Kering

Wood trade negotiation, the group’s origins

On 2 June 1962, François Pinault officially opened the Etablissements Pinault, first specialized in timber trade, and then in construction material distribution. Originally a company from Brittany, it grew organically and thanks to successive acquisitions, it became recognized nationally. Pinault SA was listed in the unlisted securities market of the Paris Stock Exchange in 1988.

A diversification towards retail and its shift towards apparel & accessories

In March 1990, François Pinault was elected president of CFAO, which specialized in electrical material distribution and negotiation in Africa.

In April 1991, Pinault SA entered the retail distribution market, with the takeover of Conforama.

In 1992, the Group sold the Compagnie Industrielle d’Ameublement (kitchen furniture), of Ordo (office furniture) and Isoroy (wood panel makers). The same year, the Pinault-Printemps Group was born out of the Au printemps SA takeover, which owned 54% of La Redoute and Finaref. In 1993, the Armand Thierry company, bought by Le Printemps, was sold. Disco (Food-industry retailer) was also sold.

In 1994, La Redoute was absorbed by Pinault-Printemps, and renamed Pinault-Printemps-Redoute. In July, the group took control of the Fnac, a French book music and tech retailer.

In 1995, the Group launched its first online store: www.laredoute.fr.

In 1996, CFAO bought SCOA, the main pharmaceutical distributor in West Africa. The same year, PPR created Orcanta, a lingerie distributor.

Over the following years, PPR continued to develop its activities in the retail and home shopping sectors. In 1997, Redcats (PPR’s home shopping retailer, built around La Redoute) took control of Ellos, Scandinavia’s home shopping leader. The same year, Fnac created Fnac Junior, a concept-store which targets young people under 12.

In 1998, PPR continued its acquisitions in the home shopping sector: Redcats acquired 49.9% of Brylane (a home shopping company in the United States). PPR also took control of Guilbert (specialized in office furniture retailing).

In 1999, Fnac launched its online store: www.fnac.com

In 2002, PPR sold Facet, the subsidiary company of Conforama’s private card, to BNP Paribas, and then sold Finaref, its financial services subsidiary, to Crédit Agricole. The same year, Guilbert’s home shopping activities were sold to Staples, and the following year its office furniture negotiation activities were sold to Office Depot.

In 2003, PPR sold its Pinault Bois et Matériaux company to the British group Wolseley. After symbolizing the very first step of the Group in the wood trade sector, and becoming a famous French retailer in wood material construction, import and transformation, Pinault Bois was sold for 565 million euros.

In 2004, PPR sold the electrical material manufacturer Rexel. After a public bid, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute increased its shares to 99.4% of Gucci Group’s capital.

At its general assembly held on May 18, 2005, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute simplified its name to PPR after having sold its distribution activities from 2002 to 2004. Serge Wienberg left the group and François-Henri Pinault was named CEO.

In 2006, PPR made several transactions, for example the sale of 51% of France Printemps (with brands such as Made in Sport and Citadium) to RREEF and the Borletti Group. It also sold the lingerie company Orcanta to Chantelle. The Group's acquisitions included Redcats(which comprised La Redoute and many other home shopping companies) buying of The Sportman’s Guide Inc.

In 2007, PPR acquired a 62.1% share of Puma, making its entrance into the Sport & Lifestyle sector.

Progressive repositioning on Luxury and "Sport & Lifestyle"

PPR first invested in the luxury sector in 1999, with a 42% acquisition of Gucci Group NV. More acquisitions followed to build a stronger luxury identity for the Group: Yves Saint Laurent (now Saint Laurent Paris), YSL Beauty and Sergio Rossi. In 2000 the Group acquired the jeweller Boucheron, and the watchmaker Bedat & Cie.

In 2001, more luxury brand acquisitions followed: Gucci Group bought Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, and signed partnership deals with Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen.

