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What the Renault-Nissan Shakeup Says About the Global Auto Industry Renault CEO Luca de Meo and Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the reorganization of their alliance in a deal that gives both companies more autonomy. WSJ’s Nick Kostov explains the factors behind the decision and what it means for auto makers and investors. Photo Composite: Adele Morgan
What the Renault-Nissan Shakeup Says About the Global Auto Industry Renault CEO Luca de Meo and Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the reorganization of their alliance in a deal that gives both companies more autonomy. WSJ’s Nick Kostov explains the factors behind the decision and what it means for auto makers and investors. Photo Composite: Adele Morgan
PARIS—A fall in sales at Gucci and consumer outrage over Balenciaga’s portrayal of children in its ads led to a slowdown in revenue at the brands’ owner. French luxury conglomerate Kering SA said its biggest brand, Gucci, booked a 14% drop in comparable sales over a three-month period ending in December in part due to pandemic restrictions that were in place in China during the quarter. Kering reported a 4% sales drop in its “other brands” segment, which includes Balenciaga, over the same period.
Louis Vuitton is in talks to hire Pharrell Williams , the music producer and streetwear entrepreneur, to be its next men’s head designer, according to people familiar with the matter. If appointed, Mr. Williams, 49, would assume the role previously held by Virgil Abloh, who died in November 2021. Mr. Abloh was the first Black American to be appointed to a head design position at a European luxury house. Mr. Williams, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., who rose to prominence in the late ’90s as a part of hip-hop production duo the Neptunes, could be the second.
Louis Vuitton has hired Pharrell Williams , the music producer and streetwear entrepreneur, to be its creative director of menswear, the company said. Mr. Williams, 49, assumes the role previously held by Virgil Abloh, who died in November 2021. Mr. Abloh was the first Black American to be appointed as the head designer at a European luxury house. Mr. Williams, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., who rose to prominence in the late 1990s as a part of hip-hop production duo the Neptunes, is now the second.
What the Renault-Nissan Shakeup Says About the Global Auto Industry The alliance was plagued by rivalry and suspicion, rising when Carlos Ghosn was ousted as the companies' leaderBy Wall Street Journal Feb 13, 2023 10:57 am Renault CEO Luca de Meo and Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida spoke to The Wall Street Journal about the reorganization of their alliance in a deal that gives both companies more autonomy. WSJ’s Nick Kostov explains the factors behind the decision and what it means for auto makers and investors. Photo Composite: Adele Morgan
Louis Vuitton’s Formula for World Domination
  + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
PARIS—Louis Vuitton constructed a vast makeshift warehouse in the courtyard of the Louvre to house its recent menswear show. Hundreds of K-pop fans trying to get a glimpse of star Jung Hoseok , better known as J-Hope from BTS, lined the streets. The guest list was designed to attract global attention: Hong Kong pop singer Jackson Wang , Los Angeles rapper Tyga and Mia Khalifa , a Lebanese-born pornographic actress turned social-media influencer. J-Hope, Usher and “Emily in Paris” actor Lucien Laviscount took their front-row seats not far from Bernard Arnault , the chairman and chief executive of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, together with his wife and four of his five children, all of whom work for the company.
LONDON— Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA unveiled on Monday a long-planned restructuring of their two-decade-old alliance—a decoupling that falls short of a full divorce but gives each car company more autonomy after years of tensions. The restructuring, under which Renault will reduce its 43% stake in its Japanese partner to 15%, reflects a changing landscape in which alliances to build millions more gasoline-powered cars are no longer so valuable. Instead, new types of partnerships in batteries, electric-vehicle technology and software have grown in importance.
PARIS—Gucci-owner Kering SA has tapped a senior Estée Lauder Cos. executive to lead a new beauty division, as the luxury giant looks to expand in cosmetics and perfumes. Raffaella Cornaggia will help develop beauty offerings for brands including Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen. Kering said the Italian national would bring strong experience to a strategically important area.
