PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) - French luxury group Kering

reported a 10% drop in first-quarter sales on Tuesday,

dragged down by a slowdown at its star label Gucci, which

suffered from weakness in Asia while undergoing a design

overhaul.

The group said its first half operating profit would be

"sharply lower" due to the revenue decline and its ongoing

investment in its brands.

Sales for the three months ending in March stood at 4.5

billion euros ($4.82 billion), down 10% on a comparable basis.

Kering had warned on March 19 that sales over the period

were likely to drop by around 10%, dashing hopes it had stemmed

sales declines at Gucci, the century-old Italian fashion house

which accounts for half of group sales and two-thirds of profit.