Kering returns to growth as Gucci's slide narrows and its jewellery houses surge
Kering's group revenue rose again in the second quarter of 2026, as a slower Gucci decline and an 18% jump at its jewellery houses offset a group still working through its reset.
Kering, the French luxury group behind Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Boucheron, returned to revenue growth in the second quarter of 2026, reporting group sales of €3.65bn, up 2% on a comparable basis, according to the group's own half-year results released this week. First-half revenue came to €7.22bn, up 1% comparable even as currency effects left the reported figure down 3%.
Gucci, the group's largest and most troubled house, remained a drag: first-half revenue fell 9% on a reported basis and 5% comparable, to €2.76bn. But the pace of decline eased in the second quarter, to a 3% reported and 2% comparable fall, which Kering said reflected a seven-percentage-point sequential improvement in the brand's retail sales.
The growth came from elsewhere in the portfolio. Kering's jewellery houses — Boucheron and Pomellato — brought in €252m in the second quarter, up 18% comparable and 15% reported, with Boucheron reaching what Kering called record levels on strong growth in Japan and Asia-Pacific, and Pomellato maintaining its momentum in Japan and North America. Kering Eyewear added €476m, up 8% comparable, which the group described as solid growth across its major regions.
Profitability told a more complicated story. Recurring operating income came to €921m, a 12.8% margin, up 40 basis points on the first half of 2025. But net income of just €189m sat far below the €355m recurring net income Kering reported once one-off items were stripped out — a gap the group attributed to non-recurring charges.
For a desk tracking Japan, the detail that matters is where the jewellery houses found their growth: Boucheron's record quarter came on the back of Japan and Asia-Pacific demand, a market that has been Kering's most consistent bright spot through a year in which Gucci's core leather-goods business has struggled to hold share. The open question is whether a narrower Gucci decline marks the start of an actual turn or simply a softer comparison base — Kering's own language, framing this as "performance improvement" rather than a return to growth for Gucci specifically, suggests the group itself is not yet calling it done.
% change year on year, comparable basis