Our organisation, Guccio Gucci SpA (hereunder Gucci), is the owner of the globally well-known trademark “GUCCI” and of all intellectual property rights pertaining to Gucci’s creations and collections.
Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci is one of the worldʹs leading luxury fashion brands. With a renowned reputation for quality and Italian craftsmanship, Gucci designs manufactures and distributes highly desirable products such as leather goods (handbags, small leather goods, and luggage), shoes, ready-to-wear, silks, timepieces and fine jewellery. Eyewear and fragrances are manufactured and distributed under license by global industry leaders in these two sectors. Gucci products are sold exclusively through a network of directly operated boutiques and a small number of selected franchisees, department and specialty stores.
Gucci is today a brand looking to the future, but with a deep respect for its past; a brand with a very defined and strong soul; a soul that has evolved over 90 years, built upon values of innovation, forward thinking, passion, heritage and craftsmanship.
In the last three years, the team led by Patrizio di Marco, Gucci President and CEO, has been able to give new life to the long lasting values of the brand – including the mission of “made in Italy”, outstanding quality and superior artisanal craftsmanship – while perfectly combining them with its fashion authority and versatility.
Today the brand has reached a higher-level positioning and exclusivity, recapturing the more knowledgeable client as it continues to attract aspirational customers especially from the newer markets.
“Made in Italy” is an integral part of the essence of Gucci. It is a cultural approach, a know-how that took generations to build, and a genuine mission that has allowed Gucci to become one of the world’s most desirable luxury fashion brands.
Today, Gucci’s “Made in Italy” production, coupled with a strong social responsibility towards its employees, ensures that 100% of its leather goods, shoes and ready to wear products are still produced in its workshops in Italy, employing over 45,000 people, in addition to Gucci’s own employees. This handcrafted legacy passed down through generations of artisan families, continues to be an immense source of pride for Gucci and has made a huge contribution to its position as a worldwide leader in the luxury business.
In 2011 we generated revenues of approximately €3,1 billion. We employ over eight thousand people on average and have around 370 directly operated stores worldwide.
Gucci is fully committed to maintaining and protecting its intellectual property rights throughout the world in order to ensure that its unique heritage be strongly preserved and fully respected. The GUCCI trademark is registered and protected in almost all countries around the world and internationally recognized as one the most well-known and renowned luxury brand in the world. Gucci already owns more than 600 domain names and 5000 trademarks on average.
Accordingly to some third party research and surveys, Gucci has been ranked in 39th place of the Top 100 Best Global Brands by Interbrand (http:⁄⁄www.interbrand.com⁄en⁄best-global-brands⁄best-global-brands-2008⁄best-global-brands-2011.aspx), and in 6th place between the “50 Top Brands in Social Media” by My Social Media Reputation, (please refer to http:⁄⁄www.mysocialmediareputation.com⁄).
The Company steadily continues to invest in the web and in digital activities as valuable complementary communication and business channels, building a new level of direct engagement for the brand, in order to connect in a much deeper and richer way with existing and future clients.
Gucci was, in fact, a pioneer when it launched its U.S. e-commerce site in 2002 and we continue to see innovative digital channels as an important way to connect with our customers. The current website operates in 18 e-commerce markets (namely in 14 European markets, plus US, Canada, Korea and Japan) and in eight different languages with over 4,000 products available.
Gucci.com is considered to be an industry benchmark e-commerce site. In addition, we have a China content site in two languages and an International site.
The official Gucci Facebook page has passed 7 million registered fans, while well over 1 million people have downloaded the new Gucci Style by Guccio Gucci App from iTunes.
Through gucci.com and other social or digital media (like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Foursquare and the Gucci Apps), the company has broadened its reach in a rich and very direct way. Innovative media and technology represent a valuable complementary business channel as well as a significant way of communicating. A strong passion for new technology – along with the powerful recognition of the Gucci brand – is allowing us to develop more personal and constant relationships with current and prospective consumers. Ultimately, the aim is to offer the same values and experience to an online customer or visitor as we do in our physical stores.
Our application for .GUCCI complements this clear vision and philosophy: a new gTLD offers a platform for reaching customers in a new way, whilst supporting all Digital initiatives and protecting and enhancing the Gucci brand.
We will use .gucci, first and foremost, to reinforce the authenticity of our website and trust in engaging with the brand. We will also explore the potential for tailored experiences that visitors and customers view content and products that are most relevant to them. In addition, we will use .gucci to promote, support, protect and enhance the well-known character and the customer recognition and appreciation of the Gucci brand; to reach new consumers and strengthen the relationship with existing clients; to develop e-Business initiatives and global penetration; to offer the potential for innovative means of digital communication and marketing in the future. |