In 2010, Gucci is one of the top luxury fashion brands in the world. The official name of the enterprise is "The House of Gucci" since it is one of the famous Italian fashion houses. However, Gucci is no ifs ands or buts owned by a french conglomerate called Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (Ppr). The founder of the brand was Guccio Gucci who founded the brand in Florence, Italy in 1921. The brand is most famous for Italian fashion and leather products. One thing that sets Gucci aside from other brands is that is the top selling Italian brand in the world.
The story of the brand is an thoughprovoking and turbulent one since its humble beginnings in 1921. Guccio Gucci in 1921, it wasnt until 1938 that Gucci expanded out of Florence and opened a new boutique in Rome. When Gucci died in 1953, he left his fashion empire to his 4 sons. His son Aldo was central to the brands expansion into the world market since he opened the first Gucci boutique in New York. Added expansion, into Hong Kong and Tokyo occurred in the 1960s where Gucci was creating their own trends via celebrities like Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, etc.
However, while this time the family was in constant in-fighting. Reports at the time recommend the family fought while board meetings about inheritance, stock holdings, and how to operate the company.
The enterprise hit a terrible rough patch in the 1970s and important into the 1980s. At that time the brothers Rodolfo and Aldo controlled the enterprise with equal shares. This occurred once again, due to complex family fights. The enterprise launched their accessories and perfume department and began to wholesale aggressively in order to progress that division. Aldo had industrialized that department and his intention was to focus on it in order to weaken the operate of his brother Rodolfo. The perfume department was priced cheaper than other products and aggressive wholesaling made it available for sale in over 1000 stores. The consequent was the brand image was severely tarnished. The group now viewed Gucci as a cheap airport brand and not an exclusive luxury brand. Furthermore at the same time, unabridged Gucci knock-offs started to appear on the market Added weakening the brands image.
In 1983, the enterprise was suffering financially and in brand image. Paolo Gucci (son of Aldo) proposed the idea of launching a cheap version of Gucci called Gucci Plus, the idea was not well standard by the family. while a Gucci boardroom meeting about this issue Paolo was knocked out by an answering machine to the the face, by one of his brothers. For revenge, he reported his father to the United States authorities for tax evasion. His father was convicted of tax evasion and sent to prison after his son testified against him in court. These stories generated more interest in the Gucci family, then the brand's advertising could perhaps achieve at the time.
Rodolfo died in 1983. This resulted in changes in the power structure of the enterprise (family). His son Maurizio Gucci inherited his 50% share of the Gucci company. Aldo's son Paolo along with Maurizio teamed together to take operate of the Board of Directors. Shortly after, the rest of the family left the company. This led Mauricio to seek help and ideas from face the enterprise in order to progress the brand and the enterprise and operate peacefully.
Gucci Shoes became one of the clubs strong points. Gucci found following the disasters of the 1970s and 1980s that a return to its roots as an elite Italian fashion house was a must. They realized that it was impossible to be both a mass output brand and a luxury brand. The leather goods like Gucci shoes had given the enterprise its name in the 1920s and 1930s and they felt they needed to focus their efforts on fashion innovations in those areas. Furthermore, in 1997 Gucci took over Severin-Montres and rebranded it under the Gucci name. The watchmaker was one of the most respected in Europe at the time and contributed to Guccis goals of maintaining their prestige and elite image surrounded by fashion known and wealthy consumers.
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