Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
RESEARCH
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GUCCI
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GUCCI
Founded 1921
Parent PPR
Website www.gucci.com
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Submitted To:
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Letter Of
Transmissal
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Letter of
Authorization
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Table of
Contents
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2. Fashion 13
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3. Brand 16
5. GUCCI 26
6. Introduction 27
7. History 29
8. Company Profile 33
9. GUCCI Group 35
11. Vission 40
12. Mission 42
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17. Objectives 55
24. Limitations 84
25. Recommendations 86
26. Conclusion 89
CLOTHING
(Feature of all
Human Societies)
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CLOTHING (Feature of all Human Societies)
Throughout history, many materials have been used for clothes. Materials have
ranged from leather and furs, to weave and woven materials, to elaborate and
exotic natural and synthetic fabrics. Recent scientific research estimates that
humans have been wearing clothing for as long as 650,000 years. Others claim that
clothing probably did not originate until the Neolithic Age (the "New Stone Age").
Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses), worn on a single part of the
body and easily removed (scarves), worn purely for adornment (jewellery), or those
that serve a function other than protection (eyeglasses), are normally considered
accessories rather than clothing.
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FASHION
FASHION
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Fashion, a general term for the style and custom prevalent at a given time, in its
most common usage refers to costume or clothing style. The more technical term,
costume, has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion" that the
more general term "costume" has in popular use mostly been relegated to special
senses like fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the term "fashion" means
clothing generally, and the study of it. This linguistic switch is due to the fashion
plates which were produced during the Industrial Revolution, showing the latest
designs. For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer to
the entries for clothing, costume and fabrics.
Vogue, founded in the US in 1892, has been the longest-lasting and most successful
of the hundreds of fashion magazines that have come and gone. Increasing
affluence after World War II and, most importantly, the advent of cheap color
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printing in the 1960s led to a huge boost in its sales, and heavy coverage of fashion
in mainstream women's magazines - followed by men's magazines from the 1990s.
Haute couture designers followed the trend by starting the ready-to-wear and
perfume lines, heavily advertised in the magazines, that now dwarf their original
couture businesses. Television coverage began in the 1950s with small fashion
features. In the 1960s and 1970s, fashion segments on various entertainment
shows became more frequent, and by the 1980s, dedicated fashion shows like
Fashion-television started to appear. Despite television and increasing internet
coverage, including fashion blogs, press coverage remains the most important form
of publicity in the eyes of the fashion industry.
However, over the past several years, fashion websites have developed that merge
traditional editorial writing with user-generated content. New magazines like
iFashion Network, and Runway Magazine, led by Nole Marin from America's Next
Top Model, have begun to dominate the digital market with digital copies for
computers, iPhones and iPads.
Sporting a different view, a few days after the 2010 Fall Fashion Week in New
York City came to a close, Fashion Editor Genevieve Tax said, "Because designers
release their fall collections in the spring and their spring collections in the fall,
fashion magazines such as Vogue always and only look forward to the upcoming
season, promoting parkas come September while issuing reviews on shorts in
January." "Savvy shoppers, consequently, have been conditioned to be extremely,
perhaps impractically, farsighted with their buying.
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BRAND
BRAND
OR
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A brand is a name for or a trademark claimed for a certain product or service by either an
individual or a company. A brand helps others know and identify the product or service.
OR
A brand is a name or symbol used to identify the source of a product. When developing a new
product, branding is an important decision. The brand can add significant value when it is well
recognized and has positive associations in the mind of the consumer. This concept is referred to as
brand equity.
Brand Equity:
Brand equity is an intangible asset that depends on associations made by the consumer. There are
at least three perspectives from which to view brand equity:
Financial - One way to measure brand equity is to determine the price premium that a
brand commands over a generic product. For example, if consumers are willing to pay $100
more for a branded television over the same unbranded television, this premium provides
important information about the value of the brand. However, expenses such as promotional
costs must be taken into account when using this method to measure brand equity.
