Is Ponant Part of Kering? Artémis, Kering and Ponant, Explained
Ponant is often described as a Kering cruise line. That is not accurate. Through Artémis, the Pinault family holds about 42.3% of Kering and acquired Ponant in 2015. Ponant is not a Kering house.
On Newayer Travel’s voyage list, Ponant is one of the names that appears most often. From the Antarctic Peninsula and the Antarctic three islands to emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea, from the Arctic three islands to the geographic North Pole at 90°N, and on to the 2028 Vanilla Islands charter, Ponant voyages have been popular with guests and have built a following among people who travel with us more than once. Zhang Xinyuan, founder and chief executive of Newayer Travel, has also visited Ponant’s headquarters in Marseille to speak with its teams about what travellers from China need, and about the details of service.
Because we recommend these voyages often, guests ask the same question: are Ponant, Gucci and Saint Laurent the same company? You will often see the phrase “a luxury cruise line under the Kering group.” It sounds tidy. It is not accurate. This article uses public sources to set out the Pinault family, Artémis, Kering and Ponant, and what that background does and does not mean when you choose a ship.
1. The short answer
Ponant is not a Kering house. What they share is the investment group behind them. The French Pinault family manages its investments through the family holding company Artémis. Artémis is a major shareholder in Kering, and in 2015 it acquired Ponant. Kering and Ponant are two companies under the same principal shareholder. They are not a parent company and a sub-brand.
2. Four levels, kept apart
The useful distinction is between four levels that do not sit on top of one another: the family, the investment holding company, the listed luxury group, and the cruise operator.
The Pinault family
The Pinault family is the French business family at the top of this structure. It controls Artémis.
Artémis
Artémis is the Pinault family’s investment holding company. Its interests run across luxury goods, cruising, art auctions, media, wine estates and other fields.
Kering
Kering is a listed luxury group. Public information shows that Artémis holds about 42.3% of the shares. That makes Artémis a major shareholder. Kering is not a wholly owned subsidiary of Artémis.
PONANT
Ponant is a French operator of luxury and polar expedition cruises. Artémis acquired it in 2015. It sits in the Artémis portfolio alongside Kering. It is not a Kering house.
In one line: the Pinault family controls Artémis; Artémis holds about 42.3% of Kering and acquired Ponant in 2015. The 42.3% figure is Artémis’s published stake in Kering. This article does not infer what share Artémis holds in Ponant.
3. Which houses belong to Kering
If Ponant is not on Kering’s list of houses, who is? Grouped by activity, the houses below are the ones Kering presents. The mix can change. The Kering website is the place to check the current list.
Fashion and leather goods
Gucci (Italy), Saint Laurent (France), Bottega Veneta (Italy), Balenciaga (a French luxury fashion house founded in Spain), McQueen (United Kingdom), and Brioni (Italian tailoring and men’s fashion).
Jewellery
Boucheron (French high jewellery and watches), Pomellato (Italian high jewellery and coloured stones), DoDo (jewellery, charms and personalised pieces), and Qeelin (high jewellery drawing on Chinese cultural imagery).
Other platforms
Ginori 1735 (Italian porcelain, tableware and decorative objects) and Kering Eyewear, the platform that runs eyewear for Kering houses and licensed brands. It is not itself a single luxury house. Kering’s former beauty business, Kering Beauté, was acquired by L’Oréal on 31 March 2026 and is no longer a Kering division.
Ponant is not on that list.
4. What else Artémis has invested in
Artémis is not only a luxury-goods investor. Public examples include Ponant; Christie’s, the international auction house for art and luxury goods; CAA (Creative Artists Agency), in entertainment, sport and talent representation; the fashion houses Courrèges and Giambattista Valli, which appear in the Artémis portfolio and not in Kering’s; wine estates including Artémis Domaines; and media interests including Le Point.
Not all of these are owned 100% by Artémis. For the current stake, control and legal structure, use the latest disclosure.
5. A one-line reminder
Artémis is the Pinault family’s investment holding company, and it invests across industries.
Kering is the listed luxury group in which Artémis holds about 42.3%. Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo and Qeelin sit under Kering.
Ponant is the luxury cruise operator Artémis acquired in 2015. It belongs to the Artémis portfolio. It is not a Kering house.
Courrèges and Giambattista Valli likewise belong to the Artémis portfolio, not to Kering.
6. What this means when you choose a ship
Ponant’s positioning does share something with French luxury culture. French dining, design and service on board are often compared with luxury houses. Ponant is still a cruise operator. The standards for judging a cruise company are not the standards for judging a fashion house, and the two should not be treated as the same thing.
There is also no need to over-connect the dots. Artémis invests across art, wine, luxury goods and cruising, all of them high-end consumer settings. A shared holding company is not evidence that those businesses already run joint marketing or share customers. Claims that tie Ponant directly to Kering houses lack a public basis.
The comparison worth making is the fleet and its expedition ability, polar operating experience, service, time ashore, how scarce the destination is, and what premium the brand carries. The ship, the route and the expedition team decide what the journey feels like.
7. Newayer Travel and Ponant: the partnership sits on specific voyages
Newayer Travel was founded in 2002 and has focused on Arctic and Antarctic cruising since 2009. It was the first company in mainland China to join the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). It works with more than 20 luxury cruise companies. Ponant is one of the closest of those partnerships.
Ponant voyages now on the Newayer Travel website cover the operator’s most representative kinds of travel:
Polar
Le Commandant Charcot, a PC2 icebreaking expedition ship, operates voyages to the geographic North Pole at 90°N, emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea, and routes that go beyond the Antarctic Circle. Le Boréal, L’Austral and Le Lyrial sail the Antarctic Peninsula and the Antarctic three islands as cruise-only departures. Le Soléal sails a 22-day voyage into the Ross Sea.
Charters
Two January 2028 Vanilla Islands departures link the Seychelles, Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius on Le Dumont-d’Urville: 12 nights aboard a Ponant ship chartered for the journey, with Chinese-speaking hosts throughout.
Culture
In September 2027, Kering Craft and the Italian Coast sails on Le Boréal from Livorno to Venice. It is an Italian coastal voyage created by Ponant with Kering, with Kering workshops and an archive exhibition on board. It also illustrates the point of this article: the connection between Kering and Ponant is real, and it shows up in a specific voyage, not in a chart that would make Ponant a Kering house.
The conversations at the Marseille headquarters come back to the experience of each journey. Which route fits, which cabin, and which season: a Newayer Travel advisor can compare those against the voyage, the ship and the cabin. Cabins and fares are confirmed by an advisor.
8. Sources
This article is compiled from public information. Shareholdings, portfolios and brand ownership can change. Before citing it formally, check the Artémis group website, the Kering website, and the relevant annual reports and regulatory filings.
References
Artémis group presentation (groupeartemis.com)
Artémis on its investment in PONANT
Artémis on its investment in Kering