Prada's Andrea Guerra Calls for a Reset of Old Luxury in Wuhan

Andrea Guerra, chief executive of Prada Group, the Italian company behind the Prada fashion label, called for a reset of "old luxury" at a summit in Wuhan, China. He said brands need to be authentic, credible and able to tell a story that lets people dream.

Guerra spoke at the WWD x SKP Global Fashion & Beauty Summit, in a fireside chat with James Fallon, chief content officer at Fairchild Media Group, the parent company of WWD, the fashion trade publication. WWD reported his remarks.

Guerra joined Prada in 2023. Before that, he worked at LVMH, the French luxury group that owns Louis Vuitton and Dior, and at Eataly, the Italian food retailer. His earlier roles also included Luxottica, the eyewear maker, Marriott International, the hotel group, and Merloni Elettrodomestici, an Italian home appliance manufacturer.

On compromise, he said the word is one of the most neglected in the cultural vocabulary. He described compromise as a form of generosity. He also said he enjoys working with first-generation founders, the people who started their own companies.

He argued that a brand's core identity, which he called its DNA, changes slowly. Pushing it hard, he said, is unlikely to produce lasting results.

Guerra said he feels at home in China and is calm about its long-term prospects. He described the country as going through a period of consolidation and digestion, a phase in which businesses absorb earlier growth and settle. Customers, he said, are still there.

Looking further ahead, he predicted that the luxury goods market will become hyper-personalised, meaning products and messages tailored to each buyer. He said technology, and AI in particular, will drive that change.

Guerra has also spoken about the company's sales in recent weeks. On an analyst call reported by Reuters on 22 October 2026, he said extreme weather was the main factor behind weaker store traffic at Prada. Store traffic is the number of shoppers who walk into a shop.

Acquisitions have been another subject of his comments. In November 2025, Reuters reported that Guerra said Prada did not expect further acquisitions after its purchase of Versace closed. He said that deal was expected to close on 2 December 2025.