After 2024 was a record year for creative director changes, it looks like 2025 will give it a run for its money and the latest big-name change was announced on Thursday as Kering said Sabato De Sarno is out at Gucci.
The luxury giant said its star label is ‘ending its collaboration’ with De Sarno and the change will be quick with the AW25 fashion show in Milan on February 25 being presented by the Gucci design office.
We’re told that “the new artistic direction will be announced in due time”.
De Sarno has been praised for his collections by some, although others have said they lacked the massive buzz created by former Gucci star creative chiefs such as Tom Ford and Alessandro Michele.
Regardless of the buzz around the brand, the fact is that its performance has been declining and in its latest quarter, Kering reported that Gucci sales were down 25%, worse than the 21% decline analysts had expected.
Yet Stefano Cantino, CEO of Gucci, said: “I would like to express my deep gratitude to Sabato for his passion and dedication to Gucci. I sincerely appreciate how he honoured Gucci’s craftsmanship and heritage with such commitment.”
And Francesca Bellettini, Kering Deputy CEO in charge of Brand Development, added: “I sincerely thank Sabato for his loyalty and professionalism. I am proud of the work that has been done to further strengthen Gucci’s fundamentals. Stefano and the new artistic direction will continue to build on this and to guide Gucci towards renewed fashion leadership and sustainable growth.”
It gave no hint of who might replace him but there’s no shortage of big names available, or potentially available, with plenty of speculation about star creatives soon to move on from their existing labels. For now though, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Luxury logistics company Ferrari Group on Thursday set a price range for its initial public offering of between 8 euros and 9 euros per share, giving the company an indicative market capitalisation of up to €822 million ($851.84 million).
Rolex
The offer starts on Thursday and will run to February 12, with the first day of trading on the Amsterdam bourse expected a day later.
The founding family is selling up to 25% of existing shares in the company, with a so-called greenshoe option potentially bringing that up to 28.7%.
The family-owned group, founded in 1959 in Italy and currently headquartered in London, focuses on the handling of luxury goods such as high-end watches, jewellery and diamonds.
UK-based disruptive waste management and recycling business MyGroup has launched a sustainable textiles project in Sri Lanka to reintroduce cotton cultivation and establish a materials recycling hub to help tackle the country’s ocean waste issue.
MyGroup has a 30 year history in recycling – MyGroup- Facebook
The sustainable textile production and manufacturing proof-of-concept will be spearheaded by the business’s ReFactory arm and focus on community building, MyGroup announced in a press release. Extending across the four Sri Lankan provinces of North West, North Central, Uva, and Eastern, the project is designed to reintroduce cotton cultivation in Sri Lanka for the first time since the 1970s.
“As the seeds are planted– both literally and figuratively– on our Sri Lanka project, MyGroup is forging a new path for planet-friendly textiles production that supports skilled artisans, particularly women, working in traditional local labour settings, while preserving the rich cultural heritage of this wonderful country,” said MyGroup’s director Steve Carrie in a press release. “Together with our drive to rid the country’s beaches of waste plastic, we hope to create long-term, positive change in communities and natural ecosystems, while creating products with a story– unlocking new commercial opportunities in markets where authenticity, sustainability and social impact drive consumer choice.”
For the textiles focused portion of the project, MyGroup’s ReFactory has joined forces with global non-profit consultancy firm Fibershed’s Sri Lankan arm. The initiative has also committed to employing and fairly compensating local artisans and workers
“We at Fibershed Sri Lanka warmly welcome international brands to collaborate with us in revitalising the nation’s textile and fashion heritage,” said Fibershed Sri Lanka’s founder Thilina Premjayanth. “Our partnership with MyGroup exemplifies our commitment to a broad spectrum of innovative projects that prioritise climate-beneficial regenerative agriculture, sustainable practices and community empowerment. Together, we aim to create a global benchmark for ethical, eco-friendly production, while supporting local artisans and preserving Sri Lanka’s rich cultural legacy.”
January footfall to stores is usually unimpressive in the UK, despite the allure of the clearance sales. But there was a surprise on Thursday when tracking specialist MRI Software said it rose year on year for the first time since 2016.
Photo: Pexels
It will be intriguing to see what other footfall reports for the period say given the slightly different date ranges and other methodologies trackers use.
That January 2016 date might be significant given that it was the year we’d see the Brexit referendum, followed by the pandemic so it’s perhaps not unexpected that visitor traffic to stores has been sluggish in multiple months across the year since then (apart from some odd spikes linked to the rush after lockdowns were eased, with such figures often factored out given their exceptional nature).
So what actually happened last month — or more accurately, what happened in the five weeks from 29 December to 1 February?
Footfall rose 1.4% compared to last year in all UK retail destinations, led by a 1.8% boost in shopping centres (we’ve already heard a raft of malls hailing strong results so that’s not a shock). That was joined by a 1.4% rise in retail parks, and 1.1% in high streets. As mentioned, this is the greatest year on year increase seen (outside of the pandemic era) since January 2016 when footfall rose by 1.2% for the same period.
Admittedly, month on month footfall declined by 20.8% in all UK retail destinations, but that aligns with historical trends observed each January following the festive season.
Weekday footfall in January rose 1.6% year on year in January but weekend footfall declined by 3.5%. This is particularly important as it could be an indicator of many more employees returning to offices throughout the month and so providing the weekday boost not seen for since before Covid disrupted the retail sector.
MRI Software’s Central London Back to Office benchmark revealed a 1.4% uplift in January footfall year on year driven by a 4.4% rise during the early evening period (5pm-8pm). Weekday footfall in office-dense locations within London rose by 4% compared to January 2024.
The firm’s Consumer Pulse report revealed that evening shopping (post 5pm) is the most common time for office workers to visit retail destinations with around 34% choosing to do so.
On days when employees work from the office, 31% of respondents stated they visit high streets during lunch hours, the highest among all destinations, highlighting their proximity and convenience during work breaks.
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays see the highest overlap in office work and shopping activity, with 58% of respondents attending work weekly on Tuesdays and aligning retail visits for midweek convenience.
The fact that Mondays and Fridays don’t figure strongly here underlines that many people still work from home for one or two days a week.
The weather may have been a factor too. Despite some bad weather across the UK, new figures say that globally January was warmer than expected so perhaps some brave souls ventured out because the usual snow and heavy rain might not have been quite as heavy as in other years.
As for the future, anyone shopping in the next few weeks might be disappointed by higher prices. The Autumn Budget is starting to impact retail strategies as almost 40% of retailers surveyed in MRI Software’s weekly ‘Insights from the Inside’ poll revealed they were planning to increase product prices over the next month.
Entertainment8 years ago