Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
Armani Marketing Analysis
Aradhya
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
Armani - the ultimate fashion brand Introduction Giorgio Armani started the company of his namesake back in 1975. Being a designer himself, he made apparel with his sense of aesthetics, beauty and luxury, a sense that appealed to the elite of the society that today includes the royalty of Belgium, the royal families of many Asian countries and even the opulent women from the Middle East and the high and mighty stars from Hollywood among many other prominent customers. For almost 30 years now, Armani has been a privately held company with the founder Giorgio Armani being the sole shareholder. With many sub-brands designed under the parent umbrella brand of Giorgio Armani to cater to the specific needs of different market segments, it has become one of the strongest fashion and luxury brands in the world. Not only has Giorgio Armani become one of the most respected and known brand names in the fashion industry, it is also one of the most highly valued fashion companies in the world with a value of nearly 3 billion Euros. Giorgio Armani is also very expansive in Asia Pacific with its multiple future growth markets for luxury brands. For example, China is embracing premium fashion and luxury goods at an increasing pace, and Giorgio Armani has been one of the forerunners to exploit the market potential. There are approximately around 10-13 million Chinese luxury brand customers. Giorgio Armani opened its Emporio Armani store next to Shanghai's historic "The Bund" in 2004 and plans on opening nearly 30 stores by the end of 2008.
The Giorgio Armani brand owned and run by the founder designer Giorgio Armani has earned the much hallowed space in the fashion industry through its superior design, relevant themes and trends. It maintains the aura of a real luxury brand. Not only has Giorgio Armani become one of the most respected and known brand names in the fashion and luxury brand industry, it is also one of the most highly valued fashion companies in the world with a value of nearly 3 billion Euros.
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
The Giorgio Armani Marketing Strategy
The mention of the Annual Academy Awards ceremony brings to mind the glittering ritual, the red carpet, and the galaxy of Hollywood stars. The Academy awards have become as much an event about films and awards as it has about the celebrities and their fashion statements. One of the regulars at the Annual Academy Awards event along with the stars and the glamour has been the ultra premium and exclusive fashion wear from the Giorgio Armani stable - the Armani suits donned by the leading Hollywood men and the Armani evening gowns and other haute couture dresses worn by the celestial Hollywood beauties. The Giorgio Armani company owned and run by the founder designer Giorgio Armani has earned the much hallowed space in the fashion industry through its superior design, relevant themes and trends appealing to the current crop of customers and by maintaining the aura of a real luxury brand.
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
The Marketing Philosophy Unlike the usual practices of branding that are normally seen in the consumer goods industry, the branding philosophy in the fashion and luxury goods industry is quite unique and personality based. Most of the famous fashion houses like Christian Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent, Gucci, Versace, Giorgio Armani and many others were built on the personality of the founders. As design is the most important ingredient of fashion and luxury apparel, the individual style of these designers becomes crucial to creating and sustaining the fashion brand strategy. It is these unique designs and patterns that reflect the personality of their creator that gives an identity to the brand and helps to differentiate it from the crowd. The Giorgio Armani fashion house, like many other fashion houses, has been built primarily on the unique personality and identity of Giorgio Armani himself. The brand takes on the identity of the founder through the designs created. Though this aspect of the fashion industry provides fashion houses with a strong sense of differentiation that can be conveyed in a tangible and visual form, it also poses a serious threat. When an entire brand and fashion house are built on the basis of the founders' personality and identity, it becomes a major challenge to keep the brand going after the demise of the founder, something many of the fashion houses have realized in the recent past.
