Puma and Gucci owner rebrands as Kering
PPR, the company that owns Puma and a number of luxury brands including Gucci and Stella McCartney, is rebranding as Kering to better reflect its corporate identity following what it calls a “radical transformation” of the business.
The company is introducing a new logo and corporate strapline “empowering imagination” alongside the new identity. It says the brand name, pronounced ‘caring’ in English, has been adopted to reflect the company’s culture of “caring for its brands, people, stakeholders and the environment”.
‘Ker’ also means ‘home’ in Breton, which the company claims is designed as a reminder of its origins in Brittany, France. The owl logo aims to represent “vision and wisdom”.
François-Henri Pinault, Kerin’s chairman and CEO, says: “Changing our identity is the logical and necessary outcome of the Group’s transformation. More than just the change in scope or activity that this new name reflects, it expresses the Group’s new identity and our corporate culture.”
Pinault adds: “Kering is a name with meaning, a name that expresses both our purpose and our corporate vision. Strengthened by this new identity, we shall continue to serve our brands to liberate their potential for growth.”
The company, which also owns Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga among others, says since 2005 it has transformed its business into a “cohesive, integrated and international” business from a conglomerate distribution business as it overhauled its strategy to focus on luxury and sport and lifestyle brands.
The new corporate brand identity will come into effect on 18 June subject to regulatory agreement.