Gucci Handbags
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From a saddlery shop in Florence to 398 stores all over the world, from one craftsman to 11655 employees, from selling leather bags to the ownership of nine brands… Gucci has been there and seen it all - Breakthroughs, turmoil, opulence, family wars, takeovers, turnarounds and a murder. The name which started its journey at the age of 39 with 30,000 lira grossed £104.1 million net profit in the first-half of year 2005.
Guccio Gucci and his wife Aida Calvelli entered business in 1920 by opening a shop selling luggage and equine leather products. Theirs was a large family, Guccio and Aida had six children – five boys and a girl who helped their father in the business. As time passed business expanded from leather products for horses, to ties, shoes, hand bags bearing the famous bamboo handle and later few decades down the line Gucci made an entry into the world of perfumes and fashion. In 1938 Guccio opened his first store in Rome. Guccio’s creativity alongwith his urge to work with the best craftsmen made him successful and highly coveted among his clients. Post Guccio’s demise his sons Aldo, Rodolfo, Ugo, and Vasco would play an active role in this family empire.
On one hand many minds can mean loads of ideas but on another hand a plethora of ideas can also result in conflicts and this is what exactly happened.The conflicts started even when Guccio was around - the sons Aldo and Rodolfo were keen on opening stores in the US of A to which Guccio strongly opposed. After Guccio’s death in 1953 the duo went ahead and followed their plans and opened a store in New York city which was just the beginning of ‘The Internationalization’ of Gucci.
The 1960s saw the words Gucci and Glamour being used interchangeably. With Hollywood and the crème da la crème going ga ga over GG, there was just no looking back. Infact,the GG logo was not adopted till the year 1964 which stood for the initials of its founder. What followed the stylish sixties were the turbulent seventies where family differences and miscalculated business decisions did every possible harm an enterprise could be subjected to. Further in the 1980s inorder to capture wider markets and make it accessible to all what Gucci lost was its clique. The 1980s were almost antithetical to what Gucci was in the 1960s and 70s. From class it came to the masses but this broad consumer base was a trade-off for the chic and glamour which Gucci symbolised and to make matters worse it was also labelled as tacky by many.
In the meanwhile the disputes between the brothers Rodolfo and Aldo escalated followed by a tax evasion scandal involving Aldo, which took space in every magazine and gossip column splashing across the Gucci surname for the world waiting to lap every bit of it. When Rudolfo’s son Maurizio and Aldo’s son Paolo came together to gain control of the affairs they hired talent from outside the family and also learnt a lesson of paramount importance to the ailing business – That ownership and management of a business are not the same.
The late eighties and the early nineties saw the acquisition of Gucci by Investcorp and a turnaround and an IPO. Gucci has been controversial amongst its peer brands, where attemped takeovers and departures has been just a part of growing up. And if all this seems less what makes the Gucci brand none less than a TV soap is the murder of Maurizio which created a sensation in 1994. Then enters Tom Ford and begins another episode of survival rather revival. Not only did Tom Ford win accolades but also Gucci won back its Hollywood clientele. What followed next was the buying rather the takeover spree where Gucci maintained complete or partial interest - Yves Saint Laurent, Sergio Rossi, Stella McCartney are a few to name.
The last time Gucci was not in news for the family spats or the board room controversies but for very good reasons – its new cruise collection for 2006 was released. Some people (read brands) take time to grow and Gucci has finally grown out of its family feud image. With the fashion industry being unpredictable and constantly springing surprises GG has a long way to go.
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