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
The Giorgio Armani Brand Architecture Whenever a brand gains popularity and acceptance from its target customers in its core business, the next obvious step for the brand is to charter a new course by venturing into different product lines, different segments, and ever different markets. This phenomenon seems common across industry sectors. Giorgio Armani with its iconic popularity amongst the elite of the society and the fashion literate segment of the market has followed similar steps by extending the brand. Today the Armani brand architecture encompasses one corporate brand and five sub-brands, each catering to different sets of target customers and at different price levels. The signature Giorgio Armani line: This is the main collection of apparel that consists of the signature Armani suits, Oscar gowns and so on, which are of the ultra-premium price points and essentially targeting consumers in the 35-50 year old age group. Armani Collezioni: This is Armani's venture into a slightly lower market segment. This basically caters to the segment of people who aspire to wear Armani apparel but cannot afford the ultimate signature line, or to those who crave to add extra products to their existing portfolios. The Armani Collezioni brand, with a price point of almost 20% lower than the main line, provides an excellent line of affordable fashion. Emporio Armani: Targeted especially at the young professional segment in the 25-35 year old age group, the Emporio Armani brand provides contemporary designs that are relevant to the target customers. Armani Jeans: This is the lowest range of Armani apparel. This is to the value segment what the signature line is to the premium segment. Catering necessarily to the young adults in the 18 to 30 year old age group, the Armani Jeans collection provides a trendy yet fashionable and luxurious line of apparel. A/X Armani Exchange: This is the licensed brand of chain of retail outlets of Armani fashion house. This serves as the ultimate testimony to the power of the brand. By providing the entire range of its apparels and accessories, Armani Exchange provides customers with the complete feel of the luxurious fashion of Giorgio Armani. However, the Giorgio Armani brand architecture can be misinterpreted by the prospect. For instance, the differences between Emporio Armani and Armani Collezioni are often quite insignificant. Furthermore, in January 2005 the Armani group launched Armani
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Prive to stands for its haute couture collection. Giorgio Armani and Armani Prive can cross borders creating confusion in the mind of the buyer. These sub-brands help Giorgio Armani to operate in many segments of the fashion apparel market. But this is not all. Not only does Armani straddle many segments of the same product category, but also many different product categories. Leveraging its strong brand equity in the fashion apparel market, Giorgio Armani has ventured into other related categories like eye wear, watches and cosmetics. These are made available in each of the above-mentioned brand categories to ensure that it is available to the different segments of the market. It is usually argued that eye wear, perfumes, watches and cosmetics are strongly related to fashion and luxury and thus it is natural for fashion houses to extend their brands into these categories. Giorgio Armani is a very strong example for this argument. By leveraging its expert knowledge of the fashion and luxury industry, Armani has been able to come up with winning concepts in the other product lines of cosmetics, watches, jewelry and eye wear. But Armani has not stopped at just these product categories: Armani has extended the brand into multiple other categories such as Armani Casa (up-market furniture), Armanibranded Dolci (confectionary), and Armani-branded Fiori (Flowers). And to add to this wide portfolio of brands, Armani very recently struck a deal with a Dubai-based property group Emaar to come up with a chain of 14 Armani branded hotels and resorts by 2011. As is the trend in the fashion industry to operate in the entire spectrum from apparel, jewellery, cosmetics, watches, perfumes and luxury hotels, Armani has been able to leverage its brand equity to be present in most of these lucrative sectors. Today, Armani group has a retail network of 60 Giorgio Armani boutiques, 11 Collezioni, 122 Emporio Armani, 94 A/X Armani exchange, 13 Armani Junior , 1 Giorgio Armani Accessori and 16 Armani casa spread over 37 different countries. With so many things going on in the Armani stable, it might seem a pretty picture at the outset. But this huge portfolio of brands and product lines creates a much bigger set of challenges to the Giorgio Armani brand strategy in the future.
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Giorgio Armani's recent marketing moves
Armani Lounge at Chelsea Football Club The Chelsea Football Club has commissioned Giorgio Armani is to create a new look for its Directors‟ Suite at Stamford Bridge. To be called the “Armani Lounge”, the dining room and lounge area serves as the principal meeting place on matchdays for the Chelsea Board of Directors and for the entertainment of VIP guests. In total the “Armani Lounge” covers 200 square metres for which Giorgio Armani has personally designed a unique concept featuring furnishings from his Armani/Casa home interiors collection. The result is an impressive environment with the walls throughout in a mirrored bronze colour or alternatively clad in bronze metal effect laminates and a reed effect greige textile with marble flooring, warm diffused lighting from ceiling spotlights and table lamps from the Armani/Casa collection. Giorgio Armani said: “It has been an honour to create a new environment for the Directors‟ Suite at one of England‟s most historic football clubs. Today the ambience in which we live, work and enjoy ourselves has become as important as the clothes we wear. I hope that the new “Armani Lounge” will suitably reflect on the elegance with which its iconic team play the great sport of football on the field below.” Giorgio Armani to open virtual store on Second Life Giorgio Armani will be expanding his emporium and open an online boutique on the 3-D virtual world Second Life. The store will allow viewers to purchase the brand's top 10 products virtually via Second Life currency, the Linden dollar, or in actuality. More significantly, coming in September, Armani will start selling all Emporio Armani products online in the U.S. as part of an ongoing strategy of expanding e-commerce. "In the last seven years, I have seen mounting enthusiasm for online fashion shopping in the United States through the growing success we have had with our A|X Armani Exchange site," Armani told WWD. "Over this same period I have also observed the increasing sophistication of fashion consumers shopping online, which has encouraged me to develop this new site for my Emporio Armani lifestyle."
