Kering's CEO, Luca de Meo, at the group's annual shareholders' meeting in Paris, on September 9, 2025. THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
Kering CEO Luca de Meo had pledged to act swiftly to restore some order to the luxury tkeri, which had been struggling for several years. Just one month after taking office on September 15, the Italian executive made his mark by initiating the sale of Kering Beauté to L'Oréal, the world's leading beauty company.
On Sunday, October 19, Kering and L'Oréal announced they were "entering a long-term strategic partnership in luxury beauty and wellness." Kering, the luxury group owned by the Pinault family, is selling Creed perfumes to the global beauty leader and granting it "the rights to enter into a 50-year exclusive license for the creation, development and distribution of fragrance and beauty products for Gucci, commencing after expiration of the current license with Coty."
The deal, which also covers the establishment of 50-year licenses for other Kering brands, namely Gucci, as well as Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, for a total of "€4 billion, payable in cash at closing, expected in the first half of 2026." The proceeds from the sale could be used to reduce the group's debt, which was estimated at €9.5 billion in July. Following the announcement, Kering's share price rose by more than 5% in early trading on the Paris stock exchange on Monday, October 20.
