Good Humor Man to Run Gucci

The Gucci Group (Milan, Italy) has announced the hiring of Robert Polet, currently president of the global ice cream and frozen foods division of Unilever House (London), to succeed president and ceo Domenico De Sole.

Polet’s division makes brands such as Good Humor ice cream bars and Gorton’s fish sticks.

De Sole and creative director Tom Ford announced their resignations from Gucci in October 2003, after the luxury fashion brand company decided not to renew their contracts. Both men are set to leave the company at the end of April. Polet will start July 1.

“We’ve seen a lot of people, inside and outside the industry,” said Serge Weinberg, the ceo of Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (Paris), the French retail group that controls Gucci. “We were looking for a leader. This is about the Gucci Group — it’s not about the Y.S.L. brand or the Gucci brand. It’s about a group of companies with a lot of things to be done.”

Weinberg said that Polet — who has run an $8 billion Unilever unit with more than 40 brands, including Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Birds Eye frozen vegetables — had broad experience developing brands. The Gucci Group had revenues of $3.18 billion last year. But Weinberg also restated his firmly held belief that day-to-day decisions would rest with the managers of the Gucci Group’s divisions, like Mark Lee, the president of Saint Laurent, and Giacomo Santucci, his counterpart at Gucci.

“The fashion industry is so much about the relationships you form, with designers, stores, the press,” said Robert Burke, the fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, which sells Gucci and sister brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen. “Let’s hope this person is a quick study.”

Retail analyst Dana Telsey of Bear Stearns, said, “P.P.R. is looking to make its own mark and imprint on Gucci,” adding that in recent years, other fashion companies, like The Limited and Abercrombie & Fitch, have successfully gone outside the industry for managers. “There’s a lack of executive talent in the luxury goods overall,” she said.

The Gucci Group — whose net income for the fourth quarter of 2003 rose a less-than-expected 2 percent, to 97.3 million euros ($115.4 million), from the period a year earlier — derives all its profit from the Gucci brand, especially handbags and other accessories. The nine other luxury labels in the group, including Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta, have struggled. Among the crucial issues facing the new leadership is how to maintain Gucci’s prestige without Ford, and at the same time move its sister brands toward profitability. Some analysts worry that Mr. Polet’s lack of retailing experience will make that job harder. About half of Gucci Group’s revenues come from its global network of stores.

De Sole’s and Ford’s resignations spurred much speculation when they were announced, and the news of Ford’s replacement in March also generated some buzz. He was replaced by four unknown designers.