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
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A soft unveiling of the Emporio Armani site is slated for Aug. 14, while the official launch will take place Sept. 7, to coincide with the Neiman Marcus Crystal Charity luncheon in Dallas. Robert Triefus, Armani's executive vice president of worldwide communications, said that, for the first time, the designer will be interviewed online by the American public that day. "A major American portal will organize a live chat interview with Mr. Armani," said Triefus, declining to reveal the name of the Web site until the deal has been finalized. The designer said there are only 10 Emporio Armani freestanding stores in the U.S. and that the Web site will enable consumers nationwide to shop the entire collection Initially, only U.S. residents will be able to shop, but the company plans to expand the site to Europe next year and to Asia after that. "America is the most advanced country for e-commerce. It's only logical to launch there first," said Triefus. Armani and Samsung may launch mobile phone Giorgio Armani is rumoured to be in talks with Samsung to launch a new mobile phone design, after the success of Prada's and LG collaboration. The phone will likely be released in Europe this October. However, "the two companies have not signed a contract yet," a Korean publication stated. Armani's phone is expected to feature "exclusive content" and, presumably, a sleek design. Regardless, Armani's plan to team up with Samsung, which worked with Bang & Olufsen in the past , may prove to be a smart strategy for the company. Rumour has it that Armani and Samsung also plan to create a line of TVs, another way to marry designer chic with tech geek. Armani Exchange comes to London Armani Exchange is due to open a flagship store on Regent Street this September. Along with another flagship planned for Tokyo, it will bring its worldwide network to 119 stores. The Regent Street store will further be the largest A/X Store in the world and feature Giorgio Armani's new retail design concept for the brand. The design balances openness and intimacy, with large spaces and more private rooms, according to WGSN, creating a flexibility and fluidity of access that will allow the consumer to shop in individualistic ways to suit his or her own style. Aradhya
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"The new concept underscores the contrast between dark and light, smooth and rough textures, and shiny and matt finishes in a manner appropriate to the casual sophistication of the A/X consumer," in a statement released by the company. Armani sets sights on US expansion Still going strong in his seventies, Italian powerhouse designer Giorgio Armani has outlined an ambitious plan for expansion in the US, which includes a mega store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. The fashion house will spend $100 million over the next three years to beef up its US wholesale and retail operations, renovate existing stores, open new stores and relaunch the Armani Jeans line in department stores. The crowning glory, a 47,000 square foot store on Fifth Avenue, will open in fall 2008. The location currently houses the Hugo Boss flagship store. The new complex is based on the Armani store on Via Manzoni in Milan, which was rolled out in Hong Kong and Munich, and which will hit Tokyo this November. The US complex will house the brands Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Junior and Armani Casa, as well as offering Armani and Emporio Armani accessories, watches, eyewear, jewellery and perfumes. In all likelihood it will also include a sweet shop, a restaurant and bar, and a beauty area. Armani chose Fifth Avenue as the location for his flagship because it “represents one of the world's unique fashion retail destinations”. He told WWD that the store will reflect the world today: “international, cosmopolitan, multicultural, and, above all, contemporary.” Armani funds World Cinema Foundation Giorgio Armani is the major financial support for Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Foundation, which the director announced in Cannes on Tuesday. The non-profit organization is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of important neglected films hailing principally from Third World countries, i.e. those lacking the financing needed to refurbish classic films. ? "I am honoured to have the support of my fellow filmmakers to help us achieve our goal of preserving the cinematic treasures of developing countries," Martin Scorsese told a press conference at the 60th Cannes Film Festival. ?He further stated: ??"I am also particularly honoured that my good friend, Giorgio Armani, has agreed to help us. His Aradhya