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However, brand equity is not always positive in value. Some brands acquire a bad reputation that
results in negative brand equity. Negative brand equity can be measured by surveys in which
consumers indicate that a discount is needed to purchase the brand over a generic product.
1. Introduction - introduce a quality product with the strategy of using the brand as a
platform from which to launch future products. A positive evaluation by the consumer is
important.
2. Elaboration - make the brand easy to remember and develop repeat usage. There should
be accessible brand attitude, that is, the consumer should easily remember his or her
positive evaluation of the brand.
3. Fortification - the brand should carry a consistent image over time to reinforce its place
in the consumer's mind and develop a special relationship with the consumer. Brand
extensions can further fortify the brand, but only with related products having a perceived
fit in the mind of the consumer.
Building brand equity requires a significant effort, and some companies use alternative means of
achieving the benefits of a strong brand. For example, brand equity can be borrowed by extending
the brand name to a line of products in the same product category or even to other categories. In
some cases, especially when there is a perceptual connection between the products, such extensions
are successful. In other cases, the extensions are unsuccessful and can dilute the original brand
equity.
Brand equity also can be "bought" by licensing the use of a strong brand for a new product. As in
line extensions by the same company, the success of brand licensing is not guaranteed and must be
analyzed carefully for appropriateness.
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Different companies have opted for different brand strategies for multiple products. These
strategies are:
Single brand identity - a separate brand for each product. For example, in laundry
detergents Procter & Gamble offers uniquely positioned brands such as Tide, Cheer, Bold,
etc.
Umbrella - all products under the same brand. For example, Sony offers many different
product categories under its brand.
Multi-brand categories - Different brands for different product categories. Campbell
Soup Company uses Campbell's for soups, Pepperidge Farm for baked goods, and V8 for
juices.
Family of names - Different brands having a common name stem. Nestle uses Nescafe,
Nesquik, and Nestea for beverages.
The marketing mix should focus on building and protecting brand equity. For example, if the brand
is positioned as a premium product, the product quality should be consistent with what consumers
expect of the brand, low sale prices should not be used compete, the distribution channels should
be consistent with what is expected of a premium brand, and the promotional campaign should build
consistent associations.
Brand Image
Images evoked by exposure to a named brand
Like brand personality, brand image is not something you have or you don't! A brand is unlikely to
have one brand image, but several, though one or two may predominate. The key in brand image
research is to identify or develop the most powerful images and reinforce them through subsequent
brand communications. The term "brand image" gained popularity as evidence began to grow that
the feelings and images associated with a brand were powerful purchase influencers, though brand
recognition, recall and brand identity. It is based on the proposition that consumers buy not only a
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product (commodity), but also the image associations of the product, such as power, wealth,
sophistication, and most importantly identification and association with other users of the brand. In
a consumer led world, people tend to define themselves and their Jungian "persona" by their
possessions. According to Sigmund Freud, the ego and superego control to a large extent the image
and personality that people would like others to have of them.
Good brand images are instantly evoked, are positive, and are almost always unique among
competitive brands.
Brand image can be reinforced by brand communications such as packaging, advertising, promotion,
customer service, word-of-mouth and other aspects of the brand experience.
Brand images are usually evoked by asking consumers the first words/images that come to their
mind when a certain brand is mentioned (sometimes called "top of mind"). When responses are
highly variable, non-forthcoming, or refer to non-image attributes such as cost, it is an indicator of
a weak brand image.
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The Luxury
Goods Industry
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Definition
Market segmentation
Total sales in 1999/2000 amounted to USD 60 to 80 billion.
The market growth has been 6.3% between 1996 and 1999,
and is supposed to be 7-10% between 1999 and 2003. The
market can be divided into different business segments and
geographical areas.
