The short version: Gucci’s sales fell 6% on a comparable basis in the third quarter, to €1.29 billion, and its owner Kering dropped its goal of returning to growth this year. Fewer people are walking into Gucci stores, especially in China. For anyone buying, it means a brand in rebuild: judge the specific piece, not the logo.
Kering, the Paris-based group that owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, reported third-quarter revenue of €3.345 billion on 22 October, flat on a reported basis and down 1% on a comparable basis. Gucci, still the group’s largest house by a distance, took in €1.291 billion, down 4% as reported and 6% like-for-like. In the release, chief executive Luca de Meo called the recovery of Gucci “our defining priority”. The next day, Kering’s shares fell by about 12%, Fashionista reported, citing Reuters.
That is the headline. The more useful question, for anyone who owns a Gucci bag or is weighing one, is what is actually going wrong, and what the house says it is doing about it. The numbers answer more of that than the commentary does.
Is Gucci actually in trouble?
Gucci is not in danger of disappearing, but it is shrinking at the moment its owner most needs it to grow. A house that books more than €1.2 billion in a single quarter is a very large business. The problem is direction. According to TheIndustry.fashion, Gucci’s comparable sales were down 2% in the second quarter; in the third they fell 6%. Sales in Gucci’s own stores, which is where a luxury house makes most of its money and controls its image, fell 9% on a comparable basis.
Kering’s response tells you how seriously it takes that. TheIndustry.fashion reported that the group dropped its 2026 objective of returning to growth, a target it had reaffirmed in April and July, and kept only its goal of improving recurring operating margin. Kering’s own release puts the short-term revenue trend down to a tougher macroeconomic backdrop and says it will keep investing in the desirability of its houses. Put plainly: the company is now promising to make more from each euro of sales, not to sell more.
Why are Gucci sales falling?
The main reason is traffic: fewer customers are coming through the door, and mainland China is the weakest market. Kering said in its release that North America was Gucci’s most resilient region, while Asia Pacific was weaker, particularly mainland China and Japan. On the call with analysts, chief financial officer Armelle Poulou described traffic as the main constraint across regions, with mainland China the biggest headwind.
The interesting detail is what happens once people are inside. According to the call transcript published by Investing.com, Kering said conversion, average ticket and average price all improved in Gucci stores. The customers who come in are buying, and buying more expensively. There are simply fewer of them. That is a desirability problem rather than a pricing problem, and it is the harder of the two to fix, because no amount of store-level efficiency puts someone on the pavement outside.
There is one figure going the other way. Gucci’s wholesale revenue rose 45% on a comparable basis to €120 million, or 9% of the quarter’s sales, according to the release. That growth came from selling through department stores and other retailers, which helps the top line but gives the house less control over how and where its products are shown and discounted.
Gucci is not alone in this. LVMH reported its fashion and leather goods sales falling in the same quarter, which we covered in our piece on LVMH’s third-quarter slowdown and the pullback by Chinese shoppers. What sets Gucci apart is the size of the drop and how much of its parent’s fortunes rest on one name.
How is the rest of Kering doing?
The rest of the group is mixed, and the parts that are growing are the ones least tied to logos. Kering Jewelry, which includes Boucheron and Pomellato, grew 11% on a comparable basis to €239 million. Kering Eyewear rose 4% to €373 million. The release says Saint Laurent and Brioni grew and Bottega Veneta outperformed, though it gave no individual figures for them. Balenciaga’s leather goods were resilient while its ready-to-wear and shoes struggled.
Across fashion and leather goods, own-store sales rose 2% once Gucci was taken out, according to TheIndustry.fashion. It is worth being honest about what that pattern suggests: inside the same group, the houses known for craft and restraint, Bottega Veneta and Brioni among them, held up better than the one most associated with the monogram. It echoes what Brunello Cucinelli’s raised forecast showed earlier this month, from outside the big groups.
Kering is also shrinking its physical footprint. It made 105 net store closures in the first nine months of the year, 25 of them at Gucci, and now expects at least 125 for 2026, up from the 100 it targeted in July, according to the call and TheIndustry.fashion. Alexander McQueen plans to close half of its stores by the end of the year; that house parted ways with its creative director earlier this month, as we reported in our story on Seán McGirr’s exit.
What is GucciCore?
GucciCore is a new line of everyday wardrobe pieces that Kering says will be in Gucci stores during November. On the analyst call, management described it as complementing Primavera, the more fashion-forward offer aimed at higher-end clients, and as broader, more daily product for the core wardrobe. No prices were given.
The logic is easy to follow. If fashion-led collections are not bringing enough people into the stores, give them something they will wear every week. The risk is just as easy to see, and Fibre2Fashion put it as a question on 24 October: can Gucci sell everyday essentials without diluting its luxury image? Everyday pieces live or die on fabric, cut and make, because the wearer handles them constantly. A plain knit or a white shirt with a famous label on it is measured against every other plain knit and white shirt on the market, including those from small workshops that charge a fraction of the price.