Nissan Motor Co. and its French partner, Renault SA, said Monday they have agreed to reorganize their alliance, more than two decades old, in a deal that includes reducing Renault’s stake in Nissan. The Japanese auto maker achieved its long-sought goal of limiting its partner’s control over its management, while the French company got an investment in its electric-vehicle business, as it had wanted. The amount of the investment wasn’t disclosed.
Gucci Names Sabato De Sarno as New Creative Chief
  + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Gucci’s sales growth has lagged behind some of its main rivals in recent years. PARIS—Fashion house Gucci appointed Sabato De Sarno as its new creative director, seeking to reinvigorate the storied Italian brand after a period of rapid growth petered out. Mr. De Sarno, 39 years old, began his career at Prada SpA before working for Dolce & Gabbana Srl. He then joined Valentino SpA in 2009, where he held positions of increasing responsibility. He was most recently fashion director at Valentino, overseeing both men’s and women’s collections.
The Renault stand at Brussels Motor Show 2023. Renault and Nissan have been hammering out the deal’s details for months. Renault SA and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. are nearing a deal to reshape their 20-year-old alliance, according to people familiar with the matter, in a restructuring that would reduce the French car maker’s shareholding in its Japanese partner and give both companies more autonomy. A deal could be officially unveiled early next month, these people said, and would represent the most significant change in the car makers’ alliance since it was forged amid a financial crisis at Nissan.
Louis Vuitton collaborated with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama for a new collection. Demand for LVMH’s brands has been strong despite the pandemic and inflation. PARIS— LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is scheduled to report fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 results later Thursday, as it rides a surge of demand for luxury goods that China’s recently loosened Covid-19 restrictions could extend into this year. Postpandemic demand for LVMH’s dozens of brands, including fine wine, jewelry and fashion labels and upscale hotels, has cemented the group’s position as the most valuable listed company in Europe. It has also helped its chief executive and controlling shareholder, Bernard Arnault , overtake Elon Musk as the world’s richest person.
Luxury Brands See Early Signs of Recovery in China
  + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
British fashion house Burberry Group PLC and Cartier-owner Cie. Financière Richemont SA said sales to Chinese shoppers were starting to pick up, an early sign of recovery in what was the luxury industry’s biggest market before the pandemic. Persistent Covid-19-related disruption in China has been a major headache for makers of high-end clothing, handbags and jewelry, which had come to rely on spending by Chinese shoppers at home and abroad over the past two decades. Now, as Beijing lifts restrictions, the question is when and how strongly Chinese spending will bounce back.
Lacoste Owner Looks to Snap Up More Brands as Sales Surge
  + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Lacoste has closed smaller stores in favor of larger flagships in key locations such as the Champs-Elysee in Paris. PARIS—The parent company of Lacoste is on the hunt for acquisitions to expand its portfolio of brands after the upmarket French label reported record annual sales. Sales at Lacoste, best known for its crocodile-logo polo shirts embraced by tennis stars, rose 26% to more than €2.5 billion, about $2.69 billion, last year, Chief Executive Thierry Guibert said in an interview. He credited the gain to attracting younger consumers in part through a more fashionable offering and buzzy collaborations with musicians and artists in recent years.
LVMH Shuffles Leadership at Louis Vuitton, Dior
  + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
LVMH said Pietro Beccari, who currently head’s Christian Dior, will lead Louis Vuitton from next month. PARIS— LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE Wednesday announced a major reshuffle of its top executives, elevating Pietro Beccari to lead Louis Vuitton and tapping Delphine Arnault , daughter of Chief Executive Bernard Arnault , to run Christian Dior . The changes, effective Feb. 1, involve the luxury giant’s two largest brands and some of its best-known managers. Both Louis Vuitton and Dior have been on a tear, most recently riding a postpandemic boom in luxury spending that so far has shown little sign of easing.
The Executive Who Made Winter Gear High Fashion
  + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
In Personal Board of Directors, top business leaders talk about the people they turn to for advice, and how those people have shaped their perspective and helped them succeed. Previous installments from the series are here. Remo Ruffini has spent the past two decades turning Moncler SpA into a buzzy high-end sportswear brand, pushing a rotating cast of designers to dream up new takes on its signature product faster than the traditional fashion calendar would allow.
