Quality Is remembered long after price is forgotten
Gucci
Tagline
Net Worth
$18,200,000,000
Started in (City)
Florence
Started in (Country)
Italy
Incorporation Date
01st December, 1921
Bankruptcy Date
-
Founders
- Guccio Gucci
About
Gucci is a luxury brand of fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories (including jewelry and watches), makeup, fragrances, and home decoration.
Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Tuscany, in 1921. Gucci generated about €4.2 billion in revenue worldwide in 2008 according to BusinessWeek and climbed to 41st position in the magazine’s annual 2009 "Top Global 100 Brands" chart created by Interbrand; it retained that rank in Interbrand’s 2014 index. Gucci is also the highest-selling Italian brand. In the year 2013, the brand was valued at US$12.1 billion, with sales of US$4.7 billion. In the Forbes World’s Most Valuable Brands list, Gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand, with a brand value of $12.4 billion as of May 2015.
Beginning
Gucci is an Italian fashion label founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, making it one of the oldest Italian fashion brands in operation today. Like many historic fashion houses, the brand started out as a luggage manufacturer, producing luxury travel goods for Italy’s wealthy upper-classes, as well as equestrian equipment.
Initially, the brand produced primarily leather goods, as well as premium knitwear, silk goods, shoes, and handbags. During the second world war, material constraints owing to the war effort forced the label to use cotton to create their goods. It was during this time that the label introduced its distinctive “Double-G” monogram, as well as the now-iconic Gucci stripe, consisting of two green stripes interrupted by a single red bar.
Road to Success
From the 1950s onwards, Gucci experienced incredible success as a label of choice amongst wealthy travelers, Hollywood stars, and other well-heeled shoppers, renowned for its extravagant, opulent designs. Guccio Gucci passed away in 1953, but the business continued under the leadership of his three sons, Aldo, Vasco, and Rodolfo, In the mid-’60s, the brand introduced luxury accessories such as eyewear, watches, and jewelry to their product line; items which have since become a cornerstone of the label.
Challenges
In 1983, Rodolfo Gucci passed away, and control was passed to his son, Maurizio, who struggled to maintain Gucci’s successes. During this period, the brand experienced numerous troubles owing to family disputes, tax evasion charges, assassinations, and sales to foreign investors. In 1990, American designer Tom Ford was hired as a ready-to-wear designer, eventually being promoted to Creative Director four years later. Ford is credited as being instrumental in helping to restore Gucci’s reputation during that period, reducing the brand’s product offer, streamlining its identity, and restoring the opulence and extravagance that had defined the label previously.
Failures
In May, Gucci faced a backlash from the Sikh community over its $800 'Indy Full Turban'
The Gucci turban resurfaced and caused much discussion when it was spotted on Nordstrom, retailing for $790, in May. The Sikh Coalition tweeted about it on Wednesday, saying that "the Sikh turban is not just a fashion accessory, but it's also a sacred religious article of faith."
Though the item is well over a year old, the power of social media has greatly helped spread the word of those who find the use of a turban as an accessory insensitive to those who wear it for cultural and religious reasons.
Achievements
- Gucci was the first brand to host a fashion show at Westminster Abbey, London, which took place in 2017.
Subsidies
- Gucci America, Inc.
- Fabbrica Quadranti S.A.
CEOs
- Marco Bizzarri
- Domenico De Sole