The case could make noise in the hushed world of the luxury sector. On Tuesday April 19, inspectors from the European Commission landed in a leather goods store belonging to Gucci, a subsidiary of the French group Kering, in Milan, in northern Italy, revealed the economic and financial information agency Reuters.
It is not the only luxury group concerned. As part of a preliminary investigation, Brussels confirmed on Tuesday April 19 that it had carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies in the fashion sector, suspected of cartel “in several Member States of the European Union [UE ]”. In a press release, the Commission clarified the purpose of its operations. “The companies involved” may have “breached EU rules prohibiting cartels and restrictive business practices”. According to Reuters, Italian tax inspectors also participated in these inspections at Gucci.
“The group is cooperating fully with the Commission in the context of this investigation”, was limited to confirming Kering, in a press release, Tuesday, a few hours later, without specifying the Gucci site(s) concerned, or whether other Italian brands or French that he holds had been the subject of these investigations.
A difficult pass
The Italian brand weighs heavily in the accounts of the Kering group, chaired by François-Henri Pinault: its sales represent more than half of the 20 billion euros of its turnover in 2022. And it has been going through a difficult period since the start of its artistic director, Alessandro Michele, announced at the end of 2022 and effective from the beginning of 2023.
Led by Marco Bizzarri since January 2015, the brand has already been the subject of a very long investigation for a tax evasion dispute, during the transit of all Gucci goods in a subsidiary, in Switzerland, between 2011 and 2017. To settle this dispute, Kering paid 1.25 billion euros to the Italian tax authorities in 2019.
In March, the European Commission revealed that it had carried out inspections at the premises of the four largest flavor and fragrance manufacturers for anti-competitive practices. The Swiss Firmenich and Givaudan, the German Symrise and the American IFF are concerned.