Gucci

Gucci (ˈguːtʃi, ; ˈɡuttʃi) is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty 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 and in 1999 Gucci was acquired by the French conglomerate PPR, which later became Kering. Gucci remains a subsidiary of Kering. In 2019, Gucci operated 487 stores with 17,157 employees, and generated €9.6 billion in sales, an improvement over its €8.2 billion in sales in 2018. Marco Bizzarri is CEO of Gucci since December 2014, and Alessandro Michele was creative director from January 2015 to November 23, 2022. Sabato De Sarno is the current creative director. Guccio Gucci The Gucci family claims its origins are rooted in the merchant city of Florence since around 1410. Guccio Giovanbattista Giacinto Dario Maria Gucci (1881–1953) left Florence for Paris, and settled in London in 1897 to work at the high-end Savoy Hotel. While working as a bellhop there, he would load/unload the luggage of the hotel's wealthy clients, learning about their tastes in fashion, quality, fabrics, and traveling conditions. He later worked four years for the Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, the European rail company that specialized in upscale travel leisure, thus further enhancing his experience with luxurious traveling lifestyles. After World War I, he worked for the maker of fine luggage Franzi. In 1921, Guccio Gucci bought his own shop on Via della Vigna Nuova in Florence, Azienda Individuale Guccio Gucci, where he sold imported leather luggage. He also opened a small workshop to have his own leather goods made by local craftsmen.