Today, Kering, the luxury conglomerate that owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Bottega Veneta, among others, reported its first quarter earnings, and the picture of the luxury industry it paints is even more dire than many thought. Overall sales are down by 14%, Gucci’s sales for the first three months of 2025 are down by 25%, as Kering’s biggest brand flounders in the wake of a creative director reshuffling. At Yves Saint Laurent, its second biggest brand, sales are down 9%. Frustratingly, Kering does not break out Balenciaga’s earnings, as it lumps them into “Other Houses,” which include McQueen, Brioni, and a handful of jewelry brands they own. But Kering dropped a couple of hints in its earnings report.
Overall revenue for “other houses” was down 11%. At the same time Kering boasted that sales grew at Brioni and its jewelry brands. Which means that most likely revenue at Balenciaga and McQueen dropped by more than 11%. Balenciaga may be dead in the water, except for its bags, which the brand has been pushing hard through relentless advertising. he performance of Balenciaga’s leather goods lines was very solid, against an ongoing drop in store traffic,” the company said. This also confirms what I see in the street during Paris Fashion Week – Balenciaga bags aplenty, but no more logoed jersey and almost no sneakers. The oversized black silhouette still reigns supreme for many fashion kids, but it looks like much of it is vintage – an easy substitute to Balenciaga’s offerings.
Meanwhile, Sean McGirr’s McQueen, which virtually no one seems to like, got exactly one sentence in the report, “Sales were down at McQueen.” One could almost hear the brusque curtness of an imperious father who does not even deign to bestow criticism on a child he deems totally hopeless.
Bottega Veneta once again offered a bright spot, with revenues up 4%. But with Matthieu Blazy defecting to Chanel, its future is now in question (though we at StyleZeitgeist root for Louise Trotter). Brioni, Kering’s high end tailoring line also grew slightly, as well as Kering’s eyewear and beauty division.
Now, what does it all mean? The picture the report paints is one that we already know.
My prediction is that this is far from over. All the trends that started at the end of 2023 are holding. With the looming stagflation (recession + inflation), and more likely price hikes on the horizon, things are not going to get better. Except similar earnings for the rest of the year if not beyond.
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