. for the rapper see gucci mane . for the kreayshawn song see gucci gucci . gucci type subsidiary of kering industry fashion founded 1921 ; 95 years ago 1921 founder guccio gucci headquarters florence italy number of locations 550 2014 key people marco bizzarri ceo alessandro michele creative director revenue 4.3 billion 2016 1 owner kering website www.gucci.com gucci u t i ; italian pronunciation utt i is an italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods part of the gucci group which is owned by the french holding company kering . 2 3 4 gucci was founded by guccio gucci in florence in 1921 . 5 gucci generated about 4.2 billion in revenue worldwide in 2008 according to businessweek and climbed to 41st position in the magazine s annual 2009 top global 100 brands chart created by interbrand ; 6 it ranked retained that rank in interbrand s 2014 index . 7 gucci is also the biggest selling italian brand . 6 gucci operates about 278 directly operated stores worldwide as of september 2009 and it wholesales its products through franchisees and upscale department stores . 8 in the year 2013 the brand was valued at us 12.1 billion with sales of us 4.7 billion . in the forbes world s most valuable brands list gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand with a brand value of 12.4 billion as of may 2015 9 as of january 2015 the creative director is alessandro michele . 10 contents 1 history 2 corporate 3 controversies 4 automobile collaborations 5 partnerships 6 chime for change 7 gucci museo 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit the founder guccio gucci with beginnings at the end of the 19th century the gucci 11 12 13 14 company became one of the world s most successful manufacturers of high end leather goods clothing and other fashion products . as an immigrant hotel worker in paris and later london young guccio gucci 1881 1953 was impressed with the luxurious luggage he saw urbane guests bring with them . before leaving he visited the manufacturer h.j. cave & sons . upon returning to his birthplace of florence a city distinguished for high quality materials and skilled artisans he established a shop in 1920 that sold fine leather goods with classic styling . although gucci organized his workrooms for industrial methods of production he maintained traditional aspects of fabrication . initially gucci employed skilled workers in basic florentine leather crafts attentive to finishing . with expansion machine stitching was a production method that supported construction . together with three of his sons aldo gucci 1905 1990 vasco gucci 1907 1975 and rodolfo gucci 1912 1983 gucci expanded the company to include stores in milan and rome as well as additional shops in florence . gucci s stores featured such finely crafted leather accessories as handbags shoes and his iconic ornamented loafer as well as silks and knitwear in a signature pattern . the company made handbags of cotton canvas rather than leather during world war ii as a result of material shortages . the canvas however was distinguished by a signature double g symbol combined with prominent red and green bands . after the war the gucci crest which showed a shield and armored knight surrounded by a ribbon inscribed with the family name became synonymous with the city of florence . aldo and rodolfo gucci further expanded the company s horizons in 1953 by establishing offices in new york city . film stars and jet set travelers to italy during the 1950s and 1960s brought their glamour to florence turning gucci s merchandise into international status symbols . movie stars posed in gucci s clothing accessories and footwear for lifestyle magazines around the world contributing to the company s growing reputation . gucci shop on str get in copenhagen denmark gucci store on fifth avenue in new york city gucci store in toronto canada gucci s distinctive lines made its products among the most frequently copied in the world in the early 2000s . pigskin calf and imported exotic animal skins were subjected to various methods of fabrication . waterproof canvas and satin were used for evening bags . bamboo was first used to make handbag handles by a process of heating and molding in 1947 and purses made with a shoulder strap and snaffle bit decoration were introduced in 1960 . in 1964 gucci s lush butterfly pattern was custom created for silk foulards followed by equally luxuriant floral patterns . the original gucci loafer was updated by a distinctive snaffle bit ornament in 1966 while the rolls royce luggage set was introduced in 1970 . watches jewelry ties and eyewear were then added to the company s product lines . a particularly iconic touch introduced in 1964 was the use of the double g logo for belt buckles and other accessory decorations . 15 the company prospered through the 1970s but the 1980s were marked by internal family disputes that brought gucci to the brink of disaster . rodolfo s son maurizio gucci took over the company s direction after his father s death in 1983 and dismissed his uncle aldo who eventually served a prison term for tax evasion . maurizio proved to be an unsuccessful president ; he was compelled to sell the family owned company to investcorp 16 a bahrain based company in 1988 . maurizio disposed of his remaining stock in 1993 . tragically maurizio was murdered in milan in 1995 and his former wife patrizia reggiani was convicted of hiring his killers . meanwhile the new investors promoted the american educated domenico de sole from the position of family attorney to president of gucci america in 1994 and chief executive in 1995 . the company had previously brought in dawn mello in 1989 as