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Leila Al-Khatib

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  • 3 min read
  • Kering aims to double its 2025 operating margin of 11.1% by the midterm horizon.
  • CEO Luca de Meo unveiled the ReconKering strategy during Capital Markets Day in Florence.
  • The company will cut Gucci outlets by one-third and refurbish two-thirds of stores.
  • Leather goods, ready-to-wear, and jewelry categories receive fresh revenue targets through 2030.

Gucci eyes a revival plan as Kering pushes a bold reset to escape a long luxury slump. CEO Luca de Meo shared the strategy during Capital Markets Day in Florence on Thursday. The plan, named ReconKering, targets double operating profits and stronger returns for patient investors. Kering wants to lift its 2025 operating margin of 11.1% to over 20% return on capital. Shares dropped 4.3% by mid-morning as markets weighed execution risk against ambitious long-range goals.

Kering turnaround plan sets new financial targets

The Kering turnaround plan reshapes how the group runs stores, inventory, and pricing across its brands. Kering will refurbish or relocate two-thirds of Gucci outlets before the 2030 deadline. You will see selling space drop 20% and total store count fall by one third. The group wants to cut overall inventory by 1 billion euros over the next twelve months. De Meo stated clearly, “A model that worked for a decade is no longer effective for us.”

From my standpoint, these targets signal a sharper focus on quality revenue over flashy scale. Kering also wants to double sales density at Gucci by streamlining stores and lifting productivity everywhere. The ReconKering strategy guides every major decision inside the Florence-based luxury conglomerate today.

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Gucci eyes a revival plan through product and category resets

Gucci eyes a revival plan that places product identity and craftsmanship back at the center. Gucci leather goods will double their contribution to 20% of brand revenue by 2030. Kering targets an extra 1 billion euros from bags, 600 million from shoes, and ready-to-wear. Jewelry and watches will add another 500 million euros across the midterm horizon. De Meo said his priority is to make Gucci unmistakable, not louder or more complex.

He also noted the brand has lost some of its shine during the recent downturn. The team now builds fewer narratives, each one sharper and more coherent for loyal customers worldwide. You can see this reset already in stores through tighter collections and cleaner category pyramids.

Luca de Meo tackles the wider luxury slump

Luca de Meo took over seven months ago and moved fast on debt and structure. He closed the sale of the beauty division to L’Oreal in March for 4 billion euros. Citi analysts asked how quickly Gucci can return to healthy growth during this luxury slump. Gucci posted its 11th straight quarter of organic sales decline, according to Tuesday’s Kering report. The Middle East conflict also weighed on demand across several key retail regions this quarter.

Kering wants to reduce group dependence on Gucci by strengthening Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga. Saint Laurent will push fashion authority, menswear, and Asia with a sharper focus through 2030. Bottega Veneta becomes the emblem of deep luxury inside the wider group portfolio. Balenciaga targets younger shoppers through bold creative direction and tighter category execution. Gucci eyes a revival plan, and the wider Kering turnaround plan shapes every brand inside the group.

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  • Business, Fashion, Gucci

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Abu Dhabi free visa
  • Tourism

The Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers is here, and the rules are refreshingly plain. Book a holiday of at least three nights in the emirate, and your UAE entry visa comes at no extra cost. The Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, known as DCT Abu Dhabi, covers the fee. That charge runs Dh285, or roughly $77 a person.

The offer began on August 1 and runs through October 31, 2026. During this pilot window, DCT Abu Dhabi will support up to 20,000 visas.

Who can claim it

Treat this as a targeted deal, not an open door. The Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers applies to Indian passport holders who depart from India. You need to book through a participating travel partner or an online travel agency. Your stay must run at least three consecutive nights at a hotel in Abu Dhabi. A return flight from India is also required.

One detail matters here. Travellers cannot apply on their own. The free UAE visa for Indian tourists flows only through approved partners, so the package is the key.

Behind the scenes, travel companies have two ways to process the visa. One route uses a Destination Management Company appointed by DCT Abu Dhabi. Pick this path, and the department pays the visa cost directly.

The second option lets partners keep their existing destination management companies. Under this route, DCT Abu Dhabi reimburses Dh285 for every visa issued. Either way, you receive a UAE entry visa without paying more, and the Abu Dhabi holiday package carries the cost.

The math adds up fast. At 20,000 visas and Dh285 each, the pilot represents about Dh5.7 million, close to $1.5 million in direct travel support.

Why Abu Dhabi is targeting India

India sits near the top of Abu Dhabi tourism priorities. The Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers extends a longer effort to strengthen air links and build closer ties with the travel trade. Cheaper entry means an easier yes for a family weighing a trip. Indian nationals also form the UAE’s largest expatriate community, nearly 35 percent of the population, with about 800,000 living in Abu Dhabi alone.

Abdulla Yousuf, Director of International Operations at DCT Abu Dhabi, framed the goal in market terms. He said India remains one of the destination’s most important international markets, and the department wants to keep making Abu Dhabi more accessible for Indian travellers.

Yousuf gave a second reason too. By covering the visa, he said, the department hands travel partners another strong reason to recommend the emirate. He pointed to longer stays as the payoff, with visitors spending more time across the emirate’s culture, entertainment, hospitality and natural attractions.