Between 2001 and 2004, PPR reinforced its capital participation in Gucci Group. After a public bid, Pinault-Printemps Redoute eventually increased its share to 99,4% of Gucci Group's capital.

In 2008, PPR sold YSL Beauté, the fragrances and cosmetics branch of Yves Saint Laurent, to L'Oréal for 1.15 billion euros.

In 2009, they sold Bédat & Co to Luxury Concepts Watches & Jewellery Sdn Bhd, a Malaysia-based brand management company.

In July 2011, PPR took control of the Suiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux.

In November 2011, PPR acquired the luxury menswear house Brioni.

In December 2012 PPR SA bought a majority stake in Chinese jeweler Qeelin, reinforcing its presence in China.

In August 2012, PPR announced its new joint-venture with the online retail specialist Yoox to administrate the e-commerce operations of most of its luxury brands.

In January 2013, PPR and Christopher Kane signed a partnership. PPR acquired 51% of the company’s shares.

The same year, PPR acquired the Italian Pomellato group including two brands, Pomellato and Dodo.

Acquisition of a majority stake in the Italian Pomellato group.

In September 2013, Kering announced its minority stake in the brand of New-York designer Joseph Altuzarra.

On 3 May 2011, the Group launched a friendly bid for Volcom, a company specialized in action sports.

August 2014 Kering bought 100% of Ulysse Nardin, a luxury watch manufacturer based in Le Locle, Switzerland.

Renaming to Kering

On March 22, 2013, FHP suggested the name Kering to highlight the company's focus on its luxury and sport/lifestyle divisions; it is supposed to be pronounced the same as "caring", but also plays with the origins of the business in the Brittany region of France. In Breton language, ker means ‘home’ or ‘place to live’. The new logo has an owl as its emblem.

Brands

Kering is made up of 2 divisions: Luxury and Sports & Lifestyle. In 2014, the brands of the Group are the following:

Board of Directors

The Independent Directors are:

Executive Committee

Source: www.kering.com

Financial data

Sales which affected the Group with the associated key dates:

Kering complies with the MSI 20000 financial standards.

Market data

Sustainability

Sustainability has been at the heart of Kering’s strategy and the Group’s actions for over a decade. In April 2012, François-Henri Pinault publicly announced a set of quantifiable targets covering both environmental and social aspects, for the Group to achieve by 2016. Additionally, Kering has developed an innovative tool called the Environmental Profit & Loss account (E P&L). Pioneered by PUMA, Kering is now rolling out this tool across the entire Group, with a Group E P&L to be published in 2016. Since September 2012, the sustainability engagements of Kering are under the direction of Marie-Claire Daveu. Kering sustainability department is composed of 15 experts, and with an annual budget of 10 million of euros is indexed on the evolution of the stock dividend of Kering.

"Sustainable business is smart business" is the principle that CEO and Chairman François-Henri Pinault uses to illustrate the Group’s sustainability engagements.

In 2009, and PPR supported Home, a movie by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and co-produced by Luc Besson. To celebrate the movie’s official launch (on 5 June 2009), free screenings were held in over 100 countries: on television (France 2 on the night of its launch at 8:35pm in France), on DVD and also in several cities around the globe, including the Champ de Mars in Paris during open air projections. Home was seen by over 400 million people around the world

Kering Foundation

The Kering Foundation is part of the Kering Sustainability Department.

The Foundation is committed to defend women’s dignity and rights by combating violence against women and promoting women’s empowerment. Since 2009, the Foundation initiated 47 partnerships with NGOs and accompanied social entrepreneurs for the benefit of more than 140,000 women. In coherence with the Group’s new orientation, the Foundation focuses on three geographic areas: Western Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Many brands have their own philanthropic projects, which the Kering Foundation supports. Gucci, one of the Group's major brands launched its project Chime for Change, an international campaign led by actress Salma Hayek-Pinault, Frida Giannini, creative director of Gucci and Beyoncé Knowles, which raises funds for women’s emancipation focusing on education, health and justice.