This management reshuffle also comes less than two weeks before Demna presents his debut collection in Milan during the all-important debut season. Together with Demna, Bellettini has the big task of turning around the group’s largest house in a challenging market. Gucci has been lagging compared to its peers. In the second quarter, sales were down 25 per cent to €1.46 billion, after a 25 per cent decrease in Q1.
During the Q2 earnings call, Bellettini said while the full collection will be available in stores from the beginning of January, certain outposts will begin receiving new designs from that collection as early as September. She insisted on the importance of a regular injection of novelty in the stores. “There is also going to be a Christmas capsule that has already been worked on by the team. There is gonna be a project for Chinese New Year. I just would love everybody to defocus a little bit on the collection of Demna. There is a company, there is a brand, and there is constant work of all the team, in presenting new collections and new products and working on the carryover,” she noted. Demna’s first runway show will be in March for the Autumn/Winter 2026 season.
“I am truly honoured to take on direct responsibility for Gucci, one of the world’s most iconic luxury Houses. I look forward to working under the leadership of Luca de Meo, whose innovative and fresh perspective inspires us to push boundaries. I’m excited to embark on this new challenge together with the whole Gucci team and alongside Demna, whose creativity I have always admired,” commented Bellettini on her appointment.
It marks a return to Gucci for Bellettini, who joined Kering in 2003 as strategic planning director and associate worldwide merchandising director of Gucci, before climbing the ladder at Kering. She worked at Bottega Veneta from 2008 to 2013. In 2013, she took the helm of Yves Saint Laurent, where she recruited Anthony Vaccarello to succeed Hedi Slimane and turned the house into a megabrand (sales rose from €557 million in 2013 to €2.9 billion in 2024 during her tenure).
Gucci’s sales were €7.7 billion in 2024, down from €10.49 billion in 2022. The house has taken cost-reduction measures: headcount is down 22 per cent compared to its 2022 peak. “It means that today, Gucci in terms of employees is below the level of 2019,” Duplaix told analysts during Kering’s Q2 earnings call. Gucci also closed 16 stores in the first half of 2025.
In the first half of 2025, the house accounted for 40 per cent of the group’s revenue and 50 per cent of its operating income.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
Armani will plot twist: Why it matters