Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) has hinted it could increase its stake in Italian leather goods group Gucci to 70 per cent by 2004. The French retailer bought a 42% stake in the company in 1999 in a manoeuvre to avoid the Italian fashion house falling into the hands of rival Möet Henessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH).

Another 8.5 million shares will be purchased from LVMH this month, and a further 17% can be acquired at a price lower than $101.5 a share because of a deal made with LVMH over the control of Gucci.