Kering — the French luxury group behind Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen — just posted first-quarter revenue of €3.57 billion. That's down 6% on a reported basis, though flat on a comparable basis. Flat might sound bad. It's actually progress. After quarters of decline, stabilisation is the first sign that the bleeding has stopped. But the headline everyone cares about is Gucci: revenue fell 14% to €1.35 billion. The turnaround under new creative director Demna (formerly of Balenciaga) is underway. The commercial payoff is not. Kering shares fell 9.3% on the day, wiping roughly €2.5 billion off the market cap.
Here's what happened.
The Numbers: Gucci Drags, Everything Else Stabilises
- Group Revenue: €3.57 billion, down 6% reported, flat on a comparable basis
- Gucci: €1.35 billion, down 14% reported, down 8% comparable — still the biggest problem
- Fashion & Leather Goods (total): €2.85 billion, down 9% reported, down 3% comparable
- Kering Jewellery: €269 million, up 14% reported, up 22% comparable — the star performer
- Kering Eyewear: €489 million, up 3% reported, up 7% comparable — highest ever quarterly result
- Retail (comparable): Down 2%
- Wholesale (comparable): Up 6%
- Middle East retail revenue: Down 11%
"Comparable basis" strips out currency movements, acquisitions, and divestitures to show how the existing business is performing. The fact that group revenue was flat on a comparable basis — after quarters of decline — is genuinely meaningful. It means the underlying business has stopped shrinking. But Gucci declining 8% on a comparable basis means the biggest brand in the portfolio is still actively hurting.
Gucci: The Turnaround That Hasn't Arrived Yet
Gucci accounts for roughly 59% of Kering's operating profit. When Gucci is sick, Kering is sick. And Gucci is still sick.
Revenue fell 14% to €1.35 billion. On a comparable basis, that's an 8% decline. North America was a bright spot, growing 7%, but it couldn't compensate for weakness in Western Europe and China. Kering's own language was unusually blunt — the company admitted Gucci has "issues" around over-distribution and low cultural relevance.
New CEO Luca de Meo (hired from Renault, where he led a successful turnaround) has made Gucci his top priority. Former Balenciaga creative director Demna is now leading Gucci's design, but his first full collections are still rolling into stores. The upcoming cruise show in New York is being positioned as a key milestone.
CFO Armelle Poulou told analysts: "While the recovery will be gradual, the fundamentals are being rebuilt in the right order." Bernstein analyst Luca Solca was less diplomatic: "It is easier and faster for the market to believe in a revival, than it is for management to produce it."
In luxury fashion, the creative director is everything. They set the aesthetic, the products, the campaigns, the vibe. When Gucci hired Demna, investors got excited because he made Balenciaga one of the hottest brands in the world. But it takes 12-18 months for a new creative director's vision to fully reach stores. Right now, Gucci is in the gap between the old strategy failing and the new one arriving. That gap is where the stock pain lives.
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Get the free extensionThe Bright Spots: Jewellery and Eyewear
Not everything was bad. Kering Jewellery grew 22% on a comparable basis — the standout of the quarter, driven by strong demand in Japan and Asia-Pacific. Kering Eyewear posted its highest quarterly revenue ever at €489 million (up 7% comparable).
Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Brioni all improved sequentially from Q4, with North America particularly strong. Bottega Veneta was highlighted as performing the best among the secondary brands.
Kering also finalised its partnership with L'Oréal, which acquired Kering Beauté. This simplifies the group's structure and lets it focus on what it does best — fashion, leather goods, and jewellery.
Kering is quietly restructuring its entire portfolio. It sold its beauty business to L'Oréal. It's reorganised reporting into four segments (Fashion & Leather Goods, Jewellery, Eyewear, and Corporate). And it's hosting a Capital Markets Day in Florence to lay out the new strategy. The message is clear: Kering is no longer a one-brand company. If Gucci recovers, everything else is already improving. If Gucci doesn't recover fast enough, the other brands need to carry more weight.
The Bottom Line
Kering stabilised group revenue for the first time in several quarters — a genuine milestone. But Gucci's continued decline means the recovery narrative hasn't turned into a recovery yet. The market punished the stock accordingly.
↑ Why This Matters (Bull Case)
Revenue stabilisation is the first step in any turnaround. Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga are all improving. Jewellery grew 22%. Eyewear hit a record. Demna's first full collections are about to land. Luca de Meo has a proven turnaround track record at Renault. The stock is down roughly 60% from its 2021 peak, meaning a lot of the bad news is already priced in. If Gucci shows even modest improvement in Q2, the stock could re-rate sharply — the shares rose 2.6% on the day of the results before selling off with the broader luxury sector.
↓ Why This Might Worry You (Bear Case)
Gucci is still declining 8% on a comparable basis, and it's 59% of operating profit. Kering admitted the brand has "over-distribution" and "low cultural relevance" problems — those aren't things you fix in a quarter. The Middle East conflict knocked 11% off retail revenue in the region and disrupted tourist spending across Europe. Comparable retail sales fell 2% group-wide. And creative turnarounds in luxury are never guaranteed — for every successful one (Bottega under Daniel Lee), there's a failed one (Burberry under Riccardo Tisci). Demna is talented, but the commercial proof hasn't arrived yet.
The question is whether Kering's stabilisation marks the floor of the downturn — or just a pause before Gucci's structural problems pull the group down further.
References
- WWD — Kering Revenues Declined 6.2% in Q1, with Gucci Still Sluggish (April 14, 2026)
- Retail Insight Network — Kering Reports Q1 Sales Decline as Gucci Weighs on Performance (April 14, 2026)
- European Business Magazine — Kering Just Lost 9.3% in a Day. Gucci Is the Reason. (April 15, 2026)
Ticker: KER (Euronext Paris) · Reported: April 14, 2026
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