In the early 1960s, a 27-year-old Frenchman named Francois Pinault started his first business, a small timber company called Les Etablissements Francois Pinault. Given that Pinault left school at age 16 to begin working in his family’s timber business, the nature of his first solo venture made sense. Within a decade, the Cote d’Armor-born Pinault had set his eyes on expansion, buying up various “small, undervalued firms around the country to expand his [own] timber outfit,” according to the Guardian. He built a thriving business of his own in the process – the luxury goods group that would become known as Kering.
Pinault’s acquisition endeavors escalated as time went on, as aided by the French government, which “sought to save jobs [in the 1970s] by offering entrepreneurs like Mr. Pinault chances to acquire failing privately owned companies at fire sale prices, often as little as one franc,” the New York Times’ John Tagliabue wrote in 1997. “Pinault gradually amassed a fortune by buying up companies this way, then using government aid to turn them around and sell them at a profit.”
Firmly cemented in the timber business when he set out, over time, Pinault’s targets began to look differently: lumber manufacturers became construction materials providers and paper suppliers. And in the early 1990s, more change came into fruition when Pinault – by way of his company Pinault SA – acquired Au Printemps SA, the French department store chain, and the Pinault-Printemps Group was formed. Two years later, in 1994, the group was renamed (again) to Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, following the merger of La Redoute – a French multi-line retailer specializing in ready to wear apparel – within the group.
But the most significant change to the group’s direction would not come until the late 1990s, ten years after Pinault’s company – then still called Pinault SA – listed on the Paris stock market in 1988, raising capital in order to achieve broader diversification. This would set the company, which is now known as Kering, on a path to becoming one of the largest luxury goods groups in the world, under the direction of Pinault, himself, and then under the watch of his son François-Henri.
Its reign as a luxury powerhouse would begin largely with a single purchase: a Florentine leather goods company named Gucci. From there, the Pinaults, a long way from the elder’s timber trading, distribution and processing days, would swoop in and buy up the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and other fashion houses, such as Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, thereby, transforming its single fashion offering, Gucci (which, at the time fell under the umbrella of an entity called the Gucci Group), into a multi-brand luxury goods group.
Here is a look at the timeline behind the building of Kering into one of world’s most valuable luxury goods groups …
1999: Gucci
In March-May 1999, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute acquired approximately 40 percent of the Gucci Group for about $2.9 billion, following a prolonged and highly public battle with LVMH.
In 2003, PPR increased its stake to 67.6 percent, and in 2004, to 99.4 percent, securing full control of the group.
> For a full look at Kering’s quest for the Gucci Group, you can find that here.
1999: Yves Saint Laurent
The fashion house founded in 1961 by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé became part of the Gucci Group in 1999. Following PPR’s acquisition of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent was integrated into the group via an internal reallocation of assets: Gucci acquired YSL couture and fragrance licenses from Sanofi Beauté, which was already owned by PPR. The transaction is often mischaracterized as a third-party acquisition, but was in fact a group-level restructuring.
1999: Sergio Rossi (Exited)
The Gucci Group acquired a 70 percent stake in Italian footwear brand Sergio Rossi, later taking full control in 2004. The brand was sold in December 2015 to Investindustrial, marking Kering’s exit.
2000: Boucheron
The Gucci Group acquired 100 percent of French jewelry and watch house Boucheron from Schweizerhall Holding AG for approximately $145 million.
2001: Bottega Veneta
In February 2001, the Gucci Group acquired 66.7 percent of Bottega Veneta, and in July 2001 raised its stake to 78.5 percent, establishing control.
2001: Balenciaga
In July 2001, the Gucci Group acquired a 91 percent stake in Balenciaga, which was founded in 1919 by Cristobal Balenciaga.
2001: Stella McCartney (Exited)
When Stella McCartney launched her eponymous label in 2001, the Gucci Group acquired 50 percent in a true joint venture. In March 2018, McCartney exercised a long-standing contractual option to repurchase Kering’s stake, restoring full independence to the brand.
2001: Alexander McQueen
The Gucci Group acquired a 51 percent stake in Alexander McQueen, a British luxury fashion house founded by designer Alexander McQueen in 1992, as part of a joint venture.
2007: Puma (Exited)
In 2007, PPR acquired an initial 27.1 percent strategic stake in Puma. Control was achieved only after a tender offer, when PPR increased its stake to 62.1 percent. In 2018–2019, Kering distributed Puma shares to its shareholders, fully spinning off the brand to refocus exclusively on luxury.
