PARIS — Gucci Group will announce today that Christian Bedat is stepping down as creative director and chief executive officer of Bedat & Co., WWD has learned.
The Geneva watch guru, who sold his namesake brand to the luxury conglomerate in 2000, is expected to leave this week. WWD first reported on Sept. 18 that Bedat was eyeing the door.
Bedat could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
However, it is understood his exit stems partly from differences with the conglomerate over where he and his company fit within its management structure.
Gucci Group said it would soon appoint a new ceo at Bedat & Co., who will report to Boucheron ceo Jean-Christophe Bedos. In the interim, Bedos will steer Bedat’s development with its existing creative team.
Although Gucci Group does not report figures for its smaller designer brands, market sources said the Bedat business is healthy and that Gucci sees potential to grow its distribution network.
The brand also plans to launch an image campaign next year with ads featuring model Carmen Kass and photographed by Peter Lindbergh.
Bedat and his mother, Simone Bedat, one of the founders of Raymond Weil, introduced their brand in 1996. The collection earned quick acclaim for its creative and elegant high-end precision watches. Its model No. 3 — a tonneau-shape women’s style with straps of grosgrain or metal — was a breakthrough, particularly in the U.S., a key market for the brand.
Bedat sold an 85 percent stake in his firm to Gucci Group in 2000, at the height of the luxury acquisition spree. He sold his remaining shares to Gucci last year.
Bedat, a creative and business dynamo who owns and operates ski and activewear boutiques in Switzerland, had in recent years designed some timepieces for the Gucci and Boucheron brands. However, over the summer, a reorganization of the group’s watch division put managerial control of the Gucci brand watch business under Gucci brand ceo Mark Lee.