Luxury group Kering posted record growth in the first half of 2017 boosted by strong performances from Gucci and Saint Laurent.
First-half consolidated revenue hit €7.3bn, up 28.2% on a reported basis and 26.5% on a comparable basis. Recurring operating income was up 57.1% at €1.27bn. Chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault said the group had outperformed its peers in the luxury sector and achieved strong performances across the globe.
“Thanks to the execution of our strategy, we achieved outstanding revenue growth in the first half, clearly outperforming the sector, and delivered record profits and operating margins. These remarkable performances in all regions of the world and across all of our activities underscore Kering’s ability to innovate, create value, and gain market share,” he said
“Our vision of Luxury, grounded in creative audacity and in the sincerity of our brands’ values, is more relevant than ever. This excellent first half raises our confidence in the Group’s capacity to realize another year of growth and improved operating performances,” Pinault added.
Star brand Gucci, which has been revived in maximalist style by creative director Alessandro Michele, achieved revenue growth of 43.4% during the period while recurring operating margin hit 32%. At Saint Laurent, where new creative director Anthony Vaccarello (previously of Versace Versus) is bedding in, revenue was up 28.5% with an operating margin of 23%.
Bottega Veneta had a “solid” six months with revenue up 2% while other luxury brands achieved growth of 10.1% (Balenciaga had seen an “acceleration” during the half). In its sports & lifestyle division Puma was up 15.7%.
This group achieved “extremely strong sales growth in both mature and emerging markets”, with comparable increases of 33.5% in Western Europe and 34.4% in Asia Pacific (32% and 28% of consolidated revenue, respectively). North America (21% of revenue) posted a 20.7% increase in comparable revenue, while Japan (9% of revenue) was up 6.4%.
