Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: Look, Abela, thank you so much for being with Bloomberg
Speaker 2: a tivty today right here in Florence, where Gucci was
Speaker 2: born in nineteen twenty one, more than a century ago.
Speaker 2: Do you think that today's a capital markets day and
Speaker 2: strategic plan is kind of a rebirth for Gucci?
Speaker 3: I should be.
Speaker 4: I think the idea of coming back to the source
Speaker 4: of the brand is probably the most important in our group.
Speaker 3: And also to show that this is the.
Speaker 4: Beating heart of caring right as well, because we have
Speaker 4: plans producing all the brands, et cetera.
Speaker 3: So the heart of the system is here. I think
Speaker 3: it's very symbolic.
Speaker 2: Over the past few years, however, we've seen this loss,
Speaker 2: Guccie losing a bit of desirability.
Speaker 1: How do you plan to really revive this? This morning?
Speaker 2: And Lissa a little bit saying your plan is a
Speaker 2: little bit cautious.
Speaker 1: What's your reaction to.
Speaker 3: This think I think you need.
Speaker 4: It's not a calcious plans, it's a it's a common
Speaker 4: sense thing because I think at a certain point in
Speaker 4: time that we probably made a few let's.
Speaker 3: Say, mistakes on the brand, so we know what we
Speaker 3: have to do.
Speaker 4: We know what Gucci is about, we know what the
Speaker 4: customer wants I expect from Gucci, and we're going to
Speaker 4: be very very quick and decisive on providing people what
Speaker 4: they want, maybe also things that they have, you know,
Speaker 4: they don't know that they want, but Gucci will kind
Speaker 4: of improve it to the mark.
Speaker 2: So well, let's see what they don't know what they want. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you on X who c you a X car ceo.
Speaker 2: You launched a very shiny new models, such as a
Speaker 2: very successful five.
Speaker 1: What is the new R five iconic product of.
Speaker 3: Which I don't know? It must probably be.
Speaker 4: I mean, I think that what make defines in business terms,
Speaker 4: the success of luxury brand normally is into the letter
Speaker 4: goods space. So probably, you know, I think it's a
Speaker 4: long time that Gouchi is not, for example, launching an
Speaker 4: iconic bag or something that stays into the thing. So
Speaker 4: probably that would be where you know, I would give
Speaker 4: the challenge to the team to come up with something
Speaker 4: that you know, blows the market away and hopefully we
Speaker 4: can make it.
Speaker 3: But yeah, I think it's.
Speaker 4: The whole idea of developing Gucci on many categories.
Speaker 3: We actually stated that we want to.
Speaker 4: Go back to jewelry and watches, some of them with
Speaker 4: very iconic products, So I think, you know, there's a
Speaker 4: lot of potentially it's a great brand. Is the second
Speaker 4: most known brand on the planet in the luxury space.
Speaker 4: One of the most famous Italian brands is still you
Speaker 4: say desirability when dumb, and still in the top five
Speaker 4: in the market.
Speaker 3: So it's a big, good platform.
Speaker 2: Of course, we cannot ignore that the short term situation
Speaker 2: is difficult. We've seen this week the Middle East fears
Speaker 2: be causing luxuries talks to plunge all across the board.
Speaker 1: Do you think this short term uncertainty geopolitical.
Speaker 2: Fears is making your plan much more difficult than your predicted.
Speaker 4: I think it's already many years where you know, even
Speaker 4: the industry is is you know, impacted by strong volatilty
Speaker 4: also geopolitically everywhere. So this volatility is factor into the
Speaker 4: plan because we're trying to build a company that is
Speaker 4: more agile, that's is lighter ex exactly to.
Speaker 3: Master this volatility.