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Business segments
The market is divided among:
Fragrance and cosmetics (24 to 37% of the
luxury goods, depending on estimates)
Ready-to-wear and fashion (14-30%)
Leather and shoes (13-16%)
Watches and jewellery (8-32%)
Wines and spirits (15-22%)
Tables wear (4-5%)
Accessories (5-9%)
Geographical segments
The market is divided into 3 geographical areas: in 1999, USA
accounted for 30%, Europe for 34%, and Asia for 36%
(increasing to 60% if we include purchases abroad by Asian
tourists).
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fluctuations).
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
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The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci,
is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of
the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company
Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR). Gucci was founded
by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921.
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HISTORY
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Like many other high-fashion companies, Gucci began as a small, family-owned saddlery and
leather goods store. Guccio Gucci was the son of an Italian merchant from the country’s
northern manufacturing region. As a young man, he travelled to Paris and London, where he
gained an appreciation of cosmopolitan culture, sophistication, and aesthetics. Gucci
opened his first boutique in the family’s native Florence in 1921 and quickly built a
reputation for quality, hiring the best craftsmen he could find to work in his atelier. In
1938, Gucci expanded and a boutique was opened in Rome. Guccio was responsible for
designing many of the company's most notable products. In 1947, Gucci introduced the
bamboo handle handbag, which is still a company mainstay. During the 1950s, Gucci also
developed the trademark striped webbing, which was derived from the saddle girth, and
the suede moccasin with a metal bit.
Guccio and his wife Aida Calvelli had a large family, six children in all, though only his sons
—Vasco, Aldo, Ugo, and Rodolfo—would play a role in leading the company. After Guccio's
death in 1953, Aldo helped lead the company to a position of international prominence,
opening the company’s first boutiques in London, Paris and New York. Even in Gucci’s
fledgling years, the family was notorious for its ferocious infighting. Disputes regarding
inheritances, stock holdings, and day-to-day operations of the stores often divided the
family and led to alliances. As the Gucci expanded overseas, board meetings about the
company’s future often ended with tempers flaring and luggage and purses flying. Gucci
targeted the Far East for further expansion in the late 1960s, opening stores in Hong
Kong and Tokyo. At that time, the company also developed its famous GG logo (Guccio
Gucci's initials), the Flora silk scarf (worn prominently by Hollywood actress Grace Kelly),
and the Jackie O shoulder bag, made famous by Jackie Kennedy, the wife of U.S.
President John F. Kennedy.
Gucci remained one of the premier luxury goods establishments in the world until the late
1970s, when a series of disastrous business decisions and family quarrels brought the
company to the verge of bankruptcy. At the time, brothers Aldo and Rodolfo controlled
equal 50% shares of the company, though Aldo felt that his brother contributed less to
the company than he and his sons did. In 1979, Aldo developed the Gucci Accessories
Collection, or GAC, intended to bolster the sales for the Gucci Parfums sector, which his
sons controlled. GAC consisted of small accessories, such as cosmetic bags, lighters, and
pens, which were priced at considerably lower points than the other items in the company’s
accessories catalogue. Aldo relegated control of Parfums to his son Roberto in an effort to
weaken Rodolfo’s control of the overall operations of the company.
Though the Gucci Accessories Collection was well received, it proved to be the
destabilizing force that brought the Gucci dynasty crashing down. Within a few years, the
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Parfums division began outselling the Accessories division. The newly-founded wholesaling
business had brought the once-exclusive brand to over a thousand stores in the United
States alone with the GAC line, deteriorating the brand’s standing with fashionable
customers. "In the 1960s and 1970s," writes Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, "Gucci had
been at the pinnacle of chic, thanks to icons such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and
Jacqueline Onassis. But by the 1980s, Gucci had lost its appeal, becoming a tacky airport
brand."
It didn’t take long before counterfeiters ravaged the company’s pomp by flooding the
market with cheap knockoffs, further tarnishing the Gucci name. Meanwhile, infighting was
taking its toll on the operations of the company back in Italy: Rodolfo and Aldo squabbled
over the Parfums division, of which Rodolfo controlled a meager 20% stake. By the mid-
1980s, when Aldo was convicted of tax evasion in the United States by the testimony of
his own son, the outrageous headlines of gossip magazines generated as much publicity for
Gucci as its designs.
