Analysis of Four Strategic Dimensions of Gucci

History remembers Guccio Gucci as someone who started the biggest fashion brand and spread it internationally. As the case study pre tells, the CEO of Gucci realized a common factor that the brand has never neglected. That is its sustainability. The awesome craftsmanship and pure product quality has no doubt brought the brand to the heights of its success, but sustainability in both its marketing and product has what kept it in the top. Who had known that the one job that Guccio did not want to inherit from his father, would become his lifelong achievement. The leather goods company has given the word quality its due meaning.

The fashion icon has many outlets internationally. The brand deals with its international clients through direct operating stores. Through directly interacting with its customer base, the brand has brought many important clients to its gates. Gucci equally deals with its customer base providing excellent service and at the same time guarantees product quality. The brands’ management has a good sense of fashion and that is why it is always able to control the market even in these changing times. In the beginning, the company focused on luxury leather goods, but later focused on other goods as well. The company has been developing and selling clothing and other accessories for decades.

The functions and images of all their products are unique and the quality of these products is one of the main reasons for its such high sales. The designs are innovative and the precise use of technology has made the end product very attractive and complex. The company's product range includes stylish, trendy and unique fashion clothing for men and women. Gucci also designs shoes, watches and bags. The shoes are designed with great care so that the style can be clearly defined. The watches are well designed and the sparkling jewelry is made with exquisite craftsmanship. All bags are elegant. Children's clothing is comfortable and stylish. It also offers a wide range of home furniture, including bedding, furniture and wallpaper. Gucci offers all its products with a special and attractive package through its well-trained and professional sellers (Bhasin).

Bizzarri’s idea of bringing people together through innovation, ideas and sharing experiences has given a great result in the coming years. The brand has used these ideas to attract millennials and even the generation Z which is people under 24. The brands’ placement in the market by Bizzarri with the help of his creative director, Alessandro Michele, he has provided the brand with a more modern and category-breaking approach. One of the main reasons for the company’s sudden surge in revenue after a slow decade before 2015 is the innovation in technology. The new CEO with his director has brought a futuristic factory where art experiments are mixed with production processes of the 21st century (Langer).

One of the new strategies of the brand to attract the customers is opening six call centers. This is the brands’ way of interacting with the current generation which only uses smartphones. The brand is updating its traditional interaction with customers to a higher level. Along with the power of social and technological trends in modern consumer habits, further development pressure has led Gucci to a new level of innovation in customer service (Newsletter). The second Gucci trend of eliminating use of animal fur in the making of its products has had a very positive sustainable effect on its marketing strategy.

When talking about the value proposition of the brand, then Gucci has a common message: special, royal and timeless; A status symbol for an ambitious consumer and a lifestyle symbol for the rich and famous. For more than 90 years, the brand has remained true to its basic inspiration for incredible craftsmanship, quality and innovation. Gucci's relationship with elites such as Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn and high-level designers such as Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford resonate with their target audience, which ensures a successful image in the luxury market. In addition to product positioning, prices, presentation, distribution and packaging, high-quality customer service creates an experience and connection with the brand that sets them apart from their competitors like louis Vuitton and Chanel (Ali).

As the founder of Gucci realized this brand through interacting with celebrities, the brand has had its own share of hiring celebrities to promote its products as well as its social campaigns. To create visibility and attract customers, Gucci works with celebrities to reach their target audience. Some examples are singer Rihanna and actress Blake Lively. This has improved the visibility of the brand profoundly and has made Gucci part of a popular culture. Bizzarri has used this chance himself to raise awareness for climate change, as mentioned in the case study. Gucci launched the Chime for Change campaign, which was intended to make women stronger. The co-founders of the campaign were Salma Hayek-Pino, Frida Giannini (both members of the Fund Board) and Beyonce Knowles-Carter. The campaign works on education and health for women and access to justice for girls and women in the world (Gupta).

As Bizzarri had realized and as stated in a study by Nagasawa and Fukunaga (52), “Gucci established its position as the luxury brand Gucci by carefully controlling its products, prices, distribution channels and promotion in the process of building or rebuilding its name as a luxury brand; the other being that innovation was taking place in that process during both the start-up period and the regeneration period, and that innovation by type is categorized into sustaining innovation and disruptive innovation”. By keeping its roots intact and using the same tactics again, Bizzarri has once again proved the brands uniqueness and quality. The sustainability campaigns and innovation strategies have let the brand become even more popular and in the present era. No matter how fashionable or posh, taking care of human rights and keeping in check the environmental factors is always what wins hearts of people for famous brands like Gucci.

References

• Ali, Sanzida. “Gucci Value Proposition.” FM 323 Merchandising for E-Commerce n.d. http://guccippr.blogspot.com/p/gucci-value-proposition.html.
• Bhasin, Hitesh. “Marketing mix of Gucci – Gucci Marketing mix.” Marketing91 18 May 2019. https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-of-gucci/.
• Gupta, P. “Marketing Insight: Brand Audit of Gucci.” Tough Nickel 15 November 2018. https://toughnickel.com/industries/Marketing-Insight-Brand-Audit-of-Gucci.
• Langer, Daniel. “Learning from Gucci’s Wild Success with Millennials and Gen Z.” Jing Daily 15 jULY 2019. https://jingdaily.com/gucci-success-millennials-gen-z/.
• Nagasawa, Shinʼya and Teruhiko Fukunaga. “Strategic Brand Management of the Luxury Brand Gucci.” WASEDA BUSINESS & ECONOMIC STUDIES (2014): 37-54. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/32c4/35015a0d8ca9b0b495bc79b48edce21de640.pdf.
• Newsletter. “Gucci's new strategy to connect with millennials.” World Footwear 1 May 2019. https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/guccis-new-strategy-to-connect-with-millennials-/3792.html.