Kering — AI Citation Intelligence
Key Performance Indicators
Performance by Category
| Category | Tests | Mention Rate | Context | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Awareness | 24 | 100% (24/24) | Brand identity, portfolio ownership, competitive positioning | Excellent |
| M&A Reputation | 32 | 93.8% (30/32) | Acquisition strategy, brand autonomy, heritage preservation | Strong |
| Executive Leadership | 16 | 93.8% (15/16) | François-Henri Pinault visibility, industry leadership | Strong |
| Investment / Business | 12 | 91.7% (11/12) | Financial performance, stock comparison, investor sentiment | Strong |
| Sustainability / ESG | 36 | 75.0% (27/36) | Environmental initiatives, ESG leadership, circular economy | Opportunity Area |
Platform Performance Comparison
Competitive Featured Brand Rankings (Unbranded Queries)
| Rank | Company | Featured as Primary Brand | % of Unbranded Tests | Revenue Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LVMH | 55 of 100 tests | 55.0% | ~€86B revenue (2023) |
| 2 | Kering | 37 of 100 tests | 37.0% | ~€20B revenue (2023) |
| 3 | Hermès | 3 of 100 tests | 3.0% | ~€13B revenue (2023) |
| 4 | Chanel | 1 of 100 tests | 1.0% | ~€18B revenue (2023, est.) |
| 5 | Prada Group | 1 of 100 tests | 1.0% | ~€4B revenue (2023) |
Mention vs Featured Brand Analysis
| Company | Mentioned in Response | Featured as Primary | Conversion Rate | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kering | 87.0% (87/100) | 37.0% (37/100) | 42.5% | High mention rate, moderate feature conversion |
| LVMH | 71.7% (71/100) | 55.0% (55/100) | 76.7% | Lower mention rate, very high feature conversion |
| Richemont | 48.5% (48/100) | 0% | 0% | Mentioned frequently, never featured |
| Hermès | 24.2% (24/100) | 3.0% (3/100) | 12.5% | Lower mention and feature rates |
Citation Sources by Type
Top Cited Media Outlets
- Business of Fashion 43 cites
- Forbes 22 cites
- Bloomberg 14 cites
- Vogue Business 13 cites
- Financial Times 10 cites
- McKinsey & Company 22 cites
- Bain & Company 13 cites
- Quartr (Financial Data) 11 cites
- BCG 5 cites
- Yahoo Finance 9 cites
- Seeking Alpha 4 cites
- Morningstar 3 cites
- LVMH.com 65 cites
- Richemont.com 38 cites
- Stellamccartney.com 18 cites
- Burberryplc.com 11 cites
Strategic Considerations
Sustainability/ESG Visibility Opportunity
Observation: Kering appears in 75% of sustainability/ESG queries (27/36) versus 93-100% in other categories. In 9 sustainability-focused queries, AI platforms did not mention Kering despite industry-leading initiatives like EP&L accounting and biodiversity strategy.
Context: Queries where Kering was absent include "Most sustainable luxury companies," "Luxury brands with best sustainability practices," "Luxury companies with strong environmental commitments," and "Luxury brands circular economy implementation." These are precisely the categories where Kering has demonstrable leadership.
Suggested Approach: This represents a content architecture opportunity rather than a crisis. Consider enhancing sustainability content with:
- Clearer headings and structured data on sustainability pages (H1, H2 tags with key terms)
- Third-party validation content (awards, rankings, certifications) more prominently featured
- Comparison language AI platforms can cite ("compared to industry average," "first luxury group to...")
- Specific metrics and timelines (not just commitments but progress updates)
Realistic Expectations: Improvements would likely manifest over 6-12 months as AI platforms re-index content. This is an optimization opportunity, not an emergency requiring immediate overhaul.
Improving "Mention to Featured" Conversion
Observation: Kering is mentioned in 86.9% of unbranded queries but featured as primary recommendation in only 36.4% — a 41.9% conversion rate. LVMH converts at 77.5%. This means when Kering appears in responses, it's often at "medium prominence" alongside others rather than as the clear recommendation.
Context: This pattern appears most in comparative queries where AI platforms list multiple options. In 54 of 86 mentions, Kering received "medium prominence" (mentioned but not featured). Only 28 received "high prominence."
Potential Actions: To increase prominence when already being cited:
- Strengthen superlative positioning ("leading," "first," "largest") with factual support
- Increase content that directly answers "which is best" or "top choice" queries
- Develop more authoritative third-party sources citing Kering as industry leader
- Create content that positions Kering's differentiators (sustainability + heritage + brand autonomy) as decision criteria
Measurement: Track "featured brand rate" separately from "mention rate" in future audits to measure improvement in prominence, not just presence.
Executive Thought Leadership Expansion
Observation: François-Henri Pinault appears in 29.4% of all tests (35/119), primarily in executive leadership and M&A reputation queries. In broader industry discussions, Bernard Arnault (LVMH) receives more frequent mention.
