Born in 1881, the son of craftsman Guccio Gucci founded the House of Gucci as a saddlery shop in Florence in 1906. Guccio’s first talent was his craftsmanship in leather goods. It began selling leather handbags to horsemen in the 1920s and progressed to luxury luggage as its customers switched from equine transport to horseless carriages. In 1938, Guccio Gucci opened his first retail store on Via Condotti in Rome.
Guccio Gucci, dishwasher for travel bag merchant
The history of the company really began in 1921 with Patriarch Guccio Gucci, a Florentine dishwasher turned leather merchant, who began selling leather travel bags. Surviving both the Depression and World War II, the family business prospered through the use of distinctively flawed leather called “cuoio grasso,” whose wavy surface, overlaid with the twin G’s of the surname, became a worldwide sensation in the last years. after the war.
Aldo builds the company despite family disputes
Unfortunately, a family schism began with Guccio’s children. Aldo, the sharp-minded businessman, expanded Gucci’s business into new markets, cleverly identifying his merchandise with distinctive markings such as red and green belts. He relentlessly pushed for expansion, opening stores in Paris, New York, and even Tokyo. In 1974, author Sara Gay Forden wrote in her book, The House of Gucci, “The Gucci Empire … had fourteen stores and forty-six franchised boutiques around the world. In just twenty years, Aldo had built Gucci starting with a $ 6,000 corporation and a small store at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in a resplendent empire spanning the United States, Europe and Asia. “
But Aldo was not completely frank. It also ended in a $ 7 million tax fraud scandal, which eventually allowed his nephew Maurizio to take control of the company’s board of directors. Maurizio, the son of Aldo’s brother Rodolfo, had already crossed swords with his father because of his marriage to Patrizia Reggiani, the daughter of a trucker whom Major Guccis saw as a gold digger marrying his way to wealth. A fierce dispute followed Rodolfo’s death, after which Maurizio presented documents signing Rodolfo’s shares to Maurizio, saving him from massive inheritance taxes and making him a major shareholder.
That put him directly in conflict with Aldo. The legal battles that followed culminated with Aldo’s son, Paolo, taking on Maurizio. Aldo was sent to prison in 1986 at the age of 81. The family was disintegrating; The boardroom meetings were dotted with flying ashtrays and shouting obscenities.
While the family struggles, the company grows
But there was a ray of light even in the acrimony. “Ironically, the fight helped fuel the name’s notoriety,” Forden said. “It was a rare case where negative publicity was not necessarily a bad thing. At one point I interviewed Luigi Pirovano, who was Rodolfo Gucci’s driver, and then Maurizio. He said the family would fight and fight, and people I’d flock to the stores and the sales would grow, and it was like there was a connection between the two. ” Meanwhile, celebrities, led by Jackie Kennedy, embraced the brand.
The money, the blood takes its toll
The struggle between relatives (and across generational lines) took its toll. By 1989, Investcorp, a group of investment bankers seeking shares in the business, had bought almost 50 percent of the business. Maurizio was apparently in charge, but Investcorp was in the driver’s seat. Maurizio built a world-class team: Gucci America CEO Domenico de Sole, Creative Director Dawn Mello, and Chief Designer Tom Ford. It was an attempt by Maurizio to realize his vision for Gucci as a modern corporate fashion entity. And, like many visionaries, he failed.
Enmeshed in a spectacular divorce from Patrizia, Maurizio proceeded to rack up unprecedented debts. His colleagues viewed him as a visionary leader but a poor manager, which, coinciding with the slump in sales in the early 1990s, prompted Investcorp to expel Maurizio from the company.
Tom Ford climbs to the top
De Sole and Ford advanced to the top tier of Gucci under Investcorp’s leadership, and Mello returned to Bergdorf Goodman. Ford started churning out bold and innovative new designs, like stilettos and thongs, that would never have seen the light of day with the Guccis. They were extremely popular and the Gucci name became more valuable than ever.
Gucci’s current leadership
Former CEO Domenico de Sole and Creative Director Tom Ford, who restored Gucci’s luster after near bankruptcy in the 1990s, left when majority shareholder Pinault-Printemps-Redoute tried to limit its autonomy. Current Gucci CEO Mark Lee is optimistic about 2006. In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, he said the company “had the best year in company history, so we are very proud and happy about that.” Gucci, founded in 1921 by a former dishwasher, now includes such well-known designer brands as Yves St Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Sergio Rossi, Boucheron, Bedat & Co., Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and, of course, Gucci handbags. . .
