Kering

In 1963, with a loan from his family and a bank, François Pinault opened the Établissements Pinault in Brittany (France) specialized in timber trading. The company became Pinault S.A. and grew organically and through successful acquisitions. In 1988, Pinault S.A. was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange.[2]

In 1989, Pinault S.A. purchased 20% of CFAO, a French distribution conglomerate active throughout Africa. In 1990, Pinault S.A. and CFAO merged, and François Pinault became head of the newly formed group. This accelerated its acquisitions in the retail sector: Conforama (French furniture retailer) in 1991, Printemps (department stores in Paris) in 1992, which also owned 54% of La Redoute (French mail-order shopping retailer), and Fnac (French bookstore, multimedia and electronics retailer) in 1994. To align with its new activities, the group was renamed Pinault-Printemps-Redoute in 1994.[2]

In 1999, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute purchased a controlling 42% stake of the Gucci group for $3 billion and 100% of Yves Saint Laurent.[3][4][5] Those acquisitions marked the cornerstone of the group's shift towards luxury. After Gucci, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute acquired Boucheron (2000), Bottega Veneta (2001), Balenciaga (2001), and signed strategic partnerships with Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney.[6] In 2004, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute reached a 99.4% ownership of Gucci.[7]

In 2003, François Pinault handed over the helm of Artémis, the family holding company that controlled Pinault-Printemps-Redoute to his son François-Henri. In 2005, François-Henri Pinault became President and CEO of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, succeeding to Serge Weinberg.[8] The group officially changed its name to PPR.[9] and kept on building a portfolio of luxury brands: The Sowind Group (owner of Girard-Perregaux) and Brioni (2011),[10] the Pomellato Group (Pomellato and Dodo, 2012),[11] Qeelin (2012),[12] Christopher Kane (2013),[13] Ulysse Nardin (2014).[14] To further this strategy, PPR offloaded its retail assets: Le Printemps (2006),[15] Conforama (2011),[16] CFAO (2012),[17] Fnac (2012), and La Redoute (2013).[18] PPR also developed a Sport & Lifestyle portfolio with the acquisition of Puma (2007),[8] Cobra Golf (2010),[19] and Volcom (2011).[20]. Cobra and Volcom are since then been divested (see the respective pages for details) and Kering only holds a minority share in Puma.

On 22 March 2013, PPR changed its name to Kering to fully achieve the group's shift towards luxury. Pronounced [kɛːʁiŋ], to sound like the English word "caring", the new name is a reference to the Pinault family's region of origin, Brittany, where kêr means "home". The new logo has an owl as its emblem, a bird that can rotate its head 270 degrees, giving it extraordinary vision, and François Pinault's favorite animal.[21][22]

In December 2014, Alessandro Michele, an unknown accessories designer, was named creative director of Gucci, and quickly revitalized the brand's creativity, fashion relevance, and profitability.[23][24] From 2014 to 2017, Gucci's sales doubled from 3,497.2 million euros to 6,211.2 million euros.[25] In 2015, following Hedi Slimane’s four-year success at the creative helm of Yves Saint Laurent, Kering named a new creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, to pursue the evolution of the brand while maintaining its growth pace.[26] In October 2015, Kering named Georgian-born designer Demna Gvasalia as creative director of Balenciaga.[27] In 2013, the group took its eyewear activities in-house and launched Kering Eyewear. In March 2017, Richemont acquired 30% of Kering Eyewear and allowed Kering to acquire Cartier's eyewear plant in Sucy-en-Brie (France).[28]

In November 2018, the group announced the end of its collaboration with Yoox to open its proprietary ecommerce platform by 2020, [29] and launched a partnership with Apple to create new in-store mobile applications for the luxury sector.[30][31] The group announced its intention to branch into high-end jewelry by mid-2019[32] and opened the Torre Kering, the group's new Italian offices in a 11,000 m² building in Milan.[33]

In March 2018, Kering agreed to sell its shares of Stella McCartney back to its eponymous owner.[34] Kering became a luxury pure player after the sale of Puma (2018)[35] and Volcom (2019).[36] After the group built up its portfolio of luxury brands, it stopped acquisitions and capitalized on the organic growth of its newly-acquired assets.[37] In 2019, Kering made 15,383 billion euros in revenue, +16,2% from the previous year.[1]