Rodolfo’s death in 1983 caused a major shakeup in the company when he left his 50% stake
in Gucci to his son, Maurizio Gucci. Maurizio allied with Aldo’s son Paolo to gain control of
the Board of Directors and established the Gucci Licensing division in the Netherlands for
tax purposes. (This action would later have a drastic impact on the outcome of the
company’s dispute with the world’s largest luxury goods company, LVMH Moët Hennessy
Louis Vuitton.) Following the decision, the rest of the family left the company and, for the
first time in years, one man was at the helm of Gucci. Maurizio sought to bury the fighting
that had torn the company and his family apart and turned to talent outside of the
company for Gucci’s future.
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Company
Profile
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Company Profile
Gucci Group is one of the world’s leading multi-brand luxury goods companies. Thanks to a clear
strategies and a set of unique competitive advantages, the group has developed and strengthened a
prestigious brand portfolio, broad product range and extensive geographical presence worldwide.
The Group’s well balanced brand portfolio includes prestigious and clearly identified luxury brands
with a distinctive, specific role. Gucci Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent are the engines of
organic growth. Boucheron offers complementary expertise in segments like jewellery and watches.
Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Sergio Rossi are cutting-edge brands with
high potential for long-term growth.
Gucci Group has successfully attracted the best creative talents, who are now recognized as rising
stars. Frida Giannini at Gucci, Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta, Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent
and Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga have perfectly interpreted the essence of their brands,
keeping their heritage alive with a contemporary mood. Designers like Alexander McQueen, Stella
McCartney and Francesco Russo at Sergio Rossi have set the trends with the cutting-edge styles.
The Group creates and distributes high quality luxury goods including ready-to-wear, handbags,
luggage, small leather goods, shoes, timepieces, jewellery, ties and scarves. Also, under license from
global industry leader, eyewear and fragrances, cosmetics and skin care products. This vast product
range and the sharing of specific expertise among the various brands are one of the Group’s
greatest assets and a source of organic growth.
Gucci Group is owned by PPR , a global player in retail and luxury goods.
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Gucci
Group
Gucci
Group
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Bottega Veneta
Boucheron
Bedat & Co
YSL Beaute
Balenciaga
Stella McCartney
Alexander McQueen
Sergio Rossi
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BCG Matrix
Of Gucci
Group
BCG Matrix
Of Gucci Group
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As the Creative Director for both brands at Gucci and YSL, Tom Ford
has the challenge to create a distinctive image for both brands. The
first fashion shows for YSL by Tom Ford were reported to be a
cheaper version of Gucci. This creates a huge problem, as the fashion
shows contribute largely to create the image required to generate big
sales in the high-margin accessories associated with that image, such
as handbags, eyeware, watches, perfumes and cosmetics. Hence, a key
challenge will be to keep the new YSL look distinct within the growing
Gucci empire.
Ford is trying to address this, and has presented the following image
differentiation to the press which was perceived with confidence by
Business Week: “the YSL brand is starting to recapture its star allure”.
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VISION
VISION
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MISSION
MISSION
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&
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Born in Rome in 1972 to an architect father and art history professor mother, Giannini
studied fashion design at Rome’s Fashion Academy before apprenticing in a small ready-to-
wear house. In 1997, she went to Fendi where she worked as a ready-to-wear designer for
three seasons before being named designer for Fendi leathergoods.
In September 2002 she joined Gucci as Handbag Design Director. Two years later she was
appointed to a newly created post, Creative Director of Accessories, where she assumed
unprecedented control of bags, shoes, luggage, small leathergoods, silks, fine jewelry, gifts,
watches as well as eyewear. Giannini flourished in this expanded role, and brought a
powerful new perspective to Gucci’s accessories collections.