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dedication to the preservation of Italian cinema is already well known through his participation as Executive Producer on my documentary "Il Mio Viaggio in Italia",” said Scorsese referring to his tribute to Italian cinema from the 1940s to the 1960s. ?? Armani, who is again working with Scorsese on a second documentary, a tribute to Italian cinema from the 1960s until today, will also serve as a member of the Board of Trustees. ??The friendship between Scorsese and Armani dates back to back to 1990, when the director filmed "Made in Milan", a short documentary on the designer. Armani Exchange enters new markets A|X Armani Exchange is pushing its international expansion into new markets. Today the hip, young brand opens its first store in, in Abu Dhabi , and next month it will open two boutiques in Brazil , in Sao Paolo and in Rio de Janeiro . It will be the brand's first foray into the South American and Middle Eastern markets. “When we plan to open in new areas, we are always careful to make sure that the Giorgio Armani and Emporio Armani brands are established in those particular areas first,” Harlan Bratcher, president of A|X Armani Exchange, told WWD. “And now we are definitely in expansion mode, we are even 10 stores ahead of schedule.” These openings will bring the total number of stores to 108, a marked growth since the brand was launched in 1991. The company plans to add another 25 stores in the Middle East within the next three years and another 25 in South America and Mexico . The openings are part of a joint venture between Giorgio Armani SpA and Como Holdings Inc. Armani executives expect the business to almost double annual sales volume to $550 million within the next three years and the brand plans to open another 95 stores worldwide. Armani to dress TomKat After much speculation about the legitimacy of their relationship, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are to tie the knot. The world press has temporarily forgotten Cruise's erratic and offensive behaviour and is focusing all its attention on the wedding of the year. The date or location of the event is not yet known, although it is expected to take place in Italy next month. According to a report by WWD, Giorgio Armani is believed to be the designer creating the couple's outfits for the entire wedding. Sources said that Armani has designed five different outfits for Holmes to wear during her wedding weekend. In Paris for Fashion Week, Holmes revealed that she had already picked out her wedding dress. Aradhya
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She was signalled in Milan as well, where she may well have been to see Armani at his headquarters. A spokesperson for the company refused to comment. After flaunting their new found „lurve' in front of camera crews the world over, the celebrity couple has retreated into a shroud of secrecy about their private life. They famously kept the world waiting for weeks before showing us pictures of their newborn daughter Suri. They finally did in a meticulously choreographed spread in Vanity Fair. Their wedding will no doubt be organized with the same precision to achieve maximum effect. Armani Casa opens Bond street store Armani Casa, Giorgio Armani's luxury homeware line, opened its UK flagship on Bond Street today, which is the brand's first standalone in the UK. The store's concept is to create a distinctive atmosphere through a combination of products that range from furniture and furnishings to accessories, décor and fabrics. Armani/Casa was launched in 2000 in Milan . Giorgio Armani's objective was to bring his philosophy of style to the world of home interiors and in so doing create the complete concept of an Armani lifestyle. For sale are furniture, tableware, decoration accessories, fabrics, ornaments, lighting, as well as ideas for bathroom and kitchen. For 2006/2007, the collection makes references to the Far East in the Twenties and the Baroque Era harmonise sympathetically with restrained shapes. The styles are light and curvaceous, conveying an approach to functionality and a human dimension, in which comfort co-exists on equal terms with a rigorous aesthetic. Armani/Casa colours are burnt orange earthy hues, claret, lilac, silver and mother of pearl; warm and sunny shades rather than striking contrasts. Like his clothes, Armani favours rustic and fine finishing over dazzling and brights. Armani plans to open further stores in Mexico City , Miami and Tel Aviv. In the near future, Armani/Casa will see further expansion through the unique collection of Armani Hotels & Resorts that Giorgio Armani is launching in collaboration with Emaar Properties, on e of the world's leading property developers. Currently the Armani Group is one of the leading fashion and luxury groups that is privately owned. The company employs over 4000 employees worldwide, and operates 13 of its own factories. The company designs, manufactures, distributes and retails everything from jewellery to jeans and operates over 300 stores worldwide. Aradhya
