Luca de Meo Set to Take Over at Kering

The departure of Luca de Meo (58) after five years at the helm of the Renault automotive group came as a surprise to everyone. Yesterday, Sunday, June 15, the board of directors convened to prepare for the future. There was a complete shock when Luca de Meo, a car enthusiast for 30 years, announced his departure on 12 June to Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard. Five years ago, he was entrusted with the reins of the group, working alongside Senard to turn the struggling company around, including cutting more than 15,000 jobs. It should be remembered that in 2019, a year before his arrival, Renault was going through a traumatic period following the dramatic arrest of Carlos Ghosn.

Today, after brilliantly turning Renault around and presenting the Futurama plan a few days ago, Luca de Meo is leaving to join an industry he knows nothing about: luxury goods. According to reports, François-Henri Pinault was impressed by this passionate man and watch collector and wants him to help turn around Kering, which has been struggling for three years. The 63-year-old has been facing headwinds since sales of Gucci, the flagship brand accounting for nearly half of the group's turnover, collapsed (in 2024, Gucci's turnover fell to €7.65 billion, compared with €9.9 billion in 2023).

The group is experiencing a gradual decline in revenue, after peaking at €20.35 billion in 2022 (its highest figure), sales fell to €19.6 billion in 2023 and then to €17.2 billion in 2024, resulting in a cumulative decline of around 15%. But net profit was also severely impacted, falling by two-thirds between 2022 and 2024, from €3.61 billion to €1.13 billion.

And the results for the first quarter of 2025 are no brighter, with Gucci continuing to decline, down 24% compared to the same period in 2024, with revenue of €1.57 billion. Last March, the decision was made to replace Sabato de Sarno with Demna Gvasalia as creative director.

The decision has, therefore, been made to split François-Henri Pinault's position in two and entrust the general management of Kering to Luca de Meo. It should be noted that in September 2023, Pinault chose to confirm Francesca Bellettini, former CEO of Saint Laurent and architect of the brand's success story, as Deputy CEO in charge of brand development, and Jean-Marc Duplaix as Deputy CEO in charge of finance.

The automotive industry is now wondering what could have prompted Luca de Meo to leave. He is reported to have said that he wanted to pursue other adventures, adding, ‘There comes a time in your life when you know that the job is done.’ The European automotive industry is currently facing extreme difficulties in the face of competition from Chinese brands. But the winds are no kinder to the luxury industry, which is currently experiencing a general decline in sales, mainly due to falling demand in China and significant uncertainty surrounding customs duties imposed by the US administration. These duties are expected to be on the agenda at the G7 summit, which opens in Canada today.

François-Henri Pinault has already taken several steps to free up cash, including the sale of real estate assets worth more than €800 million and a €750 million bond issue.