Using the Gucci archives as a starting point, she transformed house classics such as the
Flora scarf pattern and equestrian iconography into novel and hugely successful designs.
In 2005, she was named Creative Director of Gucci Women’s ready-to-wear, in addition to
her responsibility for all accessories. In 2006, she took over menswear, thus rising to sole
Creative Director of the label.
Mr. Polet joined Gucci Group in 2004 after a 26 year career in Unilever, bringing considerable global
management experience and an in-depth knowledge of the development of the consumer brands in a
multicultural environment.
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Based in London, Ms Lombardo is responsible for Global HR strategy including Mobility, Leadership
development and compensation philosophy and often travels through all the group locations
according to divisions’ needs.
Karen Lombardo joined Gucci Group America in 1985 and since then has played an instrumental role
in development of the Human Resource function. Ms Lombardo covered different roles becoming
Vice President of Human Resources of Gucci Group America, where she was responsible for the
integration of all levels of employees from acquired brands as the Gucci Group transformed itself
into a multi-brand luxury goods company.
Miscellaneous
Facts Hailey College Of Banking & Finance
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Miscellaneous Facts
Asia
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United States
Europe
Marketing
Strategies
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Marketing
Strategies
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A marketing strategy often integrates an organization's marketing goals, policies,
and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. Similarly, the various strands
of the strategy , which might include advertising, channel marketing, internet
marketing, promotion and public relations can be orchestrated. Many companies
cascade a strategy throughout an organization, by creating strategy tactics that
then become strategy goals for the next level or group. Each one group is expected
to take that strategy goal and develop a set of tactics to achieve that goal. This is
why it is important to make each strategy goal measurable.
Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are partially planned and
partially unplanned.
The industry is more a pull than a push industry, explaining the large amount of
money invested in advertising (corporate or product specific level). On average,
Gucci goods industry spends more than 7% of its sales in advertising.
Gucci Group reiterated its strong belief in the control of the distribution channel
and the development of DOS: “The idea here is to control [the brand] to within an
inch of its life, from creation to production to distribution”.
Gucci sends investigators into stores to keep legitimate other brands under Gucci
group out of discounters.
As with the revival of Gucci, de Sole and Ford strongly believe in directly operated
stores to revive the brand and with the “dismember in order to rebuild” approach.
“De Sole plans to spend $20 million a year on marketing and real estate” with heavy
investment planned in new boutiques: new flagships shops are planned for Beverly
Hills, New York, London, Hong Kong and Milan.
A detailed analysis of the actions that Domenico de Sole and Tom Ford undertook
to turn around Gucci shows that they have created a strategy and a process to
execute this strategy that not only enabled them to compete with the large luxury
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goods conglomerates such as LVMH, and Richemont, but actually to outperform
them on several counts, including stock performance and compound growth.
STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT
PROCESS
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The word Strategy means "to make plan for the right way, path or direction" while
the word Management means "to organize the things in a required or desired way".
So the word strategic management means "a process to organize the business on a
right path to get profit and glory from the scared resources."
The term strategic management refers to the managerial process of making the
long term decisions, prediction about the business future position along with the
sense of purposeful action plan.
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4. To create a more proactive management posture.
5. To promote the development of a constantly evolving business model.
6. To provide the opportunities to managers for evaluating the company's budget
according to the situation.
Gucci Group has built a very solid base over the years to tighten its
relationship with its suppliers, particularly in the fashion and leather
goods segments. They have incentivized them both with capital and
production tools. This creates much higher barriers to entry for a
competitor wishing to subcontract to them than the current exclusivity
agreements. Although the Italian model is to outsource this activity,
we feel it is very close to a virtual vertical integration backwards, while
providing flexibility to Gucci (very low barriers to exit, as investment
can be considered as sunk costs).
Gucci Group is also developing economies of scale buy using the same
suppliers to develop different lines of products for different brands.
