Icecream man saves Gucci

Frozen-foods boss Robert Polet's three-year strategic plan for Gucci appears to have worked WWD reports.

Nearly three years to the day when he mapped out his vision, Gucci Group's president and chief executive officer has met or exceeded virtually all of the goals he set.

"All brands are on track to achieve the targets that we set for them," he tells WWD.

"What differentiates the really successful companies from the average successful companies is that you actually implement — with discipline and consistency — what you set out to do."

Among the key goals Polet met or exceeded:

-Achieving compound revenue growth for the group of 14.7 percent, ahead of his 10 percent target, with operating profits rising even faster (up 44 percent in 2006 and 55 percent in the first half of 2007).

-Steering the group's "other brands," including Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, to profitability by the end of the period, with Balenciaga meeting its goal two years ahead of schedule.

-"Fixing" Sergio Rossi and Boucheron, which have tripled in size since 2004 and entered the black one year ahead of schedule. Polet noted that, as a group, the "other brands" swung into the black in 2006.

-Growing Bottega Veneta beyond 200 million euros in sales with "solid" profitability. (The brand entered the black in 2005 and sales last year reached 267 million euros, or $338.4 million at average exchange rates.)

"I've never looked back," a beaming Polet said in his office here, the walls decorated with a mix of fashion campaigns and family vacation photos. "The last three years went in an instant."