The French tend to know the price they pay for their baguettes and if it goes up, everyone notices. PARIS—France is racing to save its emblematic baguettes from the ravages of inflation. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Thursday before a group of bakers and pastry chefs gathered at the Élysée Palace that the French government would deliver additional aid as they confront rising costs for ingredients and energy that have led some bakers to say they can’t afford to run their ovens.
Chinese consumers are important for luxury-goods companies such as Hermès, LVMH and Gucci. PARIS—Shares in European luxury retailers rose Tuesday on investor hopes of renewed Chinese tourist spending after Beijing said it planned to ease pandemic-related border restrictions. Luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE advanced as much as 2.5% in Paris while Kering SA, owner of the Gucci and Saint Laurent brands, rose as much as 2.2% and Birkin-bag maker Hermès International SCA advanced more than 2%. In Milan, shares in Moncler SpA, Tod’s SpA and Salvatore Ferragamo SpA also rose.
PARIS—French police have raided the headquarters of Emmanuel Macron ‘s political party, prosecutors said Wednesday, as part of two probes into possible ties between consulting firms and France’s presidential campaigns in 2017 and 2022. France’s national prosecutors said police also searched the Paris offices of consulting giant McKinsey & Co. as well the headquarters of an association dedicated to funding Renaissance, Mr. Macron’s party.
Americans Flock to Europe for Holiday Shopping Binge
  + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Nick Kostov | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
PARIS—Americans are descending on luxury boutiques across Europe for holiday shopping, taking advantage of the strong dollar and helping brands such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton make up for the loss of big-spending Chinese tourists. Spending by American tourists in the region rose more than 40% during the week of Black Friday compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, according to value-added-tax refund data from payments company Planet. The average transaction amount by U.S. tourists in European stores this year—at 1,244 euros, equivalent to $1,313, according to Planet—is also significantly higher than €500 in 2019.
TotalEnergies has aimed to gradually withdrawing from its Russian assets while continuing to supply natural gas to Europe. PARIS— TotalEnergies plans to book a $3.7 billion impairment on its stake in PAO Novatek and withdraw its directors from the Russian gas producer’s board, as part of its efforts to scale back its business in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The Paris-based oil-and-gas major said it would write down the value of its 19.4% stake in Novatek, booking the accounting charge in the fourth quarter. That takes TotalEnergies’ total Russia-related impairments to over $14 billion this year, among the highest out of Western companies.
TotalEnergies has aimed to gradually withdrawing from its Russian assets while continuing to supply natural gas to Europe. PARIS— TotalEnergies plans to book a $3.7 billion impairment on its stake in PAO Novatek and withdraw its directors from the Russian gas producer’s board, as part of its efforts to scale back its business in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The Paris-based oil-and-gas major said it would write down the value of its 19.4% stake in Novatek, booking the accounting charge in the fourth quarter. That takes TotalEnergies’ total Russia-related impairments to over $14 billion this year, among the highest out of Western companies.
PARIS—Balenciaga rocketed to the heights of the fashion world with risqué designs and runway stunts, but now that edgy approach has backfired on the brand amid a public furor over the portrayal of children in its ads. For almost two weeks the brand has been scrambling to address criticism over two ad campaigns that have angered its customers and tested the loyalty of reality TV star Kim Kardashian , its biggest ambassador. One ad campaign released in mid-November showed children holding bags in the shape of teddy bears clad in what some people said looked like bondage gear. Another, released a few days later, featured a document related to a Supreme Court ruling against child pornography.
Kim Kardashian appeared on a Balenciaga advertising billboard near Times Square, New York, in February. Kim Kardashian said she was re-evaluating her business ties with Balenciaga after the fashion brand ran a controversial campaign featuring children holding teddy bears clad in bondage gear. Ms. Kardashian, a reality TV star who founded the undergarment and apparel business Skims, weighed in on the controversy after critics and fans demanded over social media that she condemn the brand.
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