>> good morning, i'm lizzy burden with your bloomberg business update. happy memorial day in the u.s., happy bank holiday in the u.k.. we can look to continental europe for some market action.

the dance in germany hire a temp of 1% and in italy, hire 2/10 of 1%. shares kind of struggling for traction across the broader stoxx 600 this morning. volume is like when adding to the confusion with the ecb chief economist saying that the ecb is on track to start cutting rates next month. but we're going to have to keep rates in restrictive territory all year. you can see the central breakdown, utilities top of the basket higher 8/10 of 1%. as we look ahead to the wall street open tomorrow, you got u.s. futures struggling for direction as well, flat to the downside. gold a touch higher and brent trading at $82 per barrel. in terms of our top stories this morning, the ecb needs to keep its policy in restrictive territory. the central bank chief economist told the financial times that

rates can move down within "the zone of restrictiveness" what confirming that the first cut is slated for the next meeting tarring major surprises. elsewhere, the bank of japan has signaled there is room for raising interest rates after japan shifted away from an inflation nor. the deputy governor said the end of the battle with deflation is insight while the governor found a way to proceed cautiously. and bill gross said that the bond market would be more disruptive if donald trump were the u.s. president rather than joe biden. the cofounder of pimco told the financial times that trump's advocacy over tax cuts makes his victory the more bearish of the candidates. that is your bloomberg business update. >> you always look different because you are the first woman for the first agent, the first indian, the first person of color. you're always the first, you are always underestimated. people don't know what to

expect. francine: she's in charge of one of the most exclusive luxury brands in the world, chanel. the french fashion house made the move to appoint her the top job. previously human resources veteran, she spent three decades at unity firm for switching from the world of consumer goods to beauty. the firm's history is legendary. from its founder to its fans. it is a chance to make history. >> i wanted to look good doing it. >> i speak to her about her professional and personal journey, how it defines her leadership style and her unique approach at the top of luxury. francine: thank you so much for joining us here on bloomberg. >> delighted to be here. francine: what is it like being a chanel chief executive? >> it is energetic.

the sector is doing well. it is a great place to be. francine: what kind of difference do you want to make? is it on the business, is it, sustainability? leena: i want to lead chanel into the future by protecting what is core to us, or taking what is unique about us. and by evolving as an iconic business and brand. it's obviously important to understand the context we operate in. the context we had externally is very dynamic. macro economic challenges, inflation, complete fragmentation. winning hearts and minds of people it's so difficult today's day and age. ai, there is not a week you don't hear about ai.

all of this is happening externally, and internally it has been a phase of rapid growth. in the last 10 years, we have more than doubled our revenue. we've more than doubled the number of people who work for us. we've more than doubled our distribution presence. we've more than doubled the number of countries we have, so that is a lot of growth. so my role along with my leadership team is to ensure that we make coherent these changes, that we make sense of these changes and they are constantly shifting what is next. francine: as far as i can remember, chanel with this beautiful, high-end luxury. everybody wanted the product but it was always quite secretive and there has been an opening in the last couple of years through events, podcasts. why is that? can a high-end luxury company no longer be secretive? leena: never having been in the world of luxury, sophistication or refinement, didn't know what

to expect when i came to chanel. it is a very humble company, people are truly humble and you've met many of my teammates. and it comes from a sense that we don't say things unless we've really done them. so high integrity. we would rather do things before we speak about them. and i think part of the opening up is also as we've grown larger and i explained some of the internal context, being in so many markets, having so many people work for us, it becomes important to be clearer and more open about who we are, what we stand for. it is a 100-year-old company, it is important to see what we do and to continue to be a beacon of inspiration. francine: is that because we are buying luxury differently, so clients and customers want more of a story than they did 10, 15 years ago? leena: there's no typical client

and note one reason to engage in luxury. truly we see all kind of clients, people who are longtime fans of chanel, people who are dedicated buyers of cotoure. we see a lot of gen z and l4. 35% of luxury consumers are going to be gen z and alpha. the vitality is huge because each of those clients has a different set of reasons for why they engage with us. they bind because they want to buy less and better. they buy because it is a financially wise investment, but everybody buys for different reasons. for me, it is part of continuing to build a brand, a reputation, a company. and telling our story in engaging ways to also serve clients. francine: you have to speak differently to the younger generation? leena: not really.

our story of craftsmanship, our story of how many hours goes into making this jacket, like 100 hours, all handmade is still the core of our story. our craftsmanship. it is still have people engage with luxury, the quality of it, the beauty of it. it then fud gives us all joy. that is still a very big reason how people look at luxury. in the story of her dna and what she means for us. her spirit of constantly innovating and radical ways. because when she designed it was about the freedom of movement. it was about anticipating the needs of the modern woman. it was about cross body bags so that women could ride horses. it was about supporting women to be whoever they wanted to be. it was about being on this

journey of self-discovery with women, and that core part of our story doesn't change. it is the story of being, supporting women to be and become the best versions of themselves, to discover themselves, and that story still engages no matter what age you are. the core of our story really doesn't change. how we see it might change. there are more channels than you and i can count, all sorts of things, instagram, tiktok. so the media channels might change, but the core of our story is still very much who we are. francine: chanel was a pioneer and when you talk about her it is also maybe telling a little bit about your story. you have a unique story. you grew up in a town in india where not many females were educated to a higher level. so what was that journey like? leena: they both a long journey.