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OBJECTIVES
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OBJECTIVES
1. Strategic Objectives:
To continue to strengthen its leadership as a global luxury brand by
reinforcing its positioning in historical and new markets and focusing on its
core businesses
Take advantage of emerging markets such as China, India, New Delhi and
Bangalore and to continue to develop an integrated distribution network with
a well-conceived geographical basis.
Ensure revenue growth and profitability for the Group, and to assign a
specific role to each brand within the Group, so as to maintain the
consistency of their positioning in terms of market segments and product
categories.
Make all products in Italy (except for watches which are made in
Switzerland)
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2. Financial objectives:
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Gucci’s
New Era
Gucci’s
New Era
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New leadership
Value Chain
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Value Chain
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Manufac-
Sourcing Design Marketing Distribution
turing
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Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix
In the latest Global Luxury Brands Survey, one in five global consumers said they would
choose to buy Gucci (over any other luxury brand) if money was no option, making the
Italian fashion brand that was revived by Tom Ford in the 1990’s the most coveted and
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inspirational luxury brand in the world today. 18% of South African Respondents said that
they purchased Gucci, but in South Africa the most popular luxury brands are Diesel and
DKNY. It must be noted that this survey is a reflection of internet users’ attitudes and
therefore represents online consumers’ behaviour and attitudes only.
Globally, Chanel and Calvin Klein tied for second place in Nielsen’s 48-country online survey
that was conducted in November 2007. In third place came Louis Vuitton, followed by
Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior and Versace who all ranked forth. 28% of South Africans
buy Calvin Klein, but the rest of these brands are less popular in our country, with only 8%
of respondents saying that they buy Chanel and 4% buying Louis Vuitton.
Two years ago in the same survey, Gucci shared top honors in the survey with Giorgio
Armani – which has since slipped to fourth place in current global rankings. “It’s an
incredible achievement for Gucci to remain at the top of the most coveted league table
for luxury brands,” said Lennart Bengtsson, President Eastern Europe, Middle East &
Africa (EEMEA), The Nielsen Company.
“In the past two years, Gucci has managed to maintain and even increase its brand equity in
a very competitive and fickle industry. They have achieved this by consistently embedding
their core brand values in all their branded products, which range from perfume and
sunglasses to accessories, jewellery, handbags and ready-to-wear fashion,” noted
Bengtsson.
According to the survey, if money was no object, 39% of South African consumers said
they would choose Gucci.
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prominent marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a 4
P classification in 1960, which has seen wide use. The
four Ps concept is explained in most marketing
textbooks and classes.
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1. Product:
A tangible object or an intangible service that is mass produced or
manufactured on a large scale with a specific volume of units. Intangible
products are service based like the tourism industry & the hotel industry or
codes-based products like cellphone load and credits. Typical examples of a
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mass produced tangible object are the motor car and the disposable razor. A
less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating
system. Packaging also needs to be taken into consideration. However,
product has its life-cycle which result the growth will be stopped and
started declined when market saturated. To retain its competitive in the
market, product differentiation is required and is one of the strategy to
differentiate from its competitors.
The main idea for both managers was that the brand should be consistent all
over the world, and convey the right image: “I wanted unity of style so that
the customer who flies from Tokyo to Milan to New York will find the same
image” – de Sole.
One of the first measures was to slash unsuccessful product lines (a massive
reduction in the range of leather products) and focus on quality. All
manufacturing licenses were terminated and production was brought back to
the Tuscany region, except for watches remaining in Switzerland. Franchises
were granted exclusively to sectors where craftsmanship is required, such
as perfumes (Wella has a 25 year contract). Finally the low-end products
were slashed (although providing a very high margin) because of brand
dilution: “don’t run after the last dollar”.
Additionally both de Sole and Ford understood that they could not rely on
designer
extravaganza, and very early on, introduced commercial considerations into
their work: “in their world, value comes from a brand image more than form
a designer’s artistry”.
