Gucci Turnover Down Sharply, Parent Company Feels Riot Around Balenciaga

Gucci luxury shoes, bags and clothes sales have plummeted in the last three months. The sudden reopening of the airline in China led to such a large wave of corona infections that shops in that important market had to remain closed for a while.

Parent company Kering also suffered from a controversy surrounding an advertising campaign by its fashion house Balenciaga featuring small children.

Gucci sold 14 percent less of its products in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2021, mainly due to disruptions in China. For Kering as a whole, sales fell 7 percent on a like-for-like basis, which only includes stores that have been open for more than a year. Sales figures also fell in the category “other fashion houses, ” including Balenciaga.

That label garnered a lot of criticism with an advertising campaign in which children showed stuffed animals with SM outfits. That would sexualize children too much, argued opponents of the advertising. Balenciaga then apologized. According to Kering CEO Jean-Marc Duplaix, the riot also negatively impacted sales, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries.

Kering increased sales throughout 2022, partly due to higher luxury clothing and accessories prices. As a result, revenue rose 15 percent to 20.4 billion euros in the past financial year. As a result, the French group was left with 3.6 billion euros as net profit, 14 percent more than in the previous year.