i grew up in a small town of the southwest of india in the world of luxury, refinement, sophistication was very far away from where i grew up. it was a small town like any other. most of my memories are of me running barefoot in my town or having my little bike and running around. women being ambitious was not the norm. i remember my mother constantly sand who will marry you, you are so ambitious. you really know what you are going to do with your life. so very limited access. i did engineering after so if convincing everybody in my family that engineering was good for girls, which is great. beginning in the my dority about living a lot more about the world of technology which we all are now part of. then it did my management studies, i had a hands-on experience, work in frontline

sales, road trucks in the mornings, going to the trade selling tea. it was an adventure. it meant being constantly underestimated. it meant that you always look different because you are the first woman or the first brown person, the first asian, the first india, the first person of color to lead a global luxury brand. you are always the first, always underestimated. people don't know exactly what to expect. they are suspicious of what your agenda might be and along with it, the responsibility of making it easier for those who come after you. i feel a tremendous privilege, tremendous sense of responsibility to make it easier which means questioning norms, being a role model, mentoring as many people as i can. trying to make it easier for others. francine: you like a challenge. this there a challenge that you shy away from? leena: every single thing i've

done is almost as if somebody has said it can't be done. i remember i said i want to be in the night shift. they said we don't put women in the night shift. i said how lively a successful manager if i don't know how one third of our people work? in some ways it has fueled some of my determination, it has fueled some of my, ok, i'm going to show this is possible. it also gives me courage because i feel sometimes i'm not just doing it for me, but for everyone who comes after me. so it fuels my determination and my courage. i always tell women who asked me for advice saying put your hand up for the most difficult job, for things that are challenging. go in there and lean into things that are difficult, that are challenging because that is what gives you the greatest credibility and respect mutation as you build your career. francine: coming up, the

long-term outlook for luxury and the changing role of what it means to be a chief executive. francine: chanel is behind some of the most recognizable designs and fragrances in modern fashion. the french luxury houses still privately held by the billionaire family involved with the company over the past century. i continue my rare interview with the firm's chief executive.

the high-end luxury, does that go even higher, that there a lot of players in the fashion world right now, and it is really the ones that are very high that will do well, and does that also justify some of the price increases that we've seen? leena: our prices are related to our cost prices. we use exquisite raw materials and our production, as you know, is very rigorous, laborious, handmade. so we raise our prices according to the inflation that we see. we've also made a commitment to price harmonization across the world. which means a client should not experience excess price differentials no matter where they by. francine: the market -- secondhand market is also something we are seeing more and more. what does that mean for a company like chanel? leena: we've famously not been

on e-commerce. we want our clients to buy from our beautiful stores because we believe that clients must enjoy the immersive experience where they build a relationship with the fashion advisor, the boutique assistant, which is so magical and so core to the chanel story. leena: francine: how do you see the china market compared to the u.s. market? you kind of have a base that stays for quite some time. leena: china is a very central market for the luxury ecosystem because of the appreciation of refinement and sophistication. it is a very important market for us. i came back recently from china and i was really happy to see the energy and vibrancy in the market. we continue to run our business for the long-term and continue to invest in china for the long term. similarly, i see u.s. as a

market for luxury, it always has been. but if you keep the long-term perspective, you continue to invest. we just beautiful watches and fine jewelry store on the fifth avenue. it is absolutely breathtaking. everything that you would expect in a boutique. great personalization, intimacy, beauty. things that uplift you. we believe in both these markets. francine: it is probably tougher being a chief executive in 2024 than it was for the last 20 years. we don't really know what ai brings, either. leena: it is definitely more challenging. one of my principles as leader is about tapping into connective intelligence because i truly believe that these -- the days of the superhero leader are well and truly behind us. they are crises on multiple levels. to imagine one individual can

help answer all the questions, no chance. that is why i believe in collective intelligence. listen to every voice. it's very important to me that i am not just listening to the dominant voices in my room, but listening to all voices around the table. francine: is that why you also lead by empathy? you say you lead and lift, which is not always easy. leena: i was going to a place and a factory nfl that it was not safe women i would go back and fight the battle make sure it was safe for women who came after me. always questioning norms, challenging what was happening so i could make it easier for others to come after me. it is beautiful in chanel, 60% of my management team are women. it is easier to set into place everything, to support and create a more equal world. francine: would you ever go into menswear?

