PPR to sell retail units "sooner the better": report

PARIS (Reuters) - French retail and luxury group PPR (PRTP.PA) wants to sell its European retail divisions "the sooner, the better," the Wall Street Journal quoted the group's chief executive as saying in its Tuesday edition.

Disposals will include electronics retailer Fnac and furniture business Conforama, leaving PPR to focus on luxury brands and mass-market labels, the WSJ said.

"We want to transform the group into something more homogenous," the paper quoted CEO Francois-Henri Pinault as saying. PPR's stable includes fashion houses Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, as well as mass-market label Puma.

Pinault wants to use the cash from the retail disposals to buy apparel and accessories brands to create a mass-market division, the WSJ added.

(Reporting by James Regan; editing by Simon Jessop)