From selling cars to selling handbags: with the arrival of Luca de Meo at Kering (Gucci, Balenciaga), is luxury becoming a sector like any other?

By Ben Voyer, Cartier Chaired Professor of Behavioural Sciences, Full Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship, ESCP Business School
Perrine Desmichel, Assistant Professor of Marketing, ESCP Business School

What do the luxury sector and the automotive sector have in common? Until recently, even asking the question would have seemed incongruous, given the apparent dissimilarity between brands engaged in mass production in search of economies of scale and those based on lavish spending and limited editions. The arrival of Luca de Meo (formerly of Renault) at the head of Kering signals a change for the group founded by French entrepreneur François-Henri Pinault, but also for the entire sector. Is playtime officially over?

During Kering’s general meeting earlier this month, de Meo officially…

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