leena: it is a rare time in our history where we have a female founder, female ceo, email creator of action. so it is a rare time. i think we support women everywhere in such a beautiful way. we do make things for men. blur is one of the largest selling perfumes for men and i hope it stays that way. we are by women, for women and we are here to empower and support women on the journey of becoming. leena: i forgot the perfume. there's things that people don't understand about chanel or we talk about the foundation because for so long it was all caps in-house. but you also have other brands. how do you see all of these companies working together? leena: we are the world leader in many categories. there is the fashion which is well known.

we are in fragrances in beauty and skin care. and one of the things with my leadership team, we started working on will be called a beacon of inspiration for the next hundred years, we call the hundred year plan. we started putting some building blocks which is having a positive impact on the world and sustainability and empowerment. so we are one of the largest philanthropic organizations dedicated to women empowerment and girls. francine: it's amazing, not many people know that. leena: 100 million as soon it came in and now we've increased that. so we are truly one of the largest organizations in the world. we work with 237 partners in 50 plus countries on beautiful programs that support women to be free to shape their destiny. francine: coming up, how chanel

is trying to change luxury and how her background in hr is helping to shape her mindset as a chief executive. francine: leena nair is used to

breaking tradition and changing norms in the workplace, becoming the chief executive of one of the most prestigious names in luxury. she tells me how chanel is positioning for the future of fashion and what it means for her legacy at the iconic firm. how difficult is it for a big, luxury company to be sustainable? you have very ambitious goals. leena: i'd like us to set the bar for luxury. i'd like other luxury place to be inspired by what chanel does every day. we are one of the few luxury players who want to really reduce our carbon emissions. for example, in carbon emissions, we are reducing our logistics, transport and carbon footprint to do it digital. chanel.com saw an increase in traffic of 30%. francine: how much of this comes

from the heart, trying to do good, and how much does this also play with consumers? in 5, 10 years there will be even more focus on this. leena: i think clients believe luxury is sustainable because they know we make things and we make them in beautifully and we make them by hand, and a genuine desire by clients to see us the sustainable is only going to go up. they buy because they want to buy less and by better which is the right mindset to engage with luxury. it is going to be increasingly important. francine: do you need to be a risk taker? the idea that as a chief executive you need to be careful, but is there anything coming where he would challenge or risk-taking? leena: i think for all of us, the world today is so complex and moving fast that you are constantly adjusting.

for me, we are a courageous brand because we walk in the footsteps of a courageous woman. chanel lift the life you wanted, courageously, passionately, made the choices she wanted. and one of her values is audacity. so for me, audacity is so important. you call it risk-taking, i call it audacity. francine: i actually prefer audacity. it has a certain cachet. what have you learned about yourself as chief executive? you were in charge of hr for unilever, and massive company. visit different actually being in charge of the company van being in charge of hr? leena: when i was moving to chanel, a mentor told me you are doing a quadruple jump. i said what do you mean? it is change on so many dimensions. it is public to private, it is

to luxury, it is from anglo dutch to french heritage. i had to take french classes. it has been change on all dimensions. it has been all dimensions. the rarity is not available everywhere. it is the balance between timeless, for a new. it is different. the principles of business and of leadership are transferable across sectors. how to run a business across multiple countries, multiple product categories, multiple geographies, multiple cultures. how to galvanize and inspire teams across multiple cultures. there are principles that hold you in good stand because people are people at the end of the day. they have motivations, dreams,

aspirations. they want to engage in a particular way. being in chanel has taught me to be more patient, more long-term. the treadmill of unilever is a different world so it has taught me to be more patient. it has taught me to appreciate a lot more. i want to change the world but look good while doing it. francine: i love that. do you think that your legacy? leena: i do. i hope people see that i am a purpose let a visionary leader which means you a lot of time thinking about what are you doing, what are you getting back, what will be the difference you make? for me, the biggest thing is if 100 years from now people look back and say that we at chanel did stuff today that inspires them, that helped them question norms about what they are doing, things that have redefined the

norms and supported women everywhere to feel like they can be the best version of themselves, i think that would be something that i would feel good about. if i made a few women in the world dream a little bit more about what they could achieve in their lives, i would feel very fulfilled in my life and career. francine: do you think you will ipo chanel? leena: no, ipo is not on the table. we love the privilege of being an independent company, being able to make long-term decisions. francine: best and worst piece of advice you've ever been given. leena: best piece of advice, i would actually do two. one is fall in love with the job you have. don't wait for the perfect job, fall in love with the job you have. in the other, which my husband tells me a lot, enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the destination. we are always in a hurry to get

somewhere. just enjoy. breathe a bit and enjoy the journey as much as the destination. worst piece of advice? i think usually when you get the worst piece of advice you just ignore it and forget about it. i've received advice like, you know, when i was the only woman in the room so many times in my career, i received advice like stay quiet for as long as you can and try to blend in. you are already standing out because you look different from the rest and i think that is terrible advice. i think it is really important to feel safe to be who you are and takes courage to be who you are. you change by the people you are. francine: thank you so much for joining us today.

lizzie: good morning. happy memorial day if you are in the u.s., hope you are having a good bank holiday here in the u.k.