Speaker 4: We believe in the region in the long term potenttion
Speaker 4: of Middle East. I think long term it will continue
Speaker 4: to grow, so we have no hesitation to you know,
Speaker 4: continue to invest as a very important customer, et cetera. So,
Speaker 4: you know, I think unfortunately this I hope that the
Speaker 4: thing will you know, come down very quickly, hopefully, but
Speaker 4: we believe in the long term that the Middle East
Speaker 4: would be a key region.
Speaker 2: For actually even if the aspirational consumer might not be
Speaker 2: here right now.
Speaker 4: In the Middle East, I think you have a lot
Speaker 4: of people that are in the core category and in
Speaker 4: the vac category.
Speaker 3: This is the heart of the business there.
Speaker 2: Obviously Gucci is sixty percent of profit, but you have
Speaker 2: other brands. If Bouvina, Balanceaga, obviously Boutigavinita, you're looking for
Speaker 2: a new CEO. You come from the k industry, You've
Speaker 2: brought a lot of people in. Would you perhaps be
Speaker 2: looking at an external candidate for Boutiguavinita, someone perhaps from
Speaker 2: the industry.
Speaker 4: No, I don't think, you know, I don't go you know,
Speaker 4: I didn't go to extreme. I think we are looking
Speaker 4: at people in adjacent the industry, of people that are.
Speaker 3: You know, proved professional in the in the luxury world.
Speaker 4: I think Botega is a very attractive brand, so we
Speaker 4: don't have really probably issue of you know, attracting people.
Speaker 4: But I also want to take, let's say, the time
Speaker 4: to make the right decision, because leadership at Bootega in.
Speaker 3: Our system is very relevant role.
Speaker 4: So but it's not going to last very long before
Speaker 4: we you know, kind of communicate about this movement. In
Speaker 4: the meantime, I don't know if it's reassuring for you,
Speaker 4: but I'm taking care of the Bodegatta team and you know,
Speaker 4: I love that brand and so I'm trying to support
Speaker 4: them in the face. But it's a good team that
Speaker 4: is working together pretty swiftly.
Speaker 2: Obviously at Gucci we also have them who came as
Speaker 2: a creative director, did the first fashion show in Milan
Speaker 2: in February. George Channel also have new creative directors, which
Speaker 2: is making.
Speaker 1: The market very competitive. How long are you giving them
Speaker 1: a Gucci?
Speaker 4: I think, you know, I think one of the issues
Speaker 4: why Gucci has been you know, more recently in traubles
Speaker 4: was the lack of stability you know, in the management
Speaker 4: team on the creative side, with you know, many changes,
Speaker 4: and I think it's very important for me that we,
Speaker 4: you know, I can assure stability for the team both
Speaker 4: on the managing side on the creative site. So no,
Speaker 4: it's not about this, you know, it's not about you know,
Speaker 4: giving time or except that, I think we just have
Speaker 4: to all work together to make sure that them, I
Speaker 4: can express this all full potentially is one of the
Speaker 4: greatest of this generation. And yes, and now in his
Speaker 4: hands one of the most beautiful brand you know in
Speaker 4: this sector. So I'm pretty optimistic that everything will work
Speaker 4: and things well done require time, right, and we want
Speaker 4: to do good.
Speaker 3: Things with Gooch.
Speaker 2: This morning you also announced this new deal with the
Speaker 2: I C c F, which is very presently in China.
Speaker 1: There's this debate at this moment that Chinese consumer becoming more.
Speaker 2: Nationalistic buying Chinese products at least made in China.
Speaker 1: Is that the rational behind.
