A top Kering executive has said the French luxury group is going back to basics as it is battling to revive the fortunes of its underperforming flagship brand Gucci.

Speaking at the Financial Times’ Business of Luxury conference on Monday, Kering deputy chief executive Francesca Bellettini said Gucci needed to build “sound foundations” after a period of fast growth that was now coming to an end.

“What we are going to do at Kering, [and] at all the brands learning from Gucci, is to become more focused — even while growing — on the foundation,” Bellettini told the conference.

“It is true in life but also in business that sometimes it’s easier to go fast, fast, fast . . . If I draw a parallel to the luxury industry, if you don’t create that structure underneath in terms of operational capability, efficiency practices, planning you don’t have [a] sound foundation,” she said.

The Kering veteran was referring to a period of rapid growth at its brands led by Gucci, but that has now tapered and left fissures in the business exposed.

Bellettini was appointed to her role last year to oversee all of the group’s brands — which include Bottega Veneta, McQueen and Balenciaga — as part of a reshuffle at the top of the group led by billionaire chief executive François-Henri Pinault.

https://www.ft.com/content/086edec3-3a39-4205-91e6-16066381f6af