London , England ( CNN ) -- The fashion brand created by Alexander McQueen is to survive despite the designer 's suicide last week , the label 's majority stakeholder Gucci Group has confirmed . `` I believe strongly in the Alexander McQueen brand and its future , '' Gucci Group CEO Robert Polet said in a statement carried on the Web site of Gucci parent PPR . The future of McQueen 's 11-store , 180 employee fashion house had been uncertain following the 40-year-old 's death , with industry experts speculating it was not successful enough to endure without its figurehead . PPR on Thursday revealed a company-wide net profit rise of 6.9 percent to €984.6 million ( $ 1,328 million ) but a 4 percent revenue fall to €16.52 billion . It did not break down figures to reveal McQueen 's turnover , but reports speculate the brand is running at a loss despite heavy celebrity endorsements . The Times of London reported on Thursday that the label had struggled to make a profit and analysis of recent accounts showed it had liabilities of more than £32 million ( $ 49 million ) . PPR boss Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement : `` Lee Alexander [ McQueen ] was a pure genius and a poet who was imaginative and original . His art went beyond the fashion world . The Alexander McQueen trademark will live on . This is the best tribute that we could offer to Lee . '' McQueen 's death last week shocked the world of fashion , with many in the industry paying tribute to a man they described as a unique talent capable of becoming a major name . A coroner on Wednesday said McQueen hanged himself in his wardrobe and left a suicide note . McQueen , who had dressed stars from Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman to Rihanna and Sandra Bullock , killed himself nine days after the death of his mother . He expressed his devastation at her death on his Twitter account days before he died . McQueen was born in 1970 in London 's East End , the son of a taxi driver and trained in London 's Savile Row , going on to study fashion at college before making his name with his own extravagant designs . French luxury brand Gucci Group acquired a 51 percent stake in McQueen in 2001 .
CNN says Alexander McQueen label to survive despite his death . McQueen , 40 , found dead at England home 40 . Reports say McQueen 's label has struggled to make profits .