 it is anticipating a 10 per cent drop in year-on-year sales in the first quarter due to a decline in the performance of its flagship brand, handbag-maker Gucci.

“This performance primarily reflects a steeper sales drop at Gucci, notably in the Asia-Pacific region. Gucci comparable revenues in the first quarter are expected to be down by nearly 20 per cent year on year,” the luxury group said in a statement.

Kering, whose other brands include Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, will publish its first quarter sales on April 23 after the stock exchange closes.

In February, Kering chief executive Francois-Henri Pinault vowed to press on with a strategy to put Gucci “back on track” after Kering announced a 17 per cent fall in net profits in 2023.

However, Mr Pinault warned that it “won’t happen overnight”.

At Gucci, a brand famous for its leather handbags that account for half of Kering’s revenue, sales dropped 6 per cent to €9.9 billion (S$14.4 billion) in 2023.

Kering changed Gucci’s top management in 2023, appointing deputy CEO and Pinault confidant Jean-Francois Palus to replace Mr Marco Bizzarri, who had led the brand since 2015.

Mr Sabato de Sarno succeeded Mr Alessandro Michele as the brand’s creative director in January 2023, and the first items of his Ancora collection were made available in select stores in mid-February.

The collection has been met with a “highly favourable reception”, Kering’s statement said. AFP