Having collaborated with Gucci on live streaming their fashion week show in Milan for Spring/Summer 2011, it was a real pleasure being invited to their headquarters in Milan to meet with their CFO, Micaela le Divelec Lemmi, and chat about everything from new retail expansion in Asia to rebranding marketing campaigns. Ever since the new management team at Gucci took over around 2008, the company has been going through a top-down business transformation to boost their image in the luxury market industry.

I loved hearing about their strategic initiatives to boost their brand reputation by cutting down assortments and changing the store facade away from their Tom Ford era. Their logic in translating aesthetic and creative issues into tactical business actions was well defined. The overall strategy was articulated in a way that convinced me that Gucci is heading in the right direction. I am excited for the brand as it continues to innovate its product offerings and brand messaging.

Among Gucci’s major initiatives include the following:

• A major facelift to existing stores to update the feel of the brand past the Ford era
• Retail expansion into Asia, especially focusing on China - 21 percent of the company’s revenue comes from China at the moment according to Patrizio di Marco, Gucci’s president and CEO
• Stepping up their social media efforts, such as (1) finally acquiring the @Gucci handle in early 2011, (2) launching a China Gucci blog in late 2011, and (3) working with an amazing street style blogger to help snap Gucci across the world
• Refocusing messaging across advertising channels to focus on the quality and heritage of the brand & collaborating with iconic, Italian products and figures such as Fiat 500 and Martin Scorsese
• And a handful of other interesting tactics like selling Gucci bags in 7-11′s in Korea (yes, it’s true)

PPR’s Gucci Group is second to only LVMH in size and profit (think eternal rivalry like Ash and Gary from Pokemon, or  pirates and ninjas, or just Red Sox vs Yankees). While Gucci Group might (2010 annual profit $1.3 bn) not be overtaking LVMH (2010 annual profit $4.1 bn) in the immediate future, market signs from the past year have indicated that Gucci’s new strategy is having a positive effect.

From the NYT (Feb 2011):

PPR’s annual profit rose 1.4 percent last year to 965 million euros ($1.3 billion) from the previous year as revenue climbed 7.5 percent, to 14.6 billion euros ($19.7 billion), the group said Thursday.

I especially want to applaud the digital and social media team at Gucci – be sure to congratulate them on Twitter (@gucci) for their outstanding efforts. From what was literally a fragmented and minimal presence in social media to now one of the fastest rising in the industry, Gucci’s online efforts have resulted in significant online brand equity, joining the ranks of Burberry and other digitally savvy brands. From the WSJ (Nov 2011):

For the second year in a row, Gucci — the Italian luxury brand known for its “kissing G’s” as well as its life-in-the-fast-lane image — is the most searched fashion brand online.  That’s according to Microsoft’s Bing search engine, whose research, released today, is part of Bing.com’s annual search-trends list.

It’s a new year and between the 10th attempt to renew my resolution that “thinking about the gym burns between 0 to 0 calories” and the prophesied end of the world, it will be exciting time to continue to follow Gucci’s digital and retail expansion strategies.