2011: Brioni
Brioni, an Italian menswear couture house founded in 1945, was acquired by Kering in November 2011.
2011: Girard-Perregaux and Jeanrichard
After a strategic partnership with Sowind Group beginning in 2008, Kering acquired a 50.1 percent controlling stake in 2011, bringing Girard-Perregaux (and its sub-brand JeanRichard) under its umbrella.
2011: Volcom (Exited)
Kering acquired surfwear brand Volcom in 2011. In April 2019, Kering sold Volcom’s intellectual property to Authentic Brands Group as part of its shift to a pure-play luxury strategy.
2012: Qeelin
In December 2012, Kering announced its acquisition of a majority stake in Chinese fine jewelry brand Qeelin, which was founded in 2004.
2013: Christopher Kane (Exited)
In January 2013, Kering acquired a 51 percent stake in Christopher Kane. Following a transition period, Kane ultimately reacquired full control, and the brand ceased operations in the early 2020s.
2013: Pomellato
In 2013, Kering acquired a majority stake in the Italian jewelry company, Pomellato, founded in 1967. The acquisition also saw Kering bring Pomellato-owned Italian charm company DoDo under its umbrella.
2013: Altuzarra (Exited)
Kering acquired a minority stake in Altuzarra in 2013. Founder Joseph Altuzarra bought back Kering’s stake in 2020, restoring full private ownership.
2013: Tomas Maier (Shuttered)
Kering entered into a joint venture with Tomas Maier in 2013. In 2018, Kering shuttered the brand as part of portfolio rationalization, with Maier retaining ownership of the trademark.
2014: Ulysse Nardin
Kering acquired the 171-year old Swiss haute horlogerie brand Ulysse Nardin in 2014.
2021: Vestiaire Collective
Kering announced in March that it has taken a 5 percent stake in secondhand marketplace Vestiaire Collective, leading a $216 million funding round alongside American investment firm Tiger Global Management.
2021: Cocoon
Kering revealed in June 2021 that it has taken an undisclosed stake in Cocoon, a London-based startup that specializes in facilitating rentals for luxury handbags.
2021: LINDBERG
In June 2021, Kering revealed that it would take a 100 percent stake in Danish eyewear brand LINBERG in furtherance of “an important milestone in the successful expansion of Kering Eyewear and [an acquisition that] perfectly fits with its development strategy.” The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
2023: Créations Perrin
Kering acquired Créations Perrin, a French leather-goods manufacturer specializing in glove-making and leather craftsmanship.
2023: Kering Beauté (Exited)
Kering launched Kering Beauté in 2023 as a dedicated beauty division, marking a strategic expansion beyond fashion and leather goods into high-margin fragrance and cosmetics. The division’s formation coincided with Kering’s acquisition of luxury fragrance house Creed, which became its inaugural brand and the cornerstone of a vertically integrated beauty platform.
Kering has entered into a binding agreement granting L’Oréal the right to acquire Kering Beauté as part of a broader strategic alliance valued at approximately €4 billion ($4.7 billion), aimed at reducing debt and refocusing the group on its core luxury fashion business. The agreement includes the sale of the House of Creed to L’Oréal and establishes 50-year exclusive fragrance and beauty licensing partnerships for several Kering Houses, including Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory and labor-law approvals.
2023: Creed (Exited)
Kering acquired 100 percent of luxury fragrance house Creed in June 2023 from BlackRock’s Long Term Private Capital platform, which had owned the brand since 2020. While Kering did not disclose financial terms, the transaction was widely reported to value Creed at approximately €3.5 billion.
In October 2025, Kering announced a binding strategic agreement with L’Oréal under which L’Oréal will acquire Creed as part of a broader €4 billion transaction encompassing Kering Beauté and long-term fragrance and beauty licensing arrangements.
2024: Valentino
Kering acquired a 30 percent stake in Italian fashion house Valentino from Mayhoola in 2024, with a contractual path to full acquisition in the years ahead. Under the original agreement announced in 2023, Kering had the option to acquire 100 percent of Valentino by no later than 2028. However, in September 2025, Kering and Mayhoola amended their shareholders’ agreement, postponing Mayhoola’s put options to 2028 and 2029 and deferring Kering’s call option to 2029, meaning the ownership structure will not change before 2028 at the earliest.
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