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Armani paints London Town Red Last night London saw its most fashionable party yet. Even Beyonce was in awe of Armani's star-studded event, saying: "Thank you for having me, Mr Armani!" after her perfomance to 1600 privileged guests. Giorgio Armani showcased his SS07 Emporio Armani collection in London while simultaneously highlighting his involvement with the Red Charity and the opening of Armani/Casa on Bond Street earlier in the day. But by the standards of any fashion capital, this was not so much a catwalk show as a stadium gig. After all, what fashion show - let alone one held in London - is presented by Leonardo DiCaprio and Bono? Or lavishes a crowd with dinner, champagne and the chance to eyeball 50 Cent at close range. Armani, according to the Independent, is the most powerful man in fashion, and so it should be no surprise that he, and his charitable cause, are able to persuade Beyoncé, Razorlight, Bryan Ferry and Andrea Bocelli to provide the soundtrack to his catwalk show. There were plenty of clothes for the guests to look at though, many flown in from Italy . Making a nod to the charitable intentions of the evening, there were splashes of red in his otherwise grey and black spring Emporio Armani collection, as was the case with the tomato-coloured patent belts worn with a black-and-white striped cocktail frock keeping in tune with the 1980s trend hitting London catwalks earlier this week or strawberry-red taffeta dresses. RED clothing refers to the charity's stated intention to fight Aids in Africa. Armani to open New York hotels New Yorkers have long been familiar with the Giorgio Armani power suit. Soon they will make the acquaintance of the designer's power suite. Construction is scheduled to begin in the next few months on the first of two Armani hotels planned for Manhattan, according to Joey Allaham, a New York City restaurateur, who recently partnered with Dubai-based Emaar Hotel & Resort Group to bring the designer's hotel chain to the United States. Emaar inked a deal with the designer in 2005 to invest $1 billion to develop seven hotels bearing the Armani name. Armani hotels are scheduled to open in Dubai and London by next year.
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Armani Casa comes to London Armani Casa is set to open its first flagship store in London in September. The new store, located on New Bond Street , will cover 6,480 square feet spread out over two floors. The store will offer the entire Casa line, including furniture, fabrics and accessories. “ London is probably the world's most cosmopolitan city today,” designer Giorgio Armani said in a statement. “There is a high appreciation for design and lifestyle, especially within the home environment. We now look forward to offering our collection and service in this important market.” He also said the brand was showing “very real growth” and that opening a store in London was a logical step. By the end of this year, Armani Casa will have 33 free-standing stores and 100 shop-inshops. Later this year stores will open in Mexico City and Miami .
Milan fashion closes with nod to elegant casual wear Giorgio Armani, the king of classic, relaxed fashion, epitomized the mood at Milan fashion week; next summer is about dressing elegantly casual. On the runway, Armani's jackets were structured, but fashioned in ultra soft fabric, while trousers remained comfortably loose despite a formal crease. A funky waistcoat sewn into the jacket lent youth to the suit. Armani preferred a trendy Nehru style blouse to the traditional stiff-collared white shirt, kept his jeans tight and paired his outfits with pristine white running shoes. Colors ranged from sandy beige and sea blue, to city gray. Although there were only a few pairs, Armani did include Bermuda shorts—an absolute must for warmer weather—in his show. The designer presented his collection on the last day of the five-day preview showings. Also showing was Fendi—with cropped jackets and pencil trousers—and Moschino, where much of the show was about striped seersucker suits and shorts. In general, Italian designers seemed to agree that next summer should be devoted to relaxation, whether lying on the beach or hunched over an office desk. Jeanswear has been replaced by a mix of sporty and classic clothes that would be at home at the country club. The summer silhouette can be divided into two types: skinny and delicate (Prada and Burberry), or healthy and hardy (Dolce & Gabbana and Emporio Armani).
