PARIS — Francesca Bellettini is riding high.
The chief executive officer of Saint Laurent last year steered the brand’s revenues past the barrier of one billion euros, or $1.11 billion at average exchange rates. The house posted comparable growth of more than 20 percent for the sixth year in a row, despite a change in creative direction mid-year.
Its explosive growth has turned Saint Laurent into the second powerhouse at parent company Kering, though still less than a third of the size of Gucci. Now Bellettini has set her eyes on the three-billion-euro mark, a target she has felt within reach ever since she joined the company in 2013.
“Everywhere I was looking at the brand, the potential was like an energy that was there and that was ready to explode,” she told WWD in an interview at Saint Laurent’s corporate headquarters on Avenue George V.
Among her plans for 2017 are growing Saint Laurent’s store network, including the opening this month of a second flagship in Tokyo; a deeper push into travel retail; the opening of a dedicated shoe workshop in Italy; a revamp of its e-commerce site, and heavy investment in digital communications.
Then there is the company’s planned move next year into new
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