Heir to Gucci Empire Reveals Plan to Double Bet on Fashion

PARIS -- When he bought Italian fashion house Gucci NV a decade ago, French billionaire François Pinault steered his family's lumber and distribution business into the high-profile, high-profit world of luxury goods.

Now Mr. Pinault's son is taking an equally transformative step: stripping the company of its once-core French retail business in order to focus entirely on global consumer and luxury brands, such as its high-end Yves Saint Laurent and mass-market Puma labels.

PPR chief François-Henri Pinault, with wife actress Salma Hayek       

François-Henri Pinault, chief executive of PPR SA, is embarking upon a new plan to sell the company's European retail divisions, including the popular electronics retailer Fnac and the Conforama discount furniture stores. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal at PPR's headquarters near the Arc de Triomphe, Mr. Pinault detailed, for the first time, his plans to remake his family's company.

"The sooner, the better," said the lanky, sandy-haired 47-year-old, although he said he hadn't given himself a deadline for the planned divestments. "We have a major weakness -- retail. It is a business that cannot develop quickly abroad," because it takes consumers a long time to warm up to an unfamiliar name, Mr. Pinault said.

Read More