新标准商务英语综合教程TheLuxuryBusiness奢侈品生意Gucci古驰Guccihascomethroughchallengingtimestoseeitsfortunesriseagain.经历了充满挑战的时期。
The Luxury Business奢侈品生意
Gucci 古驰
Gucci has come through challenging times to see its fortunes rise again.
经历了充满挑战的时期之后，古奇的财富再次上升。
1. The name Gucci conjures up an image of exclusivity and prestige, an Italian brand of quality. As one of the world's leading purveyors of personal luxury goods, Gucci stands for more than just fine-quality shoes or suits. The Gucci Group is now a multi-brand conglomerate, with a collection of high-fashion brands like Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Boucheron and Yves Saint Laurent, YSLBeaute, Bottega Veneta, Bedat & Co and Sergio Rossi under its finely crafted umbrella. Gucci sells its brand of leather goods, shoes, clothes, ties, scarves and jewelry in directly operated stores around the world as well as outlets licensed to sell their products. Its watches alone number more than a dozen distinct models and are exclusive items, generating millions in revenue.
古驰这个名字让人联想到一种独特和声望的形象，一个意大利的优质品牌。作为全球领先的个人奢侈品供应商之一，古驰代表的不仅仅是高质量的鞋子或西装。古驰集团现在是一家拥有众多品牌的集团，拥有巴黎世家、斯特拉·麦卡特尼、布切隆和伊夫圣罗兰、YSL Beaute、Bottega Veneta、Bedat & Co和Sergio Rossi等高级时尚精美制作的品牌。古驰在世界各地的直营店销售以及授权销售店经销古驰皮具、鞋子、衣服、领带、围巾和珠宝。光是它的手表就有十几种不同的型号，而且是独家产品，创造了数百万美元的收入。
2. The beginnings of the Gucci empire go back to Florence, Italy, in 1921, when Guccio Gucci opened an exclusive leather shop. He understood the importance of building a reputation for his brand and did so by putting an identifier on his special edition creations. He concentrated on producing fabulously high-quality products, making them status symbols synonymous with luxury.
古奇帝国的起源可以追溯到1921年的意大利佛罗伦萨，当时古奇奥古奇开了一家皮具专营店。他明白建立品牌声誉的重要性，通过在特制版作品上放置标识符实现了这一点。他专注于生产高品质产品，使其成为象征地位的奢侈品的代名词。
3. After Gucci died, his sons Aldo and Rodolfo took over the management and led the brand to iconic status in the 1950s. They succeeded extremely well in promoting the brand to the rich and famous. Fashionable celebrities such as Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn were counted among the enthusiastic collectors. The Guccis took note of this popularity and expanded aggressively, opening stores in glamorous locations such as London, Paris and Palm Beach. However, for all the glamour Gucci represented externally, there were increasing disagreements within the family. Aldo and Rodolfo each had two sons who began pulling the brand in different directions， in the eighties, and decisions made about product distribution affected the brand's reputation. A strategy to increase distribution expanded the market to thousands of retailers, detracting from the brand’s essence of exclusivity. Eventually, retailers were selected more judiciously and the brand’s reputation returned. However, during this period of disagreement over distribution the brand went from headlines to sidelines, perceived as an old standard in the fashion world.
老古驰去世后，他的儿子奥尔多和鲁道夫接管了公司，并在20世纪50年代打造了品牌的标志性地位。他们成功地向富人和名人推广古驰品牌。时尚名人，如格蕾丝·凯利和奥黛丽·赫本，都是狂热的古驰收藏者。古驰兄弟注意到品牌广受欢迎，积极展开扩张，在伦敦、巴黎和棕榈滩等富有魅力的地方都开设了专卖店。从外部看来，古驰魅力十足，然而，其家庭内部的分歧却越来越多。奥尔多和鲁道夫各自有两个儿子，他们开始把品牌推向不同的方向。在二十世纪八十年代，有关产品分销的决策影响了品牌的声誉。古驰一项增加分销的战略，将市场扩展到数千家零售商，品牌的专营本质削弱了。最终，更加明智地挑选出来零售商，品牌的声誉也得以恢复。然而，在这一时期，产品分销上的分歧，使品牌从媒体宠儿变成了时尚局外人，古驰被看作是时尚界一个老派的标准。
4. Since then, smart leadership has driven the Gucci brand to more visibility and success than ever before. The two men responsible for this revival were the creative director Tom Ford and the president/CEO Domenico De Sole. Tom Ford was responsible for the design of all product lines from clothing to perfumes and for the group's corporate image, advertising campaigns and store design from 1994 to 2004. It was his elegant vision that placed this once staid brand back on the backs of the wealthy. Known today as one of the world's leading visionaries in fashion, Ford has accumulated a great number of accolades on his way to the top.
此后，明智的领导力使古驰获得了前所未有的品牌知名度和成功。这次的复兴得益于创意总监Tom Ford 总裁兼首席执行官 Domenico De Sole两个人。从1994年到2004年，汤姆福特负责从服装到香水的所有产品线的设计，并负责集团的企业形象、广告活动和店铺设计。正是他优雅的眼光，让这个曾经古板的品牌重新站到了富人的背上。作为当今世界时尚界最有远见的人之一，福特在登顶的道路上获得了诸多赞誉。
5 Italian-born attorney Domenico De Sole was the other half of this dynamic duo. By integrating elaborate advertising and communication campaigns with a marketing strategy that placed the focus on Gucci's core leather products and ready-to-wear, De Sole brought the much-needed attention back to the quality of the brand while streamlining the back-end of the business and expanding the network of directly operated stores. He has received as many prestigious accolades as Ford, and his efforts were recognized by the European Business Press Federation, which selected Gucci as European company of the year from among 4,000 other companies.
意大利出生的律师多米尼科德索尔是这个充满活力的二人团队的另一半。通过将精心策划的广告和宣传活动与将重点放在古驰核心皮革产品和成衣上的营销策略相结合，德索尔在精简后端业务和扩大直营店网络的同时，将亟需的注意力带回到品牌的质量上。他获得了和福特一样多的荣誉，他的努力也得到了欧洲商业出版联合会的认可，该联合会从 4000 家公司中将古驰选为年度欧洲公司。
6. Strong leadership and an image revamp literally breathed life back into the Gucci brand. Even so, the rocky economic climate of the past few years has made for a really bumpy ride for the luxury goods market. The Gucci Group was among those reporting far fewer profits during that period. Despite the numbers, however, analysts still cite Gucci as one of the stocks with the greatest upside potential, giving it plenty of room for further development.
强大的领导力和形象改造确实为古琦品牌注入了活力。即便如此，过去几年动荡的经济环境也让奢侈品市场一路颠簸。在此期间，古驰集团（ Gucci Group ）是报告利润少得多的公司之一。不过，尽管数据如此，考虑到为进一步发展提供了充足的空间，分析师们仍认为古驰是上涨潜力最大的股票之一。