Context: This reflects both market realities (LVMH's scale advantage) and content availability. Pinault receives strong recognition in sustainability leadership contexts and Kering-specific queries but less visibility in general "luxury industry executive" discussions.
Potential Actions: To increase executive visibility in neutral industry discussions:
- Byline articles on industry trends in tier-1 business media
- Conference keynotes with published transcripts or videos
- Thought leadership on emerging topics (AI in luxury, Gen Z consumers, digital transformation)
- Interview placement in business/trade media beyond sustainability topics
Measurement: Track "luxury industry executives" and similar unbranded queries quarterly to gauge improved visibility over time.
Complete Query Analysis
Interactive table showing all 119 tests. Use filters to explore specific categories, platforms, or search for particular queries. Sort by clicking column headers.
| Query | Type | Category | Platform | Kering Mentioned | Featured Brand | Prominence |
|---|
Methodology & Data Collection
Study Parameters
This analysis tested 30 unique queries across 4 major AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini) on November 3-4, 2025, generating 120 completed tests. Queries were designed to reflect common corporate communications priorities across five categories: corporate awareness (20% of tests), sustainability/ESG (30%), M&A reputation (27%), executive leadership (13%), and investment/business analysis (10%).
Competitive Positioning Methodology
Critical Distinction: This analysis measures two separate metrics: (1) mention rate — whether a brand appears anywhere in the response, and (2) featured brand rate — whether a brand is presented as the primary recommendation or most prominently positioned choice. The competitive rankings are based on "featured brand" status in unbranded queries, which reflects true competitive positioning when users don't specify a preference.
Raw mention counts across all tests (including branded queries) can be misleading. A brand may achieve high mention rates through branded queries where its name appears in the query text, inflating total counts without reflecting organic competitive strength. Therefore, all competitive analysis focuses exclusively on unbranded queries where no brand names appear in the query text.
Query Design
The query set included 27% branded queries (explicitly mentioning Kering) to establish baseline visibility and 73% unbranded category queries to test organic discovery. Branded queries serve as quality checks and should perform at ~100% mention rate. Unbranded queries provide the truest test of competitive positioning, showing which brands AI platforms surface when users don't specify a preference.
Data Collection Process
Each query was submitted to all four platforms using their latest available models (GPT-4o-mini for ChatGPT, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Sonar Pro for Perplexity, and Gemini's default model). For each response, researchers captured: (1) whether Kering was mentioned, (2) all competitor brands mentioned, (3) which brand was featured most prominently, (4) Kering's prominence level if mentioned, (5) all citation URLs provided, and (6) specific context (sustainability, acquisition strategy, executive association).
Important Limitations & Context
- Temporal snapshot: Results reflect AI platform algorithms as of November 3, 2025. Algorithms evolve continuously, and findings may differ with different timing or as platforms update their models and training data.
- Query selection bias: The 30 queries reflect common corporate communications priorities but cannot cover all possible ways users might search for luxury conglomerate information. Different query phrasing would yield different results.
- Competitive context: LVMH's market dominance (€86B revenue vs Kering's €20B, 75+ brands vs 14) naturally influences AI platform recommendations. The competitive gap in AI citations (55.6% vs 36.4% featured rate) is notably smaller than the revenue gap, suggesting Kering performs above its weight class.
- Competitive landscape scope: Analysis focuses on major luxury conglomerates (LVMH, Richemont, Hermès, Chanel, Prada Group) and does not include smaller luxury groups, independent brands, or emerging competitors.
- Platform model versions: Each platform uses different underlying models with distinct strengths, weaknesses, and training data cutoffs. Results reflect GPT-4o-mini (ChatGPT), Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Sonar Pro (Perplexity), and Gemini's default model as of November 2025.
- Sample size: While 120 tests provide directional insights, they represent a relatively small sample for definitive conclusions. Patterns should be validated through additional testing.
- Geographic and language limitations: All queries were conducted in English from a U.S. geographic context. Results may differ for other languages, regions, or cultural contexts.
- Validation recommended: These findings should be validated through complementary research methods (user studies, brand tracking, traditional media monitoring) before making significant strategic decisions.
- Citation measurement: AI platforms do not consistently provide full citation URLs for all sources referenced. Some citations were captured directly from responses, while others were inferred when platforms mentioned sources without URLs.
Recommended Next Steps
- Conduct quarterly re-testing using the same query set to track trends over time
- Expand query coverage to include product categories, specific brand portfolio queries, and geographic variations
- Implement recommended content optimizations for sustainability/ESG visibility
- Monitor executive thought leadership placement in tier-1 business and trade media
- Track "featured brand rate" separately from "mention rate" to measure prominence improvements
- Validate findings through user research, brand tracking studies, and traditional media monitoring