In April 2012, Kering committed to a 4-year plan to significantly reduce its impact on the environment. The group developed the "Environmental Profit & Loss account" (E P&L) accounting method to track its progress.[38] In 2017, the group presented its new sustainability program which targeted a 40% reduction of its global environmental impact by 2025, a strategy aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.[39][40]

In September 2013, Kering became part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices[41] and was named top sustainable textile, apparel and luxury goods corporation" in the Corporate Knights’ Global 100 index in 2018[42][43]

In February 2018, in partnership with the London College of Fashion, Kering launched the first online class (Mooc) in fashion and sustainability.[44] In October 2018, Kering started to implement the use of the first 100% traceable organic cotton.[45] In December 2018, with Plug and Play, Kering launched the Kering Sustainable Innovation Award to reward and invest in startups focused on sustainability and luxury.[46] Along with a dozen of fashion brands, Kering signed a United Nations (UN) charter in December 2018 pledging to become carbon-neutral by 2050,[47] and launched, with The Savory Institute, the first "regenerative sourcing" standard for fashion suppliers to measure the regenerative potential of raw materials and finished products.[48] In May 2019, as the group was releasing guidelines for dealing with animal welfare in the fashion industry[49] and banning models under 18 to represent adults in its shows,[50] the French President Emmanuel Macron appointed François-Henri Pinault to set new climate standards for the fashion and retail industry.[51] The "G7 Fashion Pact" was signed 3 months later by 32 global fashion corporations, right before being discussed at the 45th G7 summit.[52]

Kering is an international group based in Paris (France) specialized in on luxury and fashion goods. Its portfolio includes luxury brands specialized in the design, the making and the sale of fine products, especially in the leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear, watches and jewellery sectors:[53] Kering Eyewear (30%-owned by Richemont) produces glasses for the luxury sector.

Kering's headquarters are located in the former Hopital Laennec located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris and renovated by the group.[54] The parent holding company of Kering is Groupe Artémis.

In 2015, Kering became an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival and launched Women in Motion to highlight the contribution of women to the film industry, in front and behind the camera. The program is based on talks where personalities share their recommendations for the advancement of women’s representation in the industry. The Women in Motion Awards are awarded annually to a person who embodies the role of women in the film industry, and another to a promising name in cinema.[59] The previous winners were:

• 2015: Jane Fonda, Megan Ellison
• 2016: Geena Davis, Susan Sarandon
• 2017: Isabelle Huppert, Maysaloun Hamoud (Young Talents Award)[60]
• 2018: Patty Jenkins[61]
• 2019: Gong Li[62]

In March 2019, the Women in Motion Awards was expanded to the Rencontres d'Arles photography festival.[63] In May 2019, the Cannes Partnership was renewed for five additional years.[64]

• François-Henri Pinault - Chairman and CEO
• Jean-François Palus - Group Managing Director
• Independent directors:
  • Yseulys Costes
  • Jean-Pierre Denis
  • Ginevra Elkann[65][66]
  • Sophie L'Hélias
  • Claire Lacaze
  • Baudouin Prot
  • Daniel Ricardi
  • Sapna Sood
  • Emma Watson
  • Héloïse Temple-Boyer[67]

• François-Henri Pinault - Chairman and CEO
• Jean-François Palus - Group Managing Director
• Francesca Bellettini - President and CEO Saint Laurent
• Marco Bizzarri - President and CEO Gucci
• Grégory Boutté : Chief Client and Digital Officer
• Cédric Charbit : CEO Balenciaga
• Marie-Claire Daveu - Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of Institutional Affairs
• Valérie Duport - Chief Communications and Image Officer
• Jean-Marc Duplaix - CFO
• Béatrice Lazat - VP Human Resources
• Bartolomeo Rongone - President and CEO Bottega Veneta
• Roberto Vedovotto - CEO Kering Eyewear

• Date of IPO: 25 October 1988, Second Marché
• Shares listed on the Bourse de Paris
• Member of the CAC 40 index since 9 February 1995
• Nominal value = euro
• Main shareholders: Artémis 40.8%

In September 2018, Kering joined the STOXX Europe 50 index.[68] In November 2018, the group announced the share repurchase of 1% of its share capital.[69]