The luxury goods tycoon has waged a five-year battle to get the sale revoked, but has lost every round so far. Last month Mr Pinault failed to get a retrial, and now the only course for him is to go to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court. The defeat adds to the luxury goods tycoon’s other woes: apart from the Executive Life affair (see The Art Newspaper, No.141, November 2003, p.39), he has just lost the “dream team” of Domenico de Sole and Tom Ford, the ace designers who revived his Gucci brand but who are leaving in March 2004, when Mr Pinault’s company Pinault Printemps La Redoute has to buy out the remaining Gucci shares at the agreed price of $101.5. At the time of going to press, Gucci shares stood at around $84.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'Sésostris III, Act IV'