Kering is in a transition era where Gucci still anchors the group’s earnings power, but “quiet” and “street” luxury engines like Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga are increasingly shaping how its future mix looks.
Inside Kering’s Luxury Ecosystem
As a global luxury group, Kering clusters its portfolio into fashion and leather goods, jewelry houses, eyewear, and beauty, all managed under a central strategy but with distinct creative identities. The core fashion cluster includes Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and menswear tailor Brioni, which together define the group’s presence in ready‑to‑wear and leather goods.
Beyond fashion, Kering also owns jewelry houses Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, and Qeelin, plus heritage porcelain maker Ginori 1735, along with Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté for sunglasses, optical frames, and fragrance or beauty licenses. This multi‑category footprint means the group now touches handbags, apparel, jewelry, eyewear, home, and scent, giving it more levers than pure fashion alone.
What The Numbers Say
According to Kering’s first‑half 2025 results, group revenue came in at €7.6 billion, down 16% year on year as luxury demand softened and repositioning efforts weighed on short‑term performance. Fashion and leather goods remain the largest division, but the Kering Eyewear and Corporate segment, which includes Kering Beauté, generated about €1.1 billion in the half and actually grew in low single digits, underlining the importance of diversification.
External analysis estimates that Gucci still accounts for roughly 40–50% of group revenue and around half of operating profit, even after a strategic reset and recent sales declines. A memo reported by Reuters describes a plan to gradually “rebalance” this exposure, while acknowledging that reviving Gucci’s desirability remains a top priority.
Gucci Vs The Rising Houses
For now, Gucci remains the house that defines Kering’s P&L reality: it is still the flagship mega‑brand and the one investors watch most closely. Its long heritage, global retail network, and role in driving traffic make it central to any turnaround story, even as recent quarters have seen double‑digit sales drops and margin pressure.
But creatively and strategically, momentum is tilting toward the rest of the tree. Bottega Veneta has leaned into “stealth wealth” with ultra‑tactile leather goods and logo‑light ready‑to‑wear, benefiting from the broader quiet‑luxury wave, while Balenciaga is entering a new chapter under Pierpaolo Piccioli with a mandate to reshape modern “street” couture.
Jewelry, Eyewear, And Beauty As The Stabilizers
Where Kering once looked heavily fashion‑skewed, the jewelry and eyewear pillars now offer more balance. Houses such as Boucheron and Pomellato extend the group into high‑margin, heritage‑rich categories that are structurally less cyclical than logo‑driven fashion. Meanwhile, Kering Eyewear has grown into a sizable business in its own right, managing sunglasses and optical frames for group labels and select external brands, and Kering Beauté is being built out through moves like its acquisition of niche fragrance house Creed.
Taken together, these businesses mean Kering’s future is less about a single hero brand and more about how well it can orchestrate a portfolio that spans Gucci’s reboot, Bottega Veneta’s quiet power, Balenciaga’s next act, and the steady cash flows of jewelry and eyewear. The open question is whether that balance will arrive fast enough to offset Gucci’s slump—or whether one house will once again end up carrying the story.