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In either case, the summer man likes his comfort. Just watch the way he casually rolls up the sleeves of his soft jacket. Colours for summer are quiet and cool shades of beige, blue and sea green, with dashes of bright purple, red, green and yellow. The latter often come in shiny plasticized fabric for sports jackets, overcoats and floppy hats, the only question mark in a very reassuring round of collections. Although some models had shaven heads or extra long hair, most of the hairstyles were short and neat. Emporio Armani to show at London Fashion Week Just when we thought fashion‟s big names were deflecting abroad, Giorgio Armani today confirmed his Emporio Armani women's fashion collection will show during the next London Fashion Week, on September 21. Armani said the unique fashion music event will also celebrate the launch of his Emporio Armani Product Red capsule collection, which includes clothing, accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery and fragrances. Emporio Armani is one of the five partner brands participating in Product Red, the economic initiative launched by Bono and Bobby Shriver last December. It is designed to raise funds to fight AIDS in Africa, and Armani is donating 40% of the gross profit margin from sales of the special collection directly to the charity. Giorgio Armani said: "London is in many ways the world's most cosmopolitan and influential city, as it has become a crossroads for so many of today's cultural references, including contemporary art, architecture, the performing arts, literature, food, music, film and fashion." The show will happen as the company prepares to reopen its Emporio Armani flagship store and café on Brompton Road in London in October. The store, which is now closed for a complete refit, was first opened in 1988. Armani to expand in China Italian fashion giant Armani plans a major expansion in China with the opening of as many as 50 new retail outlets and investments in other projects, the Italian News Agency Ansa reported. Giorgio Armani, John Hooks, the group's commercial director and Paolo Fontanelli, the chief financial officer unveiled the details of the plan.
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Armani already has 35 stores in 12 Chinese cities and expects to have 40 by the end of the year. It also has 28 sale points in large department stores, according to Armani group's managers. The Italian group is currently the sixth largest international fashion company operating in China. Hugo Boss has 67 stores, while Ermenegildo Zegna owns 60. Ralph Lauren, Burberry and Ferragamo are the other fashion majors in the country. The new retail outlets will focus on marketing Emporio Armani and Armani Collezioni lines and will be set up as joint ventures with Chinese business partners, Ansa reported Thursday. “We will choose these partners by geographic area in order to rationalise our joint ventures to have no more than seven or eight partners,” Fontanelli explained. Armani's other investments in China will centre on its Armani Casa (Home) line and in the hotel sector. The fashion group already has a hotel in Dubai and within two years plans to open one in Milan. Ten other hotels are in the planning stage, the first of which will be built in Shanghai. Giorgio Armani kicks of Milan Fashion Week Milan Fashion Week got off to a sexy start with Giorgio Armani showing a feminine collection confirming the maestro of androgynous fashoin is walking a new path. "Women want to be sexy, so I will make them sexy," Armani said after a muchapplauded show yesterday in the theatre of his Milan headquarters. The new Armani silhouette is petite and fitted with below-the-knee, hip-caressing skirts in soft fabrics, paired with dainty jackets cut close to the bodice. There wasn't a pair of trousers in the entire collection. Colours strayed from the earth tones of the Armani palette: There was fuchsia, turquoise, amethyst and garnet mixed with dashes of white, gold and platinum. "The world is changing and so is fashion," the 71-year-old Armani said. But the designer, who traded in jeans and T-shirt for tie and jacket for his after-show curtain calls, has no intention of being left behind.
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Armani online Luxury fashion and personal care brand, Giorgio Armani will soon be offering its perfume and cosmetic ranges online. According to the company, the website will incorporate the same design features as its stores, including a beauty bar allowing customers to view the products lined up in front of them. Another innovative feature will be the real time model feature, which will allow the user to see products, such as lipstick, applied to an on-screen model, allowing them to judge the shade for themselves. Mr Armani noted, "I am approaching the launch of this website with the same attention to detail and the same commitment as when I open a new boutique. This, however, is our virtual store and it has been designed to take advantage of all the benefits that the Internet now offers in terms of communication and commerce." The launch of the site will be the first time that the entire collection of fragrances and cosmetics from the Giorgio Armani group will be shown together on the internet. Giorgio Armani to expand cosmetics Giorgio Armani Cosmetics is expecting a major double-digit increase in sales this year, its managing director Renaud de Lesquen stated. Same-store sales will also see a doubledigit increase, he says. The makeup brand will double its number of doors next year, he adds, from 95 currently. “We want to control everything we are starting to look a bit wider and look at propositions from other retailers.” The expansion for next year will notably include 20 further doors in the US and 50 upscale perfumeries in Italy, de Lesquen says. He explains that while the brand's focus has been on specialty or upscale department store doors, it is now widening its reach to include certain perfumeries. The brand will open a store-in-store in Paris, France's Le Bon Marché department store on December 5. The 40m2 Beauty Walk has a runway-like feature with a screen showing Armani fashion, with the brand's products on show to one side, and makeup stations to the other. Previously, only the brand's fragrances were available at the store. Armani fragrances are available in some 20,000 points-of-sale worldwide.
