Timber (1962-1988) In 1962,
François Pinault opened the Établissements Pinault in
Brittany (France) specialized in timber trading with a 100,000-franc loan from the bank.
Retail (1988-2013) In 1988, Pinault S.A. was listed on the
Paris Stock Exchange and started a new period of growth in the retail sector through major acquisitions. In 1989, Pinault S.A. purchased 20% of CFAO, a French distribution conglomerate active throughout Africa. In 1990, Pinault S.A. and CFAO merged, and François Pinault became head of the newly formed group which acquired
Conforama (French furniture retailer) in 1991,
Printemps (French department stores) in 1992, which also owned 54% of
La Redoute (French mail-order shopping retailer), and
Fnac (French bookstore, multimedia and electronics retailer) in 1994. The group was renamed Pinault-Printemps-Redoute in 1994. Those investments marked the cornerstone of the group's shift towards luxury. Through Gucci, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute acquired
Boucheron in 2000,
Bottega Veneta and
Balenciaga in 2001, and signed partnerships with
Alexander McQueen and
Stella McCartney. In 2003,
François-Henri Pinault, son of the founder François Pinault, became general manager of
Artémis, the family holding company that controlled Pinault-Printemps-Redoute. In 2005, he was named president and CEO of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, a year after the group had reached a 99.4% ownership of
Gucci. The group continued acquiring luxury brands:
Sowind Group (watch company owner of
Girard-Perregaux) and
Brioni (Italian tailor) in 2011; Pomellato Group (jewelry company owner of
Pomellato and Dodo) and
Qeelin (jewelry) in 2012;
Christopher Kane (British fashion house) and
Richard Ginori (porcelain) in 2013; The group also sold its retail assets: Le Printemps in 2006; Conforama in 2011; CFAO in 2012; Fnac in 2012; La Redoute in 2013. PPR developed a 'sport & lifestyle' portfolio with the acquisition of
Puma in 2007, and
Volcom in 2011, all of which were sold the following decade.
Luxury (since 2013) In March 2013, PPR changed its name to Kering. Bottega Veneta hit the billion-dollar sales mark in 2012. In 2014, Kering created its own eyewear production arm, Kering Eyewear (1.5 billion euros revenue in 2023), and acquired the eyewear brands
Lindberg in 2021 and
Maui Jim in 2022. Balenciaga was turned into a disruptive fashion house and Yves Saint Laurent hit the 2-billion dollar sales mark in 2019. From 2015 to 2022, the group's revenue was essentially driven by Gucci's year-on-year high performance, the latter hitting the 10-billion dollars sales mark in 2022. The group divested its interests in
Stella McCartney in 2018, Christopher Kane in 2019, and its watch division (Girard-Perregaux and Ulysse Nardin) in 2022. Since 2015, Kering has been hosting the program
Women in Motion in partnership with the
Cannes Festival to highlight and reward women's contribution to cinema, a program that was extended to the
Rencontres d'Arles photography festival in 2019. In 2023, Kering's annual results declined to 19.6 billion (-4%), mainly caused by the deceleration of Gucci's streak. That same year, Kering acquired the fragrance company
Creed, 30% of the fashion house
Valentino, In 2025,
Luca de Meo was appointed CEO to give a new impetus to the luxury group. One of his priority focus was to address the group's financial dependency on Gucci. In October 2025, Kering sold its beauty division, which includes Creed, to
L'Oréal in a deal that values the segment at approximately $4 billion. == Activities ==