ITALY. Gucci Group has picked its inhouse designers John Ray and Alessandra Facchinetti to join a team to succeed Tom Ford, as French retailer Pinault Printemps Redoute (PPR) moves to exercise its right to take full control of the luxury goods group in April.
Ray and Facchinetti will replace chief designer Ford as part of a three-person team according to news wire reports. Ray will be chief designer for men’s ready-to wear and Facchinetti for women’s ready-to wear while a third designer for Gucci’s accessories has been identified the reports said.
The luxury goods group announced yesterday it would appoint Alexis Babeau as its new chief financial officer, reporting to the Gucci Group CEO. He will replace Robert Singer, executive vice president and CFO since 1995, who will leave the company at the end of April. Babeau joins Gucci Group from Finaref (a credit and financial services company formerly owned by PPR and now controlled by Crédit Agricole).
The appointments are part of a major management shake-up at the company. Gucci Group has said its CEO Domenico De Sole and Tom Ford will leave the company on 30 April.
The changes have generated much speculation about the new direction of Gucci under PPR. The Gucci question has raised some old debates in the luxury world such as the balance between creative talent or tight management and financial resources.
Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) acquired in 1999 – also designed by Tom Ford – has ‘promoted’ Stefano Pilati, ex-designer for Prada (Miu Miu) who is currently design director for YSL as well as Ford’s top assistant. Initially, PPR asked Alexander McQueen to take over as artistic director for Gucci Group. But he declined the offer, wanting to concentrate on creating his own brand, always part of Gucci. From headquarters in Paris, PPR recently presented the accounts for 2003 with no comment besides a statement that “there won’t be any announcement until after Ford’s last fashion show for YSL.” Meanwhile other stylists within the group are also creating a reputation for themselves, such as Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta, and Nicholas Ghesquière at Balenciaga.
The situation is somewhat delicate for PPR, because the Group’s CEO still needs to be replaced and one of the only likely candidates is Giacomo Santucci’s, current CEO for the Gucci division. Gucci Group’s outgoing financial director Robert Singer was known to be close to De Sole and was a key part of the regeneration of the brand in the 1990s.
”Bob was the Gucci Group’s financial genius even before the Gucci Group existed,” wrote De Sole about Singer part of the company since 1995. ”He was my closest advisor in our defence against LVMH’s raid on Gucci,” he said in Pambianco News.