Speaker 4: This, the rational is to open a door, you know,
Speaker 4: in the Chinese market, in the in the in the
Speaker 4: system itself, having you know, partners and friends that can
Speaker 4: let us understand and what's going on there, even you know,
Speaker 4: behind the curtain and you know the old supply chain,
Speaker 4: the old industrial thing, etc. So I think I'm very
Speaker 4: well placed as an ex you know, automotive executive to
Speaker 4: understand how important is to understand what's going on in China,
Speaker 4: not only on the business side, but also on the
Speaker 4: innovation side on every single sector. So I think it's
Speaker 4: a fantastic opportunity to exchange, open up and support them
Speaker 4: in their development. But also we feeling more at home
Speaker 4: in China and be perceived as some company that contributes
Speaker 4: to know the development of the industry there. We also
Speaker 4: did craft you know, this kind of residents for creative
Speaker 4: people with very very good residents. We're participating and cooperating
Speaker 4: with the High Fashion Week to do things. That's part
Speaker 4: of the story of kind of localizing, you know, our
Speaker 4: presence everywhere in the world where we are good citizens.
Speaker 3: Of each one of the market.
Speaker 4: I think China give us a lot in terms of
Speaker 4: market and so we also need to give back.
Speaker 3: And that's that's rational.
Speaker 2: Band very quickly because we were running out of time. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you sold the king Bouty to Loyal four billion. Urous
Speaker 2: is it just for catching that or are you still
Speaker 2: sticking to the kind of increasing your stake in Valentino
Speaker 2: in twenty eight twenty nine.
Speaker 4: I think to two things are independent. I mean, we
Speaker 4: have realities that we are you know, we have a
Speaker 4: deal for a put called option in twenty and twenty
Speaker 4: nine which we postpone. Let's say a couple of thisis
Speaker 4: because it was actually practical for both. We had to
Speaker 4: you know, we didn't have the probably the resources to
Speaker 4: handle you know, the lending of a new brand if
Speaker 4: it would come in twenty six twenty seven.
Speaker 3: They needed time to develop the thing. So it was
Speaker 3: good for both.
Speaker 4: And I think with this postponed and I can concentrate on,
Speaker 4: you know, fixing all the things they have to fix,
Speaker 4: and probably that Arizona will be stronger even from a
Speaker 4: management bandwidth point of view, to potentially accommodate. So this
Speaker 4: is the deal on Loreal. I think it was partly
Speaker 4: motivated by the fact that we have to deleverage caring.
Speaker 4: But honestly, if I think about it, this kind of
Speaker 4: construction will help us to boost the development of our
Speaker 4: brands because Loreal is a.
Speaker 3: It is a fantastic machine.
Speaker 4: And so I'm sure that you know, what they've done
Speaker 4: in if Slauran can be repeated on other brands. And
Speaker 4: finally we will get you know, a certain amount of
Speaker 4: royalties which will help. But also I think we can
Speaker 4: benefit of the marketing power machine of let's say, of
Speaker 4: Loreal that will enable us to give, you know, to
Speaker 4: create awareness reach for all our brands, even the one
Speaker 4: that that are a little bit more niche like Balenciaga
Speaker 4: or Botega, anything in cosmetics.
Speaker 3: So so I think it's a good deal.
Speaker 2: Very Finally, how is your relationship from some ip know
Speaker 2: now that the two roles are split, What advice is
Speaker 2: he giving you?
Speaker 4: No, I think a lot of advice because he has
Speaker 4: been twenty years at the Helm doing my job, so
Speaker 4: he has seen a lot of situations. So it helped
Speaker 4: me also to decode based on the information gives me,
Speaker 4: let's say, where this thing happened, what is the origin
Speaker 4: of this or that. It's very very helpful. So we
Speaker 4: have a very smooth relation, very fluid. And you know,
Speaker 4: I think I speak with him like at least a
Speaker 4: couple of.
Speaker 3: Times a week.
Speaker 4: And you know, now we're flying, you know, together to
Speaker 4: a place which I don't want to say, but but
Speaker 4: you know, yeah, it's it's a very very good two workin.
Speaker 4: You know, he's doing the chairman. It's right to do that,
Speaker 4: and you know I'm the oppressional guy and I try
Speaker 4: to run the machine.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for Kemi, Thank you so much
Speaker 2: for welcoming us here in Fluence.
Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you