At Chanel, the focus is on cashing in; at Kering, it is on cutting debt. The Wertheimer family, which controls the maison, is set to receive a dividend of USD 5.8 billion for 2025. That would bring total dividends collected over the past decade — generated by Chanel’s profits — to USD 21 billion. Chanel’s debt? Zero. The Pinault family, by contrast, has tasked Luca de Meo with reducing debt — which peaked at EUR 10.5 billion at the end of 2024 — and restructuring Kering. On Thursday 28, the French luxury giant will hold its annual general meeting, and investors are sharpening their questions to learn more about the “ReconKering” plan, which has not convinced everyone. Nor us.

Chanel cashes in

Mousse Investments, the Cayman Islands-based offshore holding company owned by the Wertheimer family that controls Chanel, received a dividend of USD 5.7 billion for 2023. Then, in 2024, no dividend was paid out. For 2025, however, according to a UK filing reported by Bloomberg, the holding company is set to receive USD 5.8 billion, more than half of which will be paid this year. That USD 5.8 billion adds to the more than USD 15.1 billion collected since 2017, bringing the total to over USD 21 billion.

By comparison, the Arnault family at LVMH had received around EUR 23 billion in dividends by the end of 2025, while the extended family controlling Hermès reportedly pocketed roughly EUR 7.2 billion. The Wertheimer brothers — Alain, 77, and Gérard, 75 — have a combined net worth of around USD 85 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Chanel “has always maintained a very consistent financial policy with zero net debt at year-end, under all circumstances”, a company representative told Bloomberg.

Towards the shareholders’ meeting

Debt reduction is one of the key reasons why the Pinault family, which controls Kering, brought in Luca de Meo from Renault. Another is reviving Gucci, the group’s flagship brand. According to Business of Fashion, Kering’s investor day “left several questions unanswered regarding the French group’s portfolio”. Questions that have also reached Italian trade unions, which want clarity on the impact ReconKering could have on employment levels across the production supply chain. Thursday’s annual shareholders’ meeting will give investors another opportunity to understand more about de Meo’s plan, particularly concerning the group’s other brands, given that Gucci’s strategy has already been widely dissected.

Some indications emerged during the investor day. Saint Laurent — which accounts for 18 per cent of Kering’s revenues — aims to expand leather goods until they represent one third of the brand’s turnover, with a 40 per cent increase in women’s handbags by 2030. At Bottega Veneta, which generates 12 per cent of revenues, the objective is to double sales from non-leather products by 2030 without undermining the brand’s exclusivity. Balenciaga, which contributes 9 per cent of revenues, plans to relaunch womenswear and leather goods. One wonders whether any investor will ask de Meo: “How do you intend to revive Gucci’s leather goods business — and that of the other brands — while at the same time planning to reduce leather consumption?”