The reader who wants to judge GucciCore when it lands has a simple test. One. Read the composition label before the price tag; our guide to what the fibre percentages on a clothing label really tell you covers what to look for. Two. Check the inside: seams, finishing at the hem, the weight of the fabric in your hand. Three. Ask what the piece would be worth to you with the label cut out. If the answer is a fraction of the price, you are paying for the name.
Is Gucci cutting its prices?
No, according to Kering, and its explanation is worth understanding. On the call, management said it is clarifying Gucci’s product and price architecture, not repositioning the brand’s prices. The price reductions some shoppers have noticed were limited to a small number of seasonal items from earlier creative periods, part of clearing old inventory.
The house also said average unit prices rose in every region, helped by handbags and mid-range products, and named two bags priced at around €3,000, the Borsetto and the Paparazzo, as successes. Handbags are at the centre of the rebuild, with ready-to-wear and shoes as the next priorities, according to TheIndustry.fashion. Management told analysts: “Our priority is to rebuild desirability.”
For a shopper, that means two things. Full-price Gucci is not getting cheaper, and older-season stock may appear at reductions as it is cleared. Neither changes what the individual piece is made of.
Is a Gucci bag still worth buying?
It can be, but only on the merits of the specific bag, and a brand in the middle of a rebuild is the clearest case for judging the object rather than the name. Gucci has been through creative resets before, and each one left behind bags that aged well and bags that dated within two seasons. Which is which is rarely obvious from the price.
A practical way to think about it runs through four channels. One. Vintage and estate: earlier Gucci pieces in plain leather, bought secondhand and checked properly, often show the house’s craft at its best for a fraction of a new price. Our step-by-step guide to checking a designer bag before buying secondhand applies directly. Two. Independent designers and craft workshops, where the money goes into leather and labour rather than marketing and store leases. Three. Accessible luxury, the Polène, DeMellier and Toteme tier, which is worth handling side by side with a Gucci bag before you pay the monogram premium. Four. Selective mainstream luxury: if you buy new Gucci, buy a structured leather piece with a history, not this season’s logo statement. The mid-tier mass market, with its borrowed silhouettes and synthetic linings, is the one place to skip entirely.
What happens next for Gucci?
The next markers are GucciCore’s arrival in stores in November and Kering’s full-year results early next year. Kering’s ReconKering plan, launched about six months ago, runs a rebuilding phase to the end of 2028, according to TheIndustry.fashion, so the company itself is not promising a quick turnaround. Its balance sheet gives it room to wait: net debt fell to €3.3 billion at 30 June from €8 billion at the end of 2025, helped by the €4 billion sale of Kering Beauté to L’Oréal.
Whether the creative renewal under Demna brings people back into the stores is the question the next two or three quarters will answer. Kering told analysts that Demna and his team are working to rejuvenate the offer and that Gucci’s newness is still being rebuilt.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Gucci?
Gucci is owned by Kering, the French luxury group that also owns Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron and Pomellato. Gucci is its largest house, accounting for €1.291 billion of the group’s €3.345 billion third-quarter revenue.
How much did Gucci sales fall?
Gucci’s third-quarter revenue fell 4% on a reported basis and 6% on a comparable basis, which strips out currency and changes to the business. Sales in Gucci’s own stores fell 9% on a comparable basis, while wholesale rose 45%.
Is Gucci closing stores?
Yes, selectively. Kering said it made 25 net closures at Gucci in the first nine months of the year, part of 105 across the group, and expects at least 125 group-wide in 2026. It said the closures are running faster than planned because lease negotiations went well, not because the list has grown.
When does GucciCore come out?
Kering said GucciCore, a line of everyday wardrobe pieces, will reach Gucci stores during November. Prices have not been published.
Is Gucci going out of business?
No. Gucci still generated more than €1.2 billion in a single quarter, and Kering has cut its net debt sharply this year. The house is in a multi-year rebuild, with sales falling, but that is a very different thing from closing.
The honest reading
Gucci’s problem is not that its customers have stopped paying; the ones who walk in are spending more. It is that fewer people want to walk in. That tells you the logo alone is no longer carrying the business, and the parts of Kering that are growing are the ones built on craft, jewellery and restraint. For a buyer, the conclusion is the same one that applies to every brand in transition: judge the leather, the stitching and the shape in front of you, and let the name be the last thing you pay for, not the first.
The next move is yours.
Sources: Kering third-quarter 2026 revenue release · Kering Q3 earnings call transcript (Investing.com) · TheIndustry.fashion · Fibre2Fashion · Fashionista
