Kering S CEO On Finding The Elusive For
HBR.ORG
How I Did It...
Kering S CEO on Finding the *
Elusive Formula for Growing
.Acquired Brands by François-Henri Pinault n 2003 my father asked me to dinner at his favorite restaurant in Paris, where we both live. He was the chairman of
Artemis—the family holding company that controls PPR, the conglomerate he'd founded in 1963, and a variety of other businesses, including Christie's, the auction house. I had graduated from HEC business school in 1985, had been working at the company since 1987, and had turned
40 a few months earlier. Over dinner my father told me he wanted to step down and make me chairman and CEO of Artemis. I was surprised by the timing and told him so. "What are you going to do if you stop working?" I asked him. But my father was
67 and had recently seen a friend die unexpectedly without having prepared for succession at his family-run business, so he felt it was time.
The dinner took place on a Thursday.
When I walked into our headquarters the following Monday, I found entirely new furniture in my office-and my father sitting at the desk. "You don't work here anymore—you work there," he said, pointing
I
THE IDEA
When Pinault's team buys a new luxury brand, it drives organic growth by helping the brand with product development, logistics, and retail stores and by pairing creative designers with strong business executives.
March 2014 Harvard Business Review 43
HOW I Di D IT
A FOCUS ON LUXURY
üijfsi m M iiina
Raises its stake in
Gucci Group to 67.6%
Pinault has streamlined the conglomerate he took over in 2003 to concentrate on luxury and sport brands.
2003
Acquires 42% of
Gucci Group
Acquires Bouciieron
Acquires Alexander McQueen
Raises its stake in
Gucci Group to 53.2%
Acquires Yves Saint Laurent
Acquires Bottega Véneta
Acquires 70% of
Sergio Rossi
Launches Stella McCartney in a joint venture with McCartney
Acquires Balenciaga
999
3000
to the corner office that had been his. He'd had everything moved over the weekend.
How I Did It...
Kering S CEO on Finding the *
Elusive Formula for Growing
.Acquired Brands by François-Henri Pinault n 2003 my father asked me to dinner at his favorite restaurant in Paris, where we both live. He was the chairman of
Artemis—the family holding company that controls PPR, the conglomerate he'd founded in 1963, and a variety of other businesses, including Christie's, the auction house. I had graduated from HEC business school in 1985, had been working at the company since 1987, and had turned
40 a few months earlier. Over dinner my father told me he wanted to step down and make me chairman and CEO of Artemis. I was surprised by the timing and told him so. "What are you going to do if you stop working?" I asked him. But my father was
67 and had recently seen a friend die unexpectedly without having prepared for succession at his family-run business, so he felt it was time.
The dinner took place on a Thursday.
When I walked into our headquarters the following Monday, I found entirely new furniture in my office-and my father sitting at the desk. "You don't work here anymore—you work there," he said, pointing
I
THE IDEA
When Pinault's team buys a new luxury brand, it drives organic growth by helping the brand with product development, logistics, and retail stores and by pairing creative designers with strong business executives.
March 2014 Harvard Business Review 43
HOW I Di D IT
A FOCUS ON LUXURY
üijfsi m M iiina
Raises its stake in
Gucci Group to 67.6%
Pinault has streamlined the conglomerate he took over in 2003 to concentrate on luxury and sport brands.
2003
Acquires 42% of
Gucci Group
Acquires Bouciieron
Acquires Alexander McQueen
Raises its stake in
Gucci Group to 53.2%
Acquires Yves Saint Laurent
Acquires Bottega Véneta
Acquires 70% of
Sergio Rossi
Launches Stella McCartney in a joint venture with McCartney
Acquires Balenciaga
999
3000
to the corner office that had been his. He'd had everything moved over the weekend.