Gucci Case Study

Along with New York, he began to make plans for The Commission, a nation-wide governing body for organized crime. He also became one of the Big Six bootleggers, dealing drugs on a larger scale (“Lucky Luciano Biography.com.” Edited by Biography.com, The Biography.Com website, A&E Television Networks, 17 June 2015, www.biography.com/people/lucky-luciano-9388350). At some point in Luciano’s life, Masseria and Maranzano-- the top bosses-- were engaged in a turf war. After hiring Luciano to take out Masseria, Maranzano launched him to the top alongside him. However, Maranzano soon decided Luciano was a threat and attempted to take him out. Luciano heard of this plan and beat him to it, ensuring his power over the Genovese family of organized crime in New York

When we think of the mafia and gangs, one name comes to mind, Al Capone. Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was an infamous mafia leader who was active in Chicago during the Prohibition era. Having committed numerous criminal deeds and being the man behind countless murders, Capone was finally arrested for tax evasion . Now, you might ask, “How was he able to commit all these violent deeds without being imprisoned?” Well, we first have to go to the beginning of Capone’s life.

This expansion demonstrates how the luxury industry is now run by massive corporations whose focus is only on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and most importantly, PROFITS! With growth and expansion, has come a decrease in quality and rarity. The luxury garments produced are mostly not handmade but are even outsourced to large factories in places such as China and Turkey. Also, to meet quarterly turnover projections, “designers churn(ed) out increasingly trendy collections of clothes, handbags, and shoes.” (Thomas, Pg. 246) With hundreds of new stores around the globe the surplus of designer labeled merchandise is immense hence, the proliferation of outlet malls.

In 1980s, Gucci had lost its appeal and became a tacky brand and was also in deep financial crisis. But Tom Ford raised Gucci from dead and found out the company’s leading status and maintains

For years, Louis Vuitton enjoyed high profit margins from the luxury market in Japan until other competitors such as Prada and Gucci entered the market. Counterfeiting also became a threat to the firm’s brand by satisfying consumer demand at lower prices. Other external global environmental problems included highly priced products, limited availability in stores only, and a heavy dependency on the Japanese market (Pearce & Robinson, 2013, p. 14-18). Moreover, “the after-shocks of the global recession were a threat to Louis Vuitton’s luxury business in Japan”, and Japanese women became less interested in the brand’s products (Pearce & Robinson, 2013, p. 14-18). Alternatively, Louis Vuitton could “reinvent itself and regain what used to be its well-attested

The 1920s was a very eventful time period for the US crime scene. With the emergences of major crime bosses like Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Charles Luciano, and others there was much to be done in the crime world. Charles “Lucky” Luciano (born as Salvatore Lucania) would become a key player in the reshaping and modernization of the mafia and the crime world. Young Luciano would show signs of pursuing a criminal career. His parents and family however disapproved of their son’s action and career path and essentially exiled him, respecting his family’s wishes he would later change his name from Salvatore Lucania to Charles Luciano. He also by the age of 10 he involved extortion, and thievery. Upon his arrest for the distribution of drugs in 1915, the police would offered to release him if he would tell them what he knew about the mob, Luciano however refused to talk due to the Sicilian code of silence, this action would vastly considered pivotal in fast tracking his career in

Gucci, a brand known for its quality, luxurious and royal association was confronted with strategic issues which made the company take notice of its strategy of expansion and brand personality. The company was not only having concerns with their product line but they were lacking unified corporate vision and strategy after its acquisition of some major names like YSL. Due to which they started having loophole in their luxurious goods market discipline. Strategic concern for the company was how does the brand image cascade down in the target market and how does it rejuvenate itself is a management lesson.