What travellers should check

So where does this leave you? If a three-night Abu Dhabi trip already sits on your list, the Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers trims a real cost from the total. Ask your travel partner whether they take part before you pay. Book early. The 20,000 cap could fill before October, and once it does, the free window closes.

  • 3 min read
DFSA advances financial competitiveness
  • DFSA

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has introduced a series of regulatory initiatives and technological updates to streamline procedures, expand digital asset regulation, and integrate agentic AI across its operations to bolster the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Over the past 12 months, the regulator updated its crypto token regime and revised securities regulations to limit offering rules strictly to DIFC-based issuances, reducing operational overlap while maintaining investor protection.

Updated crypto token rules came into force in January 2026, granting licensed firms greater responsibility for assessing tokens under strict risk management guidelines. The DFSA also recognised three fiat-backed stablecoins for financial services within DIFC and signed a memorandum of understanding with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

The authority launched public consultations to update the Islamic finance framework and initiated its largest review of the collective investment funds framework since 2010.

On the supervisory front, the DFSA signed an agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism to enhance information sharing while continuing enforcement actions against regulatory breaches, including misleading conduct and non-compliance with suspicious transaction reporting.

Mark Steward, Chief Executive of the DFSA, said the regulator is building on its 21-year foundation by applying a risk-based approach that offers flexibility and transparency. He noted that DIFC’s attraction rests on a framework providing regulatory certainty, reducing complexity, and aligning standards across the region.

The developments coincide with significant growth across DIFC-supervised sectors in 2025. Total assets of operating banks reached $251 billion, up 19 percent year-on-year, while capital markets recorded $30.6 billion in new listings, led by sukuk and ESG-linked instruments. DIFC now hosts 27 of the world’s 29 systemically important global banks and China’s top five banks, contributing to Dubai’s rise to seventh globally in the Global Financial Centres Index.

In line with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and DIFC Strategy 2030, the DFSA’s second annual AI survey published in November 2025 revealed that 52 percent of DIFC firms now use AI technologies—up from 33 percent in 2024—with 60 percent planning further expansion in 2026. The regulator is also advancing cybersecurity resilience by upgrading third-party technology risk management and broadening cyber threat intelligence sharing.

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  • 3 min read
ADNOC Gas Q2 2026 net income
  • Abu Dhabi

ADNOC Gas Q2 2026 net income reached $665 million, a figure that carries the strain of the months behind it. In early April, security-related incidents hit the Habshan processing site, and Reuters tied them to intercepted drone and missile attacks in the region. Supply from the site fell. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz slowed. The company still cleared the top of its own forecast, which had run from $400 million to $600 million.

Margins in the domestic gas business held firm, and that steadiness carried the numbers when exports came under pressure. Recovery at Habshan moved faster than planned. Gas supply returned to 85 percent, past the year-end target the company had set in May. Managers leaned on inventory and rerouted logistics to keep customers supplied while the Strait of Hormuz disruption dragged on. ADNOC Gas supplies close to 60 percent of the UAE’s sales gas and reaches customers in more than 20 countries, so a stalled export lane touches a wide base. None of it erased the damage. It softened the edges.

A larger bet behind the numbers

The quarter’s real weight sits in a decision made beside it. ADNOC Gas took final investment decisions on Phases 2 and 3 of its Rich Gas Development project and awarded $8.2 billion in engineering, procurement and construction contracts. Wison Engineering won the $3.9 billion Phase 2 award to build a new gas processing train at Habshan. Tecnimont took the $4.3 billion Phase 3 award for a natural gas liquids fractionation train at Ruwais. Added to the $5 billion Phase 1 committed in 2025, total spending on the project reaches $13.2 billion. Chief Executive Officer Fatema Al Nuaimi framed the awards as a step up in ambition rather than steady progress.

ADNOC Gas Q2 2026 net income against a longer plan

Set against that spending, the ADNOC Gas Q2 2026 net income reads as one marker on a long line. The company lifted its ADNOC Gas EBITDA growth 2030 target to 60 percent versus 2023, up from an earlier goal of more than 40 percent through 2029. Reaching it means roughly $28 billion of investment between 2026 and 2030. Four megaprojects anchor the plan: Ruwais LNG, MERAM, the Rich Gas Development work, and Estidama, together expected to generate $13.4 billion in In-Country Value. MERAM is due in 2027, with the others advancing on schedule.

Part of the efficiency story runs through hardware. ADNOC Gas is putting aerial drones, four-legged inspection robots and tank-climbing crawlers across its sites. The company says the tools can cut some inspection costs by up to 75 percent and finish certain checks as much as 15 times faster. They also pull workers out of hazardous spots. The direction points toward more autonomous operations over time, and it feeds the same goals behind the earnings.

Dividend and the road ahead

Shareholders drew a clear signal. The board approved a $940 million ADNOC Gas dividend for September, holding to a promise of 5 percent annual dividend growth through 2030. ADNOC Gas remains the largest dividend payer on the Abu Dhabi exchange. Guidance for the third quarter runs from $600 million to $800 million, and it assumes the Strait stays contested. If maritime routes reopen by the fourth quarter and pricing steadies, the company expects full-year net income between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. The ADNOC Gas Q2 2026 net income gives that range a firmer base. Read against a year ago, the picture is harder. Reuters reported net income fell 52 percent from $1.39 billion in the same quarter of 2025. The ADNOC Gas Q2 2026 net income shows a company earning through the pressure, not around it.

  • 3 min read
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