Must Read: Kering Shares Fall After Demna's Gucci Appointment, Ulta's Q4 Net Sales Decreased by 1.9%

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Friday.

Kering shares drop 11.2% after Demna’s Gucci artistic director announcement

Following Demna’s appointment as Gucci’s next artistic director on Thursday, the Italian luxury house’s parent company Kering saw its shares drop 11.2% in early trading on Friday. Luxury analysts have been awaiting a high-profile creative director to turn Gucci’s declining business around, but many seem lukewarm on the house’s choice of Demna, who joins from Balenciaga. Carole Madjo, an analyst at Barclays, noted that Demna’s dystopian and underground aesthetic “may not resonate with Gucci’s consumers”. Bernstein analyst Luca Solca also expressed doubt on Gucci’s artistic director appointment: “We are not sure that Demna measures up to the task, nor that he is the right fit for Gucci at the moment, but we understand their risk minimization strategy: going for the well known,” Solca said. {WWD/paywalled}

Ulta’s Q4 net sales decreased by 1.9%

Ulta Beauty released its fourth quarter earnings report on Thursday, which detailed its Q4 net sales decreasing by 1.9% to $3.5 billion and its comparable sales increasing by 1.5%. Its gross profit was $1.33 billion compared to $1.34 billion, and as a percentage of net sales, gross profit increased to 38.2% compared to 37.7%. For the full year of fiscal 2024, Ulta’s net sales increased 0.8% to $11.3 billion compared to $11.2 billion in fiscal 2023. As Ulta looks to fiscal 2025, it aims to achieve 1% growth in comparable sales. “Fiscal 2025 will be a pivotal year as we make purposeful investments to fuel our future growth and move quickly to optimize our business,” Ulta President and CEO Kecia Steelman said in the earnings report. “While it will take time to see the impact of these efforts, we are confident these investments will help reignite our momentum and unlock sustained growth and long-term value for our shareholders.” {Ulta}

Bringing the French pharmacy to American retail

French pharmacy skin-care products have developed a cult-like following in the U.S., with La Roche-Posay and Avène expanding their reach in America, which is the world’s largest consumer of French beauty. Now, modern French pharma-inspired brands like Doré and Provence are relying on wide distribution in the U.S., but have to do so without the hands-on salesmanship offered in French pharmacies. Skin-care brands also have to appeal to the U.S. consumer, who is often more interested in newness and efficacy than French heritage or ingredients. Many brands use French to upscale cosmetic offerings (Clé de Peau, Glossier, Dieux and Laneige, for example) and are inspired by French pharmacy formulas. French beauty brands looking to expand to the U.S. are forced to sell in many different retailers which can lead to an uneven shopping experience. Many French pharmacy products are also sold at a higher price point than their U.S. competitors, so Provence founder Jeremy Abesara priced his products more effectively in an attempt to reach younger consumers. {Business of Fashion/paywalled}

Tyler Mitchell creates “Modern Dandy” photo essay for The Met exhibition

Last year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art invited Tyler Mitchell to photograph its spring 2025 fashion exhibition exploring the cultural and sartorial history of Black dandies, and Mitchell showcased the garments as they were worn throughout history. In a 30-page photo spread and accompanying essay titled “Portrait of the Modern Dandy” in the catalog for the exhibition, Mitchell investigates the ideas behind dandyism and examines its contemporary interpretations. Spotlighting several generations of Black men, the photo essay features models wearing garments from the exhibition, in addition to self-described dandies like Iké Udé, Dandy Wellington and Michael Henry Adams. “The fact that we are for the first time talking about specifically the history of Black men’s wear, this is an embodied conversation, and most of it lives on through photography,” Mitchell told The New York Times. “So it felt urgent to go beyond simply object documentation and go into real human lifestyle.” {The New York Times/paywalled}

Can America’s tech mindset build a luxury conglomerate?

Rumors are swirling that Capri Holdings has put Versace up for sale and that the U.S. luxury conglomerate is shopping around Jimmy Choo after its potential merger with Tapestry was rejected by U.S. anti-trust regulators. The merger failure left both companies weaker, with Tapestry recently selling Stuart Weitzman for $105 million, a fraction of the $574 million it paid for the shoe brand in 2015. Efforts to build a U.S. luxury conglomerate are faring poorly, as the U.S. hasn’t been able to create a group with the might and the will to compete with Europe’s conglomerates in luxury brands’ long-term development. Luxury brands take time to build, and this lack of patience may be part of the reason why the U.S. hasn’t built a conglomerate: U.S. investors keep selling off their acquisitions on five to seven year horizons, which is the strategy of private equity and venture capital, not luxury groups. {Vogue Business/paywalled}

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Source: Fashionista.com