Gucci-owner PPR to Be Renamed Kering to Mark Transformation

PPR SA, the French owner of Gucci and Puma, will change its name to Kering to cap the company’s transformation into a luxury and sporting goods specialist.

PPR will adopt its new moniker on June 18, Chief Executive Officer Francois-Henri Pinault said at a presentation in Paris today. The company’s fifth name since it listed on the Paris stock exchange in 1988 is supposed to evoke the idea of caring. It is derived from “ker,” meaning home in Breton, a language spoken in Brittany, France, where Pinault’s family comes from, and “ing,” expressing the idea of movement, the CEO said.