People with knowledge of the situation said they did not expect De Sarno to leave before May when his two-year contract was due to expire. Two people close to the company said Kering chose to accelerate its plans to replace the designer ahead of fourth-quarter earnings next week, which they said would show ongoing problems with the turnaround. Kering declined to comment.
“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,” said Kering’s deputy chief executive Francesca Bellettini. “[Gucci chief] Stefano Cantino and the new artistic direction will continue to build on this and to guide Gucci towards renewed fashion leadership and sustainable growth.”
Kering has been behind its peers for years since the style of Gucci’s former star designer Alessandro Michele fell out of favour, while dependence on China for sales left the group exposed when that market failed to recover from pandemic lockdowns.
Kering issued several profit warnings last year — normally a scarce occurrence in the luxury sector — after sales at Gucci plunged because of weak Chinese demand.
In October, it forecast its full-year operating income would be 46 per cent lower than in 2023 at about €2.5 billion (US$2.6 billion; S$3.51 billion). It is due to report full-year earnings next week.
“De Sarno’s designs failed to reignite brand momentum during his short time at Gucci,” wrote Carole Madjo, analyst at Barclays. His unexpected departure “could be seen as a small positive for the brand, but also brings short-term disruption risk and low visibility on [the] path of recovery”.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, De Sarno wrote: “Any important project relies on the passion, the intelligence and heart of extraordinary people . . . A thank you would not be enough maybe. But today my joy is for you.”
