The Successful Marketing Strategies of the Brand GUCCI

Introduction

Once a brand enters the market, it has to make difficult choices. Some of the points to consider are - should the brand focus on product quality, price of the product, differentiating factors of the product, marketing excellence, distribution strategy, etc. What sets successful brands apart from unsuccessful ones is their ability to focus on all these parameters but primarily on their distinguishing factor.

GUCCI, as a brand, has its entire focus on quality and luxury. Today, whenever we hear the name GUCCI, we start thinking of luxury, sophistication, celebrities, richness, and more such synonyms. GUCCI is a brand that is 100 years old and still has such strong positioning. It is essential for us to understand what the brand did right.

In this article, we will dive deep into the Birth and Growth Trajectory of GUCCI. We will also shed light on some of the marketing and operational excellence carried out by GUCCI.

The Birth of GUCCI

GUCCI as a brand was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921. Guccio Gucci went to London and served as a lift boy. When he was working as a lift boy in London, he saw various rich guests, and that is when he understood the difference between the leather bags his father made and the design and looks of the bags that rich people carry. Guccio came back to Florence after the First World War and set the stepping stones for La Casa GUCCI (The home of GUCCI). GUCCI employed many skilled Tuscan craftsmen to create bags that were of the highest quality standard and had a classic look.

Image 1 − Luxury Genuine Full Grain Leather Women's Mini Dusty Pink Gucci Bag

GUCCI is mostly known for its bags; however, accessories like sunglasses, belts, earrings, trunks, gloves, shoes, and others are also quite famous. The key competitors of GUCCI in the luxury brands are Chanel, Dior, and others.

The Growth Trajectory of GUCCI

GUCCI as a Status Symbol

Today, more than for the quality of the products or the look of the products, GUCCI is sold internationally because it acts as a social status symbol for consumers. For them, GUCCI and its products are a way to tell the world that they are rich, elegant, and high-class. GUCCI has positioned itself like this for its customers, and it has been working even after 100 years of the brand's establishment. GUCCI’s jeans set a world record for being the jeans with the highest price for years, and that is 3134 dollars in Milan.

Solution-oriented Approach

GUCCI started as a brand that provided customers with high-quality leather bags that looked classic. However, during the regime of dictator Benito Mussolini in 1935, it was difficult for operators to get leather. GUCCI, instead of giving up on this, started manufacturing its products with silk. Silk is also costly to obtain and a symbol of status. For Guccio Gucci, GUCCI was his baby, and he did not want to lose GUCCI. So he started preparing its successors to carry out the name of GUCCI even after his death.

Aldo GUCCI, Vasco GUCCI, and Rodolfo GUCCI were the sons of Guccio Gucci. The sons not only carried out the name but made GUCCI a brand for Hollywood stars. By the end of 1955, GUCCI had stores in the United States, Milan, and Rome.

GUCCI Museum

The GUCCI Museum was opened in 2011. GUCCI was no longer just a brand to obtain luxury products; it had become a sentiment. In the GUCCI museum, all the earlier launches as well as the first of everything, like suitcases, floral prints, and bamboo bags, were kept. Along with this, the entire journey and the thought process of Guccio Gucci, the founder of GUCCI, were documented. GUCCI became more than a brand; for generations now, GUCCI has been their dream destination for luxury.

CEO and GUCCI under their Leadership

Like any other brand, GUCCI also faced hardships while working in the industry. In 1994, GUCCI welcomed Tom Ford as the CEO of the company, and that is when GUCCI was able to recover from all the downhills and family feuds that the brand was facing. Tom not only revolutionized the entire line of products sold by GUCCI, but also brought an air of modernity and contemporariness to La Casa GUCCI.

In 2015, GUCCI went from a leading brand in international fashion to a brand that was just focused on its product and was better suited for the business world. That is when Marcom Bizzarro was appointed as CEO and Alessandro Michele as creative director. They shifted the focus to millennial consumers.

Recognizing the Power of Millennial Consumers

While luxury brands avoided the middle class because of the lack of purchasing power, GUCCI prepared itself for the future. The millennials will be the next generation of consumers, and hence, V started aggressively selling its products to the millennials. This is another reason why GUCCI did not have to struggle like other luxury brands when they had to enter China and India with huge promotional windows.

Constantly Adapting Itself to the Market

GUCCI hired Alessandro Michele as the creative designer. Michele was known to be daring, and his designs took inspiration from contemporary, streetwear, and fast fashion. His ideas helped GUCCI stay relevant as well as adapt to millennia. Getting stuck in the past and its legacy is what holds back traditional brands. With the creative designer, GUCCI took risks both in terms of product and marketing strategy and has even won awards for its innovativeness and a new outlook.

GUCCI Fosters Creativity

GUCCI as a brand also understood that its long-lasting culture would not let it innovate and bring in the best in the market. Hence, when Marcom took over, he held a meeting in which he asked the employees to relax. He told them that GUCCI is in fashion and not saving lives; hence, the employees need to be innovative and fill the company culture and working environment with joy and happiness so people feel safe enough to present out-of-the-box ideas.

Along with this, GUCCI also understood that people dislike change and customers will not always provide positive feedback regarding innovative products, but strictly sticking to that will not help GUCCI. As Steve Jobs said, “customers sometimes do not even know what they want unless you show them,” and GUCCI did exactly the same. GUCCI is now the house of creativity and happiness for its employees.

Conclusion

GUCCI, as a brand, has had to face many challenges in its growth trajectory. What kept the brand floating for a hundred years was its desire to never give up and to innovate if things were not working out. GUCCI changed many leadership positions, and the product type, and introduced many other ranges, but one thing that remained constant was the quality of the product and the fact that GUCCI is for high-end customers. GUCCI is always coming up with new designs and fashion to keep customers excited about GUCCI. GUCCI is a brand that is going to go neck-to-neck with other high-end luxury brands. GUCCI is the brand for the elegant.