Gucci: an Italian Fashion Brand

Brand Heritage

Gucci, an Italian Fashion brand started its journey from a little shop in the city of Florence during the year 1921 by Guccio Gucci. Little was known that this brand would turn out to be a fashion powerhouse worldwide and make a reputation which will last forever. Over time, Gucci has been successful in making it a luxury brand with their expensive and exotic products. As a brand, Gucci has continuously evolved and has come up with products to offer to the higher class of people.

Gucci, now offers a wide range of products to its customers involving leather goods, bags, watches, shoes, apparel, and many more such fashion accessories around the world.

As far as Gucci is concerned, their most valuable sources of its brand equity are its name and brand logo. More specifically, the two G’s in Gucci’s logo do not only to act as an appealing factor but also are a part of Gucci’s prestigious heritage. The logo of Gucci is basically the initials of its founder Guccio Gucci. There are a lot of other factors that contribute to Gucci’s brand equity and consist of all the benefits that Gucci’s customers have which are; quality, design, artwork, and customization. Gucci as a brand is also good at adding emotional advantages to its customers by giving them a sense of status and belief in social approval of themselves which comes along with their association with Gucci. Gucci is not just a brand anymore as its history and heritage is something that people associate more on a personal level as sometimes they get attached to it on an emotional level which makes them a loyal Gucci customers.

Other key sources adding to Gucci’s brand equity are –

Uniqueness – one thing that adds to Gucci’s uniqueness is also the fact that have a large millennial customer base and is the only brand in the luxury market which has been successful in targeting millennials. Also, Gucci’s customer relationship management is very good which gives them an edge over its competitors. Its uniqueness is in its style and luxury that the Gucci offers with elegance.

Communication – even though Gucci is a historical heritage brand, they still have managed well to cope up with the contemporary world and has a strong online presence across many social media platforms and also their own website.

Gucci Market Review

Gucci has always positioned itself as a unique luxury brand. Along with that, Gucci is also famous for its powerful brand image which that has focus on class, quality, and innovation. Being a brand that leads the market, Gucci is good and successful at adding to its customers self – worth, prestige, and status.

Gucci products are available in many markets but are most likely to be found in a higher class of markets where the shoppers are also of higher status and rich class. Around the world, they have many stores which are accessible to people of the upper-middle and rich classes. These stores are specifically designed keeping in mind the brand’s identity and theme. Apart from this, Gucci also has their online sales available on their website which provides an additional platform to the customers to purchase Gucci products.

Gucci follows a premium pricing policy and has kept all its products at higher prices that many other brands. These prices are mostly kept depending on the material of fabrics being used and the craftsmanship on these products. Since the materials used to make a Gucci product is of premium quality itself, it makes the final product even more expensive. This pricing strategy does not bother Gucci’s customers as they take the brand as a status symbol and the high prices act as a sign of their status in society.

Gucci, like many other brands, comes out to promote their brand using advertisements, magazines, social media, and other promotional campaigns. All this helps the brand gain publicity and attract potential customers to buy their products. They use famous celebrities to be a part of their campaigns which plays a very important role in displaying their new products and making it reach a maximum number of people around the world.

Gucci’s product line has expanded through time and they have come up with many different product categories with a wide range of options. All their products are of premium quality and are highly-priced which makes Gucci the rich brand it is. A lot of effort is put in designing and manufacturing Gucci products and all of it seen on the final output. Some of the product ranges offered by Gucci include; apparel for men and women, bags, shoes, sunglasses etc.

Gucci SWOT Analysis

Gucci has been around for a while now and the fact that it is a heritage brand acts as a strength because people have developed faith in the brand over the years. The strong brand identity they hold helps it get recognized anywhere easily by its potential customers. All their products are of high quality and come with premium finishes which are appealing to the customers. Gucci holds over 500 outlets around the globe and makes their products available worldwide.

Gucci is a highly expensive brand with the majority of their products starting at a price which is unaffordable for a maximum number of people. This one thing may add to Gucci’s weakness, as although the brand is doing well; they don’t have a very large customer base because just a small population belongs to the category who can afford Gucci. The lack of product range in Gucci’s bag can give the competitors an advantage to overtake Gucci in the market.

Capturing the millennial market is a potential opportunity for Gucci as many millennials have started to shop luxury brands online and this shift can be used by Gucci in a positive way. Another opportunity for Gucci is to come up with more stories in the Asian region as they currently don’t hold a lot of stores here, and it would be a good chance for the brand to expand and grow more.

One of the major threats that Gucci faces is that of fake products being manufactured worldwide and their first copies which are available for even less than half the price of the original one. Many people tend towards buying these copies of branded products which causes harm to the original brand sometimes. Another type of threat for Gucci comes from its competitors which are mainly Chanel, Prada, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton to name a few. Lack of innovation may end up being a threat to Gucci as its been a while since Gucci came up with something completely new and innovative.

Gucci has been a brand of heritage throughout but they have still been able to stay contemporary keeping in mind the ongoing fashion trends. From a consumer’s perceptive, it can be said that Gucci’s customers associate with the brand on a higher level as they think of luxury, timelessness, innovation, and prestigious. Gucci really believes in taking good care of their customer which makes them feel happy to be associated with the brand. Gucci tailors its products with the aim of matching it with the customer’s taste which helps the brand in making exactly what the customer needs.

Gucci Competitor Analysis

The major competition that Gucci faces in the Italian market is mainly from other Italian luxury brands like Prada, Versace, and Armani. All these brands own a major share in the Italian market and have been there for many decades. But Gucci turns out as the most popular brand amongst its competitors.

However, each brand has their own special features and appealing characteristics which get them, customers. All the above-mentioned brands are top competitors of Gucci as they all have a good brand image and have been successful in providing premium quality to its customers over a period of time but it is Gucci who has been leading the competition ever since and has again been renamed as the top fashion brand. One reason behind this is the growing consumer base of millennials who are now the world’s most powerful consumers and in a situation where other brands struggled to serve the millennials, Gucci did that with ease and is now the most popular and successful brand among its competitors.

Conclusion

To conclude with, Gucci as known is at the top amongst its competitors and has been successful due to its brand strategy and the products they offer. Being a heritage brand, Gucci has developed an image which appeals to the customers as they think of it as a status symbol and self-worth enhancer. There are a few weaknesses that Gucci has as a brand, but they also have the opportunities to overcome them in no time using their strengths. The brand stills hold up strong in the market and it seems like they will continue to grow more and more.

Works Cited

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