editor and ready to wear designer in order to reestablish its reputation . well aware of gucci s tarnished image and the value of its name brand mello hired tom ford in 1990 to design a ready to wear line . he was promoted to the position of creative director in 1994 . before mello returned to her post as president of the american retailer bergdorf goodman she initiated the return of gucci s headquarters from the business center of milan to florence where its craft traditions were rooted . there she and ford reduced the number of gucci products from twenty thousand to five thousand . there were seventy six gucci stores around the world in 1997 along with numerous licensing agreements . ford was instrumental in the process of decision making with de sole when the gucci group acquired yves saint laurent rive gauche bottega veneta boucheron sergio rossi and in part ownership with stella mccartney alexander mcqueen and balenciaga . by 2001 ford and de sole shared the responsibility for major business decisions while ford concurrently directed design at yves saint laurent as well as at gucci . gucci madrid spain 2016 the french conglomerate pinault printemps redoute however gained ownership of 60 percent of the gucci group s stock in 2003 . women s wear daily then announced the departure of both domenico de sole and tom ford from the gucci group when their contracts expired in april 2004 . the last spring collection under the direction of ford and de sole was a critical and commercial success . amid widespread speculation in the fashion press about ford s heir the company announced in march 2004 that he would be replaced by a team of younger designers promoted from the ranks of the company s staff . 17 in 2005 frida giannini was appointed as the creative director for women s ready to wear and accessories previously joining gucci in 2002 . in 2006 she also became the creative director for men s ready to wear and the entire gucci label . 18 as announced in december 12 2014 creative director frida giannini and ceo patrizio di marco were to step down from gucci . marco bizzarri was appointed ceo of the brand . 19 corporate edit gucci store in buenos aires argentina a turnaround of the company devised in the late 1980s made gucci a global contender and a notable fashion label . in october 1995 gucci went public and had its first initial public offering on the amex and nyse for 22 per share . november 1997 also proved to be a successful year as gucci acquired a watch license severin montres and renamed it gucci timepieces . the firm was named european company of the year 1998 by the european business press federation for its economic and financial performance strategic vision as well as management quality . citation needed gucci headquarters are in florence other world offices are in milan paris london hong kong japan and new york . kering headquarters are in paris . in 1989 maurizio managed to persuade dawn mello whose revival of new york s bergdorf goodman in the 1970s made her a star in the retail business to join the newly formed gucci group as executive vice president and creative director worldwide . at the helm of gucci america was domenico de sole a former lawyer who helped oversee maurizio s takeover of ten 1987 and 1989 . the last addition to the creative team which already included designers from geoffrey beene and calvin klein was a young designer named tom ford . raised in texas and new mexico he had been interested in fashion since his early teens but only decided to pursue a career as a designer after dropping out of parsons school of design in 1986 as an architecture major . dawn mello hired ford in 1990 at the urging of his partner writer and editor richard buckley . in the early 1990s gucci underwent what is now recognized as the poorest time in the company s history . maurizio riled distributors investcorp shareholders and executives at gucci america by drastically reining in on the sales of the gucci accessories collection which in the united states alone generated 110 million in revenue every year . the company s new accessories failed to pick up the slack and for the next three years the company experienced heavy losses and teetered on the edge of bankruptcy . maurizio was a charming man who passionately loved his family s business but after four years most of the company s senior managers agreed that he was incapable of running the company . his management had had an adverse effect on the desirability of the brand product quality and distribution control . he was forced to sell his shares in the company to investcorp in august 1993 . dawn mello returned to her job at bergdorf goodman less than a year after maurizio s departure and the position of creative director went to tom ford then just 32 years old . ford had worked for years under the direction of maurizio and mello and wanted to take the company s image in a new direction . de sole who had been elevated to president and chief executive officer of gucci group nv realized that if gucci were to become a profitable company it would require a new image and so he agreed to pursue ford s vision . in 1998 guinness world records cited the gucci genius jeans as the most expensive pair of jeans in existence . these jeans were distressed ripped and covered with african beads and were offered for sale for us 3 134 in milan . 20 this record was surpassed in june 2005 by levi strauss & co. s 115 year old 501 jeans that sold to an anonymous japanese collector for 60 000 . 21 in early 1999 the luxury goods conglomerate lvmh headed by bernard arnault increased its shareholdings in gucci with a view to a takeover . domenico de sole was incensed by