PPR (Paris), the luxury brand stable that includes Gucci, Balenciaga, Puma, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, is changing its name to Kering.
“Ker,” it was explained, is a Breton word meaning “home,” so the new name is intended to be “a proud reminder of our origins in the Brittany region of France,” according to chairman and ceo François-Henri Pinault.
But apparently, the new name is also meant to connote how the firm takes care of its brands and employees. “Fair, honest, positive and creative” are the four values the conveyed by the name, Pinault said.
The new name is part of a rebranding of the house into a “pure” apparel and accessories group, shedding some of the broader collection of businesses and fashion and reestablishing itself as an accessories specialist in the luxury and sport-lifestyle segments. So it will hold a public offering this year on its Fnac entertainment retailing chain and will also divest itself of the Redcats online clothing and furniture business.
The name change takes effect in June.
There will also be a new Kering logo — a stylized owl with a heart-shaped face — and the tag line, “Empowering Imagination.” Pinault said the owl was his father’s favorite animal, referring to Francois Pinault, who in 1962 opened Etablissements Pinault, initially a timber trading company.