PARIS (Reuters), -Kering reports sharp sales growth for the fourth quarter on Thursday. This was higher than expected given holiday periods. Marketing investments and events celebrating its 100th anniversary helped to boost Gucci’s popularity.

On a comparable basis, sales of French luxury goods rose 31.9% to 6.14 billion dollars ($6.14billion) over the past three months. The reason was a 31.6 percent increase at Gucci which exceeded the 17% forecast.

Gucci will be relieved to announce a strong return after a third quarter that was disappointing. Kering (PA): The label represents 60% of its revenue and about 70% of its profit.

Kering reduced advertising expenses and other costs as the 2020 pandemic hit. Kering also increased its marketing budget to increase star label visibility in 2021. The results were particularly impressive in the second half of the year with the launch of Aria in stores.

While Ridley Scott’s film, “House of Gucci”, was not directly related to the brand but helped boost the company’s visibility and sales, it did release the movie in November.

Jean-Marc Duplaix from Kering Finance Chief stated to journalists that prices would rise in “targeted ways” in 2019. This is after the brand’s price hikes in 2020 and 2021. This week, Rival Louis Vuitton (owned by LVMH) raised prices to compensate for rising costs and preserve margins.

Duplaix claimed that even with an inflationary climate and higher transportation and raw material prices, Duplaix is confident the company can continue improving its profitability.

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