Sales at Gucci slowed unexpectedly in the third quarter because of a resurgence of Covid-19 in Asia and the timing of a new collection, a setback for owner Kering as the French luxury group seeks to revitalise the Italian fashion house.

Gucci’s quarterly revenues rose 3.8 per cent on a comparable basis from a year earlier to €2.2bn, well short of analysts’ expectations for a 9.3 per cent increase, according to Bloomberg data. Overall group like-for-like sales were €4.2bn, ahead of analysts’ expectations for €4.1bn and up 12 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Jean-Marc Duplaix, Kering’s chief financial officer, said he expected a stronger performance at Gucci through the end of the year because designer Alessandro Michele’s new Aria collection only hit shelves in late September.