Gucci Brand Is One Of The Top Three

According to an article in the BOF, Gucci is one of the strongest brands in the world. It says that in unprompted brand recognition survey, where consumers are asked which luxury brands they like to buy, Gucci regularly is in the top three.

However recently, the Gucci brand has been at risk of losing its strong brand position and has been suffering from a decline in sales. Its weakened status as a fashion authority is due to two factors; (1) competition in the luxury market is growing and (2) Gucci has been lacking fresh creative content. Former creative director Frida Giannini was a master at maintaining and even reviving former Gucci icons but she did little to produce a plan for future icons.

It is obvious that to stay relevant, a brand must bring new ideas and styles to marketplace. And that is exactly what new creative director Alessandro Michele is doing for Gucci.  The second quarter of 2015 saw sales rise by 4.6% beating all expectations.

One problem Gucci has is that its entry-level handbag priced at around $600 to 700 seems to have lost its ‘oomph’ factor. Ill-advisedly Gucci seems to view its logos as a stigma and only uses the logo on bags with lower price points. But Louis Vuitton’s logo-heavy luxury products show that this is not what the consumer wants. Consumers at all levels want their branded bags to be recognizable.

So where does this leave Gucci today? Gucci’s third quarter results, released today, show only a modest growth. Yet, it still seems to be a bit ahead of its brand competitors. It is anticipated that Michele's influence will improve both organic growth and financial performance as early as next spring.

However while it is anticipated that Gucci’s sales will recover quickly, its profitability may take a little longer. This is because fixing the Gucci brand image will cost. Gucci needs to fix disparities in pricing across regions, the brand’s retail network in China more needs to be spent on communications to support Michele’s new creative vision.

But overall the Gucci brand looks like it has a better future and Gucci handbags will remain popular with consumers. Check Out Some Authentic Gucci Products At Discount Prices