Gucci is a luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. It specializes in handbags, gifts, clothing, footwear, accessories, jewelry, watches, makeup, fragrances, and home decoration products.
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Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance and cosmetics under the name Gucci Beauty.
Gucci was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci (1881–1953) in Florence, Tuscany. Under the direction of Aldo Gucci (son of Guccio), Gucci became a worldwide-known brand, an icon of the Italian Dolce Vita period. Following family feuds during the 1980s, the Gucci family was entirely ousted from the capital of the company by 1993. After this crisis, the brand was revived with a provocative ‘Porno Chic’ props. In 1999, Gucci was acquired by the French conglomerate Pinault Printemps Redoute, which later became Kering. During the 2010s, Gucci became an iconic ‘geek-chic‘ brand.
In 2019, Gucci operated 487 stores for 17,157 employees, and generated €9.628 billion in sales (€8.2 billion in 2018). Marco Bizzarri is CEO of Gucci since December 2014, and Alessandro Michele was creative director from January 2015 to November 23, 2022. Gucci is a subsidiary of the French luxury group Kering.
Gucci is part of the French luxury group Kering, which manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewellery, and Watches.
Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
In 1925, Aldo Gucci (son of Guccio Gucci) started working in the family company, and under its direction, the company became an icon of the Italian ”Dolce Vita” (”a life of heedless pleasure and luxury”).
During WWII, the artisans of the company worked on making boots for the Italian infantry.
In 1982, to ease tensions in the family, the Gucci group became a publicly traded company, Guccio Gucci SpA.
In 1988, Maurizio Gucci sold 47.8% of Gucci to the investment fund Investcorp (owner of Tiffany since 1984).
In 1993, Investcorp bought the remaining 50% of Guccio Gucci S.p.A. from Maurizio Gucci, and the Gucci family involvement in the group was ended.
After the family crisis, the brand was revived with provocative ‘Porno Chic’ props.
Since 1996, the French luxury conglomerate LVMH bought shares of Gucci, and it reached 34% ownership in Gucci Group NV by January 1999.
In March 1999, the French conglomerate Pinault Printemps Redoute (PPR) bought out 40% of Gucci at $75 a share, and LVMH’s shares decreased to 20.7% in a dilution process. Through the deal, PPR also purchased Yves Saint Laurent from Sanofi and sold it back for the same price to the Gucci Group.
Marco Bizzarri is CEO of Gucci since December 2014, and Alessandro Michele creative director since January 2015.
With more than 17 000 employees and over 485 stores, Gucci is considered one of the world’s most desirable fashion houses. According to Forbes, it is considered one of the Worlds Most Valuable Brands.
Governance
In the history of Gucci, up until the end of the Gucci family era, the design, promotion, and production of Gucci products were handled by the members of the Gucci family.CEO
- Since 2014: Marco Bizzarri
- 2008–2014: Patrizio di Marco
- 2004–2008: Mark Lee
- 1994–2004: Domenico De Sole
Creative designers
- Since 2023: Sabato De Sarno
- 2015-2022: Alessandro Michele
- 2006–2015: Frida Giannini
- 1995–2004: Tom Ford
- 1989–1995: Dawn Mello
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and www.gucci.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Alux.com“.
