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Bloomberg
Gucci’s sales rebounded in the first quarter, signalling a recovery for the luxury brand after the appeal of its flamboyant fashions waned last year.
Comparable sales, a key measure of retail performance, jumped 25% at the Italian fashion house to 2.17 billion euros ($2.61 billion), owner Kering SA said in a statement. Analysts had expected a 19% gain.
Gucci represents 56% of total group revenue. Gucci, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year, suffered more in 2020 than some of its fashion peers. Shoppers judged the luxury brand’s maximalist aesthetic to be out of step with the mood during the pandemic.
Kering also under-invested
in marketing and product launches at Gucci last year, Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Duplaix acknowledged during a call with analysts. But the company has since changed tack with pop-up events in its stores, he said, and the Italian name will soon release a new handbag with a bamboo handle.
Last quarter, Gucci benefited from “triple-digit†percentage growth rates in China, aided by positive consumer sentiment, he said. More than half of the brand’s revenue came from the Asia-Pacific region. Sales in the retail network in North America grew by 51%. Duplaix pointed to stimulus checks in the US as a factor in the results.