Abstract

The appointment of Robert Polet (Polet), a former Head of Unilever's ice cream and frozen foods business and a newcomer to the fashion and luxury goods industry, as Chief Executive Officer of the $1.9 billion luxury goods firm Gucci in April 2004, has raised a few eyebrows. Polet has arrived at a time when Gucci's new owners, French retailer Pinault Printemps Redoute (PPR) have increased their stake in Gucci to 99.39%. Polet faces various challenges. He needs to carve out a role for himself between the two powerful Brand Managers of the Gucci group - Mark Lee for Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) and Santucci for Gucci on the one side, and Serge Weinberg, the increasingly 'interventionist' Chief Executive of PPR, on the other. PPR is widely believed to have overpaid when it took control of Gucci for a total of 7.2 billion euros. The high premium has put Polet under pressure for delivering quick results. Polet needs to prove that his consumer goods marketing expertise is transferable to the world of fashion. Gucci is also losing talent at an alarming rate. Will Polet be able to turn things around for Gucci?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

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Keywords

Gucci, YSL, Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford, De Sole, PPR, Pinault Printemps Redoute, Santucci, Turnaround, Strategy, Brand makeover, Robert Polet, Gucci takeover, Multibrand strategy, Advertising, Marketing