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What do dishy actor Tom Hiddleston and footballer Jamie Vardy have in common? It is not just that both are a long shot to play the next Bond. Each also share a sponsor in Kering, the Paris-based purveyor of clothes and accessories stretching from Gucci loafers to Puma sportswear. Those contrasting marques may strike some as a poor fit, but the market does not mind. Its shares have already outrun the MSCI Europe luxury goods index by a tenth this year. Kering has made the right moves to revitalise Gucci. Next, it must turn around its other ailing brands.

Kering boss François-Henri Pinault has an exacting eye for putting together a well-matched pair. He installed a new chief executive and designer in one go at Gucci last December. This was a risky move, as Gucci is by far the biggest contributor to Kering’s profits, accounting for 60 per cent of operating earnings. The experience at Brioni, Kering’s top-end suits label, shows how hard choosing the right team is: it fired its new designer after just six months. Kering’s third-quarter results rewarded Mr Pinault’s boldness. Gucci sales swelled by 17 per cent, helping Kering’s shares to a 9 per cent gain on the day.

There is more to do. Bought back in 2007 on double digit profitability, earnings fromPuma have halved in the past two years, on an operating margin of just 3 per cent. Kering claims a turnround has begun this year and that on a constant currency basis gross margins have improved. Revenues kept pace with the rest of the group in the quarter. A bigger concern is leather specialist Bottega Veneta, a fifth of group profits. Years of extraordinary growth ended recently. It too has a new CEO no doubt expected to turn over the brand’s pricey handbags and have a clear out.

Looks alone will not keep shareholders happy. New leading men will have to get their hands dirty, too, if only to boost free cash flow enough to ensure dividend coverage. But so far Kering wears its change of garb well.