PARIS—Gucci fell further behind its big competitors in the fourth quarter, as the Italian fashion house stumbled without tourist shoppers filling its boutiques during the pandemic.
Revenue at Gucci for the quarter was 2.3 billion euros, equivalent to $2.8 billion and down 14% from a year earlier, parent company Kering SA said Wednesday. For the entire year, revenue fell 23% to €7.4 billion.
The results mark a sharp turnaround for Gucci after years of outperformance under Creative Director Alessandro Michele. In the fourth quarter, Gucci lagged well behind the leading fashion brands of LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy SE: Louis Vuitton and Dior.
Those two brands reported surging revenue in the second half of last year after the industry was allowed to reopen its boutiques following lockdowns across the world in the first half of 2020. Revenue at LVMH’s fashion and leather-goods division—which is mostly Louis Vuitton and Dior—rose 14% for the quarter.
The drop during the pandemic has exposed Gucci’s heavy reliance on tourist shoppers, particularly for stores in Europe that have depended on Chinese clientele coming to the region. The brand is in the midst of tweaking its image to burnish its appeal among clientele older than 40, an effort partly directed at Europeans.
