BOOK REVIEW: GUCCI

NAMES : SHAFIKAH BINTI ABU BAKAR

TITLE : GUCCI BUSINESS IN FASHION

AUTHOR : PAOLA TRIMARCO

NUMBER OF PAGES : 25

This is the story of one of the most famous fashion houses in the world. Guccio Gucci and his wife Aida Calvelli opened the first Gucci store in a little street in Florence in 1921. They sold luggage and leather products for horses. Their children, one daughter and five sons, all helped in the early days of the family business, delivering orders to customers by bicycle. Then came the idea for handbags and the famous Gucci logo “GG”. After that, the company grew and became known all over Italy. After the Second World War Gucci stores opened in America and Japan. People from around the world wanted to buy Italian style. Guccio Gucci died in 1953 and he past the company to his sons and they opened a store in New York. Many rich and famous Americans wore Gucci’s designs and they were in newspaper, magazines and movies. Around the world Gucci name means beautiful Italian fashion. Guccio Gucci had many sons and grandsons, perhaps too many for one business. The ones who joined the business often had different ideas and couldn’t agree. One grandson left and set up a rival company. Another set up a store selling only the cheaper products. One son went to prison because he didn’t pay his taxes. And the very last Gucci to work in the business, Maurizio, was murdered in 1995. So people from outside the family came in to run Gucci, the American designer Tom Ford and the money man, Domenico De Sole. In 1999 they expanded the company. They bought two other fashion companies,Yves St. Laurent and Sergio Rossi.

Now, Gucci has more then 160 stores and sales each years about millions of dollar. Most of the sales came from leather product likes luggage, handbags, wallets, clothes and famous shoes. Beside that, Gucci has new design every spring, summer, fall and winter. People also can see new clothes at fashion shows and famous people on television or in photographs likes Madonna and Tom Cruise wear Gucci clothes.