Luxury brand leadership: Prada CEO exit explained

Prada announced on Sunday that Gianfranco D’Attis, the brand’s CEO, will step down effective June 30. Andrea Guerra, CEO of the Prada Group, will assume the role on an interim basis until a successor is named. Though framed as a mutual decision, the move appears to reflect deeper strategic disagreements within the company’s top ranks. D’Attis’ absence from Prada’s Spring/Summer 2026 menswear show in Milan last week had raised questions about his future. D’Attis, who made history as the first non-family member to lead the Prada brand, is stepping down after just two and a half years — a short tenure by industry standards, but not entirely unexpected given Prada’s ambitions to break into the top tier of luxury. Numbers game: How Miu Miu outpaced its parent While Prada Group reported a 17% YoY increase in revenue for fiscal year 2024 — a solid performance amid a sluggish market — growth at the flagship brand has been modest. Prada posted just 4% YoY growth for the year, and flat results in Q1 2025, falling short of expectations. Miu Miu, by contrast, has surged, with a bold Gen Z-focused strategy fueling a 60% YoY sales jump in Q1, generating 380 million euros ($436 million) in revenue, and stealing the spotlight from its parent brand. Prada has long been the group’s cash cow, once accounting for over 80 percent of retail sales. But in the 2024 fiscal year, that figure dropped to 73 percent — a sign that while the brand continues to generate significant revenue, its momentum is slowing. Crucially, it isn’t that Prada is shrinking in absolute terms, but that its growth is being outpaced — and overshadowed — by Miu Miu, which is rapidly gaining ground and diluting the flagship’s dominance within the group. The shortest tenure: D’Attis’ brief reign During his tenure, D’Attis repositioned the brand for younger consumers, launching a recycled gold jewelry line, pushing into homewares, and doubling down on the Chinese and American markets. His retail background also helped streamline store formats and refine merchandising. Yet, these moves, though strategically sound on paper, failed to translate into short-term growth. Vision clash: When strategy meets reality As the brand’s first non-family CEO, D’Attis’ departure signals more than just a leadership transition. It points to a deeper misalignment between his vision and the expectations of Prada’s top brass. The brand finds itself at a critical juncture, one where it must accelerate forward without compromising its identity. D’Attis may have offered fresh ideas, but the pace of execution likely fell short of what the group demands in an increasingly competitive and fast-moving market. In this environment, there is little patience for long-term experimentation without near-term results. What’s next: Prada's path forward Prada now stands at a crossroads between expansion and transformation. D’Attis’ departure is not merely a reflection of personal misalignment with the group’s expectations, it also underscores the brand’s urgent need for a leader who can balance retail execution with creative sensitivity, and who can translate vision into tangible growth. The challenge ahead is clear: to preserve Prada’s distinct identity while engineering steady, forward-looking momentum. That task now falls, at least temporarily, to Andrea Guerra, the group’s CEO turned crisis manager, and eventually to whoever inherits the role of brand chief next. Can Prada revive Versace like it did with Miu Miu? What Prada is doing right in APAC Runway to restaurant: Prada’s dining strategy targets Gen Z Hermès, Chanel, Miu Miu lead with entertainment Miu Miu fuses art and fashion at Art Basel Paris

Prada CEO steps down as Miu Miu steals spotlight

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Prada CEO steps down as Miu Miu steals spotlight