Rescued by Tom Ford's global expansion strategy
In 1993 Gucci hit the tragic bottom line. According to all the information from the sources I have used, my theory explains how Ford used the global expansion (growth) strategy to rebuild the brand again and make it more successful than ever before.
The Gucci tragedy shortly explained
A young clothing designer called Tom Ford got hired (1992), was promoted to Creative Director and allied with Domenico De Sole (the brand´s CEO). 1993 was Gucci's lowest point financially. The Owner Maurizio Gucci (Guccio Gucci´s grandson), had his focus on luxury/ exclusive strategies, but the target market was too slight, which led the brand in the wrong direction. He got kicked out of the company, and two years later, Maurizio Gucci got shot by his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani. Gucci was now led by Investcorp. (Zargani, L.2021)
Brand positioning and awareness
Ford took a big step back and looked at the brand positioning and awareness. Brand positioning is the brand's uniqueness compared to the competitors and how customers identify and value the brand (Gordon, J.2022). He made himself aware of what target market the brand wanted to reach and how to make them recognise and connect with Gucci.
"Tom had a verry, very
strong vision of what
Gucci could be."
- Domenico De Sole
interview with BQO (Morgan, A.D. 2022)
Tom Ford wanted to establish new and fresh characteristics for the brand and turned Gucci upside down. He returned the signature logo (the two G´s) to bring recognition. Expand the target market and focus on the younger generation and everyone who wanted to feel young (Morgan, A.D. 2022). He figured he had to take a step out of the “comfort box”, look at the macro environment, and then connect it with the micro. As a result, he turned daily style into sexy and sleek.
Conclusion of the global expansion strategy
Tom Ford shocked the world in the mid-‘90s with beautiful models wearing sexy pieces from Gucci. He made himself aware of the brand positioning and worked detailed on the market plan. Together with De Sole, they spent much time with the CEO. The expansion strategy consisted of and became a perfect balance between aspirational and attainable. According to this strategy plan, Ford set up over 100 stores in only 10 years. (Zargani, L.2021)
Gordon, J. (2022). Stability, Expansion, and Retrenchment Strategies - Explained. [online] The Business Professor, LLC. Available at: https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/business-management-amp-operations-strategy-entrepreneurship-amp-innovation/stability-expansion-and-retrenchment-strategies [Accessed 7.Nov.2022]
Zargani, L. (2021). The House of Gucci: A Complete History and Timeline. [online] WWD. Available at: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/house-of-gucci-maurizio-gucci-tom-ford-patrizia-reggiani-history-timeline-1234813497/ [Accessed 7.Nov.2022]
Comments
Super cool and interesting blog, much here I did not know. Also liked your pictures. Liked the part about Tom Ford.