Sales of core leather goods, including an "unbelievable sell-through on a worldwide basis" of the new horse-bit handbag were yesterday cited by Gucci CEO Domenico de Sole for his confidence in the brand's autumn season. 

 "I feel very confident going forward that we'll have a strong fall for the Gucci brand,"  de Sole said in an interview with Women's Wear Daily .  As recently as two months ago Gucci posted a 96% drop in profits, a result which de Sole described as ‘the perfect storm’.

The slump in the luxury goods sector was also blamed by France’s Pinault Printemps Redoute for the 58% drop in its first half profits, posted today.  Pre-tax profits plummeted to Eur118.3  million from the Eur283 million seen a year earlier.   Already the major shareholder in Gucci,  PPR is now gearing up to take full control of the Florentine fashion house by raising  Eur3 billion in funds.

Elsewhere in Italy, fashion group Mariella Burani has agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in its luxury leather goods unit, Antichi Pellettieri, to a LVMH-controlled fund for 25 million euros ($27 million).

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