And to think that a few years ago, François-Henri Pinault, born in 1962, at the helm of Ppr, the French luxury giant (and world number three), was mistaken by the attendant of a large New York hotel for the actor Daniel Craig, now legendary interpreter of 007. Pinault (blonde, blue eyes, sportsman's body) was even asked for an autograph. Well, now Ppr would be in the running to take over the Roman brand Brioni. Who dressed James Bond for at least five films.
Let's say, first of all, that it had to happen. François-Henri has been refocusing his group's business for some time. He is getting rid of his assets in the distribution sector (which in any case still represented 60% of PPR's turnover last year). The last sale was that of Conforama, last March, which yielded 1,2 billion. The sales of Redcats (which controls La Redoute) and that of Fnac (basically at the end of 2012) will follow (but not before autumn). With the liquidity thus obtained, Pinault has two objectives. On the one hand, he wants to reduce his group's debt, which has long been an Achilles heel for PPR, a constant criticism in analyst reports. On the other, Pinault wants to invest in luxury and lifestyle brands, where it is already present with companies such as the Italian Gucci and the German Puma.
Now, if someone wants to invest in luxury and lifestyle, moreover aiming for "medium-sized, if not downright modest brands" (these are the words of François-Henri) it is inevitable that sooner or later they will tread on Italian soil. For some time his followers had been hunting for "prey" in our country. Bulgarians? No, too big. And in fact, Lvmh, the world's number one luxury brand, engulfed him. And yet another French group, by Bernard Arnault, the eternal enemy of Ppr. Brioni, on the other hand, can be there. But if the business ends positively, what should they expect in the Roman house?
In Paris, to understand the Pinaults, one cannot fail to make a comparison with the Arnaults. François, the father of François-Henri, one who started from almost nothing (timber merchant in deep Brittany) often found himself in competition with Bernard Arnault, another who had the knack of creating a colossus, but who was already born quite rich. In 2005 François had the intelligence (and the courage) to pass the reins to his son, who in the meantime graduated from Hec, the great French business école, where he enters thanks to his own abilities and not because you are Pinault's son. Arnault, the centralizer, on the other hand, remained in the saddle at the top of Lvmh, only partially involving his sons, who didn't see even a shadow of Hec.
The arrival on the limelight of François-Henri was highly criticized in the circles of Paris that counts. It was said that he didn't have the verve and aggressiveness of his father. That he was too reserved, too shy. All too little friend of Nicolas Sarkozy (the Pinaults remained faithful to Jacques Chirac), while Arnault had immediately jumped on the bandwagon of the new President. Even the desire to focus on luxury and lifestyle, bearers of higher profits than distribution, was not initially understood.
At the same time, the “young” Pinault created the image of the modern manager, with a passion for the environment and sustainable development (to which a fixed share of the dividends is dedicated). On the Board of Directors of his group, of the 12 directors, four are women: in this too ours is different from any Arnault or Bolloré.
Another of his peculiarities (sometimes interpreted as a sign of weakness): leaving room for the managers of the companies he buys and their national peculiarities. The Pinaults did it with Gucci and they were right. Or with Bottega Veneta, which went from a turnover of 35 million euros in 2001 to 511 last year. No homologation (all the same products, all the same boutiques) in pure Arnault style, in the extreme search for synergies. François-Henri's style is different.