Ford was then instrumental in developing the Gucci new look. He dropped the
old look of red and green stripes that had adorned every Gucci product since
its creation, and shifted towards an ultra-chic black minimalist look, that
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appealed to the fashion conscious clientele. He also understood that ready-
to-wear (originally 10% of sales) should be used as an entry product and
image ambassador for the other much higher-margin products such as
accessories (bags, ties, shoes, tableware and belts).
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2.Price:
The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is
determined by a number of factors including market share,
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competition, material costs, product identity and the
customer's perceived value of the product. The business may
increase or decrease the price of product if other stores
have the same product.
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3.Place:
Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often
referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as
well as virtual stores on the Internet. Place is not exactly a physical store
where it is available Place is nothing but how the product takes place or
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create image in the mind of customers. It depends upon the perception of
customers.
In order to create the same look and feel all over the world, Gucci closed or
bought back all franchises and licensees, including airport duty-free shops,
and shops in shops in large department stores. “I am in the process of
reducing the number of upscale retailers that carry Gucci” – de Sole. He
indeed closed down Gucci’s presence at Harrod’s in 1996, opening a new store
back a year later.
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4. Promotion:
It represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace.
Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and
sales promotion. A certain amount of crossover occurs when promotion uses the four
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principal elements together, which is common in film promotion. Advertising covers any
communication that is paid for, from cinema commercials, radio and Internet adverts
through print media and billboards. Public relations are where the communication is not
directly paid for and includes press releases, sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences,
seminars or trade fairs and events. Word of mouth is any apparently informal
communication about the product by ordinary individuals, satisfied customers or people
specifically engaged to create word of mouth momentum. Sales staff often plays an
important role in word of mouth and Public Relations.
We understand that the Gucci brand was not heavily advertised in the pre-de Sole years.
In order to relaunch the new image imagined by Tom Ford, Gucci relied on the usual
techniques for fashion: public relations and press advertising. The difference with the
previous era was the emphasis on this tool.
Indeed in 1994, “there wasn’t much money for advertising, so we decided to sink what we
had into fashion which is a highly publicized business” – de Sole. The two Milan readyto-
wear show in 1995 by Tom Ford were massive successes, and relaunched the brand into the
forefront of the luxury goods field.
Gucci also used public personalities to showcase its products and create press coverage,
such as with Hollywood stars: Madonna, Tina Turner, Nicole Kidman.
A massive global advertising campaign was then launched using the best fashion magazines:
increasing from $6 million in 1993, to $28m in 1995 to $70 million in 1997, to $80m in
1998 (representing between 6 to 12% of sales).
Marketing
Research
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Marketing Research
During the late 1990’s, Gucci portrayed the characteristics of a firm with a
differentiated business-level strategy. Gucci provides value to their customers
with high quality luxury goods which consist of unique product features in
relation to their rival competitors. One example of Gucci’s distinct quality is the
prestigious image of their brand name using the famous “GG” logo on their items.
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Gucci is a successful firm in the luxury goods industry with many resources and
capabilities that differentiate them from other companies within the industry. The
first resource is the management team of Gucci following the millions in losses
during the early 1990’s. Two managers in particular are Dominco De Sole, head of
Milan office, and Tom Ford who replaced Dawn Mello as creative director in 1994.
The duo of Ford and Sole turned the company around from near-bankruptcy to a
close rival with LVMH, the luxury goods powerhouse. The two of them possess an
intangible resource to Gucci that is valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-
substitutable. Ford and Sole are considered to be valuable to the firm because of
their leadership and vision to make Gucci a global presence and rare because their
management skills are unlike any other firm in the luxury goods industry. What
makes the management team a sustainable capability is the difficulty for other
firms to match their business strategy from financial decisions to marketing
abilities. Another resource that Gucci has used to gain a competitive advantage is
its glamorous fashion sense that captures consumers all over the world. This
resource only has the valuable characteristic however its quality is very significant
to the Gucci brand. It is not a sustainable advantage because competitors also
use a brand logo to maintain a loyal customer base.
