New Gucci CEO To Reveal Strategy

Robert Polet, who was once in business selling mass market products, has now been given a high-fashion upgrade, challenged to find out if he can interest the public in $1,000 handbags. Next Tuesday, both the fashion industry, where skepticism about outsiders runs rampant, and corporate investors, with their focus on the bottom line, will be watching intently as Mr. Polet, the new chief executive of the Gucci Group, explains his strategy for the first time since joining the company in July.

He has an ambitious target to announce, executives with knowledge of the plans said. Mr. Polet wants to double the sales of Gucci's own brand-name merchandise in the next seven years. There has been speculation in the fashion industry that Gucci will try to expand its presence by signing more licensing deals and moving to make its goods more affordable. But executives with knowledge of Mr. Polet's plans said he had no intention of aiming Gucci and its other luxury brands at a mass audience.

Mr. Polet is also expected to announce that instead of selling any of Gucci's money-losing brands, at least for now, he will focus on trying to turn them around. These include Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and especially, Yves Saint Laurent.

Fixing the unprofitable divisions is certain to be one of Mr. Polet's biggest problems. Except for Gucci, the rest of the company's 10 brands are losing money. The problem with trying to sell them, analysts said, is that most might not fetch more than they cost. And putting a French icon like Yves Saint Laurent on the block would probably raise such hackles that Pinault-Printemps is unlikely to try.

Since taking over from Domenico De Sole - who combined business savvy with the inspired designs of Tom Ford to rescue Gucci from near-bankruptcy in the 1990's - Mr. Polet has kept a low profile, concentrating on meeting with employees and building a business plan. Doubling sales of the Gucci brand on Mr. Polet's timetable would be ambitious, considering past performance. Its sales last year were 1.5 billion euros, down from a peak of about 1.7 billion euros (now $2.27 billion) in 2001.