History of the Gucci Gucci remained one of the premier luxury goods establishments in the world until the late 1970s, when a series of disastrous business decisions and family quarrels brought the company to the verge of bankruptcy. At the time, brothers Aldo and Rodolfo controlled equal 50% shares of the company, though contributed less to the company than he and his sons did. In 1979, Aldo developed the Gucci Accessories Collection, or GAC, intended to bolster the sales for the Gucci Parfumes sector, which his sons controlled.
GAC consisted of small accessories, such as cosmetic bags, lighters, and pens, which were priced at considerably lower points than the other items in the company’s accessories catalogue. Aldo relegated control of Parfums to his son Roberto in an effort to weaken Rodolfo’s control of the overall operations of the company. Aldo Gucci expanded into new markets including an agreement with American Motors Corporation (AMC). The 1972 AMC Hornet compact “Sportabout” station wagon became one of the first American cars to offer a special luxury trim package created by a famous fashion designer.
The Gucci cars sported boldly striped green, red, and buff upholstery and on the door panels, as well as the designer’s emblems and exterior color selections. Though the Gucci Accessories Collection was well received, it proved to be the force that brought the Gucci dynasty crashing down. Within a few years, the Perfumes division began outselling the Accessories division. The newly-founded wholesaling business had brought the once-exclusive brand to over a thousand stores in the United States alone with the GAC line, deteriorating the brand’s standing with fashionable customers. In the 1960s and 1970s,” writes Vanity Fair) editor Graydon Carter, “Gucci had been at the pinnacle of chic, thanks to icons such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Jacqueline Onassis. But by the 1980s, Gucci had lost its appeal, becoming a tacky airport brand. ” Soon, cheap knockoffs of Gucci wares had appeared on the market, further tarnishing the Gucci name. Meanwhile, infighting was taking its toll on the operations of the company back in Italy: Rodolfo and Aldo squabbled over the Parfums division, of which Rodolfo controlled a meager 20% stake.
By the mid-1980s, when Aldo was convicted of tax evasion in the United States by the testimony of his own son, the outrageous headlines of gossip magazines generated as much publicity for Gucci as its designs. Rodolfo’s death in 1983 caused a major shakeup in the company when he left his 50% stake in Gucci to his son, Maurizio Gucci. Maurizio allied with Aldo’s son Paolo to gain control of the Board of Directors and established the Gucci Licensing division in the Netherlands for purposes. This action would later have a drastic impact on the outcome of the company’s dispute with the world’s largest luxury goods company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. ) Following the decision, the rest of the family left the company and, for the first time in years, one man was at the helm of Gucci. Maurizio sought to bury the fighting that had torn the company and his family apart and turned to talent outside of the company for Gucci’s future