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SWOT Analysis
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Strengths:
The strength of Gucci is in its established, very strong brand image and
international presence. Gucci has also the ability to control its distribution
channels. This is part of Gucci’s defensive strategy in the chain value to
capture the value added instead of giving it to the middlemen such as
suppliers and retailers.
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The company has also increased the number of their Directly Operated
Stores (DOS) as part of the defensive strategy of taking more control of
the distribution process. The 2003 figure showed that DOS accounted for
61.3% of revenues compared to a much lower 32.5% in 1999.
Some luxury companies use the strategy of focusing only on one brand and
add other business segments such as what Armani, Polo Ralph Lauren, and
Versace did.
This strategy is done in order to allow the positioning of the brand in the
industry to differ depending on the number of brands and the number of
business segments the company wants to compete in. This is the idea behind
focus (mono brand) versus diversification (multi-brand). Gucci Group has
more than 10 brands, including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, YSL Beauté and
Sergio Rossi.
Weaknesses:
The weaknesses of Gucci include instability in management and financial base. The
instability of its management can affect the group’s corporate strategy and vision.
The financial base is weak and alarming, with a long term debt increase from $17
million in 1998 to $143 million in 1999 and to $1.3 billion in 2003. Some brands in
the Gucci group’s portfolio are still not profitable, and there is a need to promote
and market them aggressively.
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Opportunities:
Opportunities for Gucci abound especially in the emerging luxury markets in
growing economies from Asia such as India and China. People who come from these
places who recently amassed huge wealth due to the excellent performance of the
economy would definitely want to try luxurious brands such as Gucci.
Threats:
The luxury goods carry premium products designed for very wealthy individuals.
This demanding market spares on expense to get the best product in terms of
quality, style and design. Price, therefore, is not a basis of competition in this kind
of industry.
Competition largely exists on how potent and valuable the brand image has become. This is
the focus of Gucci’s thrusts. Its competitor Louis Vuitton may have made its mark in size
with more than 50 luxury brands in its belt and sales of 12.6 billion euros in 2004 alone but
it is not exactly the single dominant player in the market.
This is because in the luxury products market, companies can carry several brands and
business segments which could change their positions depending on the segments such as
leather & shoes, cosmetics, jewelry & watches, wine and spirits and others.
Companies are forced to invest huge money in brand promotions in order to maintain their
image. Expenses such as advertising and marketing expenses, acquisition of competitors,
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control of the distribution channel and other strategies take the bulk of company’s
operating budget.
The barriers to exit in this industry are low which means that survival is for the fittest.
If the company cannot compete with other players in the industry then it has to fold or
sell to other bigger firms which make exit quite easy and quick.
In this industry, the barriers to entry are really high and the barriers to exit are low,
therefore only the select few can maintain their position in the market, while others could
give up altogether or are bought by bigger firms.
Also, luxury goods do not have direct substitutes like other ordinary goods but the threat
could come from imitation. Counterfeits often penetrate the market. This could take away
a portion of the sales that should go to luxury goods companies.
There is also the threat of substitutes to contend with. These are products that are
considered ordinary or the medium brands but can eventually expand their product lines to
premium brands in the future such as Zara and Gap.
Internal threat could also come from French holding company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute
(PPR) who currently owns 68% of Gucci’s stocks.
Research
Approach
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Research
Approach
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it’s gathering, altering and completion according
to certain methods like Online methodology i.e.
net surfing, field work i.e. interviews from GUCCI
customers and questionnaires from it’s
administration and done under strict and careful
guidelines.
Limitations
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Limitations
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Our required lighting setup is not available in classroom.
Recommendation
s
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Recommendations
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competence that will give it a competitive
edge. It should of course not manufacture for
competitors in case of excess capacity.
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Increase profitability via excellence in
operations.
Conclusion
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Conclusion
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The product design, quality and brand name has become
synonymous with the elite, and will continue to do so
because of the well maintained distribution of its
products throughout the world.
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