KERING braces for a profit slump in the first half of the year as the luxury goods giant struggles to win Gucci sales.

Operating profit for the first half of the year is expected to drop up to 45 per cent, the French multinational owner of Gucci said in a statement.

Kering's chairman and chief executive officer François- Henri Pinault said: "Kering's performance worsened in the first quarter.

"While we had anticipated a challenging start to the year, sluggish market conditions, notably in China, and the strategic repositioning of certain of our Houses, starting with Gucci, exacerbated downward pressures on our top line."

Kering said Gucci's revenue was down 18 per cent in the first quarter of the year, despite the group's previous turnaround efforts with the appointment of a new creative director for the brand last year.

The problems can be traced to China and its sluggish recovery from the pandemic.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper