French luxury giant Kering has found a new gem in Yves Saint Laurent Creative Director Hedi Slimane. Since his arrival, Kering’s renowned fashion label has seen revenue nearly double in three years.
According to Fashion Times, Kering’s revenue increased four percent in 2014. British Vogue quoted the company saying, “Yves Saint Laurent’s performance testifies to the brand’s renewed appeal and its major contribution to the growth of the group’s results. Yves Saint Laurent’s revenue doubled in three years, driven by its successful market repositioning. Propelled by strong sales in directly operated stores, which soared 40.3 per cent at constant exchange rates, all main product categories and geographic areas reported solid growth.”
Kering’s other brand Gucci also had earnings of approximately $4 billion even though sales went down by 1.1% last year. The Italian fashion juggernaut had to replace former creative director Frida Giannini and former CEO Patrizio di Marco. According to the Irish Times, sales had been disappointing for two years especially in Asia. Alessandro Michele, who was previously head of accessories, has been named Gucci’s new Creative Director. It is hoped that Michele can do the same for Gucci that Slimane has done for Saint Laurent.
While speaking to British Vogue, Kering’s chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault was quoted saying, “The transformations carried out in 2014, from both an organizational and operational standpoint, have allowed us to step up our responsiveness and achieve a greater degree of integration and specialization of our activities. I am confident in the group’s ability to achieve sustainable, profitable growth while focusing in the shorter term on our brands’ cash flow generation.”