Kering shares took a hit this week after Gucci announced that Balenciaga’s Demna would be stepping into the role of Artistic Director, effective this July.
Per a report from Reuters, which also pointed to 2024 sales dips for Gucci at large, the Demna reveal was followed by a shares fall of up to 13 percent Friday morning. The report also includes quotes from a few fashion finance experts, with the overarching sentiment appearing to be, more or less, that the Gucci and Demna pairing is a compelling albeit risky development on the Kering front.
Complex has reached out to Kering for comment. This story may be updated.
Demna’s appointment came as a surprise on Thursday, with the longtime Balenciaga leader saying in a statement shared with press that he was “truly excited to join the Gucci family.” Kering, notably, owns both Balenciaga and Gucci, as well as other high-profile brands, Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent among them. The ripples of the decision were felt industry-wide, with the conversation centering on what, exactly, Demna might have up his sleeve for his next chapter as an artist.
The artist formerly known as Kanye West, at one point a frequent collaborator with Demna (including under the short-lived Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga banner), was among those who were decidedly not a fan of the appointment.
In an update to X, damn near a useless platform at this point, Ye called the move “boring.” Complex, meanwhile, put together a rundown of what we do, and what we don’t, want to see from the Demna era of Gucci. See that here.