Gotti’s gambling habit was frowned upon by Castellano, who was the mob boss. His actions were noticed by federal agents, so they bugged out the Bergin club in 1981. The FBI had enough dirt to place Gotti under federal indictment for racketeering. After Castellano was gunned down, Gotti became boss. When it came down to getting sentenced, he and his gang were always acquitted of charges. He always fixed the verdict. He got the name Teflon Don because charges “wouldn’t stick”. The FBI finally had the chance to convict John Gotti after they had persuaded the underboss, Sammy Gravano, to testify against

Gotti became the leader of the gang, but unlike other gangs, was not concerned about territory. His gang was mostly into higher levels of criminality that dealt with fencing stolen goods, stealing automobiles and rolled drunks. While a member of the Fulton-Rockaway Boys, he was arrested five times however all his charges were reduced to probationary sentences. Later in life, Gotti marries Victoria DiGorgio. However marriage does not slow down John Gotti Jr. On a yearly basis, John Gotti committed crimes and was convicted of them. Several of the crimes ranged from grand larceny, hijacking, and murder. Though Gotti was convicted for several of the crimes, he proved to be a model inmate and was released on good behavior. In 1980, John Gotti tragically loses his son Frank when his bike was hit by their neighbors' car. Later, the neighbor was forced to move because of the constant retaliation from the Gotti family and friends.

The case study Preserve the Luxury or Extend the Brand presents a fictional dilemma, based on a real company, faced by Chateau de Vallois, a prestigious and famous wine-producing estate in the Bordeaux region of France. De Vallois is a family owned and run business; part owners are Gaspard de Sauveterre - a 75-year old majority owner, and equal partial owners: Francois de Sauveterre – Gaspard’s son and the chateau’s CEO , and Claire de Valhubert – Garspard’s granddaughter. De Vallois had fallen into a slow decline under its previous owner, but Gaspard along with Jean-Paul Oudineaux, his estate manager, had restored the chateau and since then de Vallois had been steadily profitable

Paul Castellano, or “Big Paul” was an eight-grade dropout and boss of the richest, most dangerous, and most powerful crime syndicate in the United States. Born June 26, 1915 in Brooklyn, Big Paul began his life in the mob by running numbers. When he was named successor to the great Carlo Gambino, trouble arose. Many members felt that Aniello Dellacroce, although in prison, deserved the role but instead Gambino had promoted Paul. Some saw this as nepotism which was generally frowned upon on by La Cosa Nostra. To settle tensions Castellano gifted Neil Dellacroce some of the family’s most lucrative operations throughout Manhattan and Queens, but this did not completely satisfy the slighted underboss. Paul, like Gambino, was an unusual type of Mafia boss. Unfortunately, while Don Carlo was revolutionary, Big Paul was unsatisfactory. He was embarrassed that he was categorized as a gangster and preferred to be regarded as a diplomat or businessman. Big Paul was said to look more like a businessman or CEO than a mobster. Paul Castellano was flashy too; he liked elegant clothing, fine dining, and being driven around by chauffeur. He even detested violence which is not a good quality for a mob boss to obtain. “The Pope” as he was referred to, was standoffish. His predecessor had gone to the markets in Little Italy, held court in public places, lived in the city, and interacted with his soldiers and capos. Big Paul on the other hand, generally held court at his private estate, did

Gucci was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci. In 1938, Gucci expanded and a boutique was opened in Rome. Guccio was responsible for designing many of the company's products. In 1947, Gucci introduced the Bamboo handle handbag, which is still a company mainstay. During the 1950s, Gucci also developed the trademark striped webbing, which was derived from the saddle girth, and the suede moccasin with a metal horsebit. The Gucci group really said it all, Tom Ford, creative director and Domenico de sole, president and CEO, stood side by side facing the camera with eyes of steel. These two men had, in the first six months of 1999, been the centerpiece of one of most higly contested hostile takeover battles ever seen on the Europian

Most luxury brands have been family-owned or -controlled and, consequently, were single-brand firms for the most part. However, mergers and acquisitions have been growing in the industry, with LVMH leading the way. Our strategic recommendation is to follow LVMH’s lead and acquire a multitude of diverse companies to build the Gucci portfolio.

Gucci utilizes the differentiation business strategy, as the brand itself promotes premium quality. They are known for their high end leather products and the red and green striped webbing with the GG logo. The company is in no way price-sensitive and caters to the affluent through customization, genuine leather, premium quality, and exceptional customer service. Gucci’s customer base is more than willing

Gucci has a lot of competitors in the luxury market where each one provides unique items but the competency between them is high as there is always the chance of the threat of new entrants. 


























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