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Armani in resort deal Italian designer Giorgio Armani, who has built his fashion label into a brand empire covering everything from fashion to flower arrangements to furniture, has signed a deal to open at least ten hotels and resorts bearing his name. Armani agreed the joint venture with Dubai's EMAAR Properties, which will invest more than £549 million, taking care of real estate, building and management. Armani will be in charge of the design and styling of the hotels, which will be full of his furniture, fashion and beauty products. Armani may open in Ireland Italian luxury retailer Armani may open its first stand-alone store in Ireland. The company is in talks to open at Castlethorn Construction's Dundrum Town Centre in South Dublin. A source has said that Armani is "semi-committed" to the venture. The new shop will not be run as a franchise, but directly by Giorgio Armani's company in Italy. The new centre will house some of the best names in the fashion business, including Harvey Nichols who will be opening there later in the year. "In terms of names, it's probably the best centre in Ireland," said a source. The Armani Group saw its profitability grow by 23 per cent to EUR89 million (GBP 63.16 million) in the first half of 2004, with revenues rising 5 per cent to EUR644 million. Armani Prive Fragrance is the most democratized wing of fashion, because everyone can get a piece of the designer life at a good price. But with Armani Prive - four unusual, sophisticated scents, only available at this Sloane Street store and Harrods in the UK - Giorgio Armani is doing something different. "Not everyone will be drawn to them," he says, "but that's the point. Less obvious scents will appeal to those who know how to wear my clothes." Armani Prive from £120. For more information contact 020 7235 6232 Armani Goes For Couture Giorgio Armani is throwing caution to the wind in the struggling climate for fashion couture. The Giorgio Armani atelier - modern eveningwear made to haute-couture Aradhya
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
standards - will debut on the catwalk during the Paris haute-couture shows in January next month. The lure of haute couture for Armani is likely to be its red-carpet appeal as much as its kudos. Like John Galliano at Dior and Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Armani is extremely well connected to the fashion glitterati. And the January shows are, of course, perfectly timed for Oscar dress shopping. The future of Armani For anyone wondering what will happen to his empire when Giorgio Armani decides to retire, the Italian designer's recent revelations provide the answer. Armani told Le Monde that he plans to sell the business entirely. He does not wish to burden his nieces and nephews with the running of a 4,500 man workforce. Neither does he wish to float the company on the stock market, as this would weaken the group and would put it at the mercy of those "who do not always understand the business of fashion". It is also inconceivable to him to be a minority shareholder in the company that he founded, so the only solution is to sell the business lock, stock and barrel. However, Armani would only consider selling to someone who understood that the business should be left in its present state, with the current team intact. In the meantime he plans to re-invest 70% of the group's cash flow in order to remain independent. Armani's about-face Italian designer Giorgio Armani has decided to change tactics. After 40 years in the fashion business, the 70-year-old dynamo has admitted that he needs to allow more people to view his collections. He revealed that he has to allow room for criticism in order to move ahead and do the one thing he loves. His new attitude to his work was revealed in his last fashion show. It was a grandiose affair, held in New York, attended by over 2,000 readers of Paper magazine and a smattering of celebrities. For the first time ever, Armani admitted "regular people" in to witness the catwalk presentation, which included Ricky Martin strutting his stuff in Armani designs. Armani still going strong Aradhya
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
The Italian designer is to collect the Superstar Award at the Fashion Group International's Night of Stars this week. Receiving this lifetime achievement award at age 70 might indicate a winding down of his career, but Armani assured reporters that this is absolutely not the case. He is determined to continue with his work, and is considering working with L'Oreal or LVMH. The designer admitted that he has no interest in an IPO and that he does not want to burden his family with too much responsibility once he retires. However, he is not about to retire yet. Yesterday he presented his latest collection at Pier 94 in New York. He called the show “a little gift to New York". With this grand gesture Armani ensured that he still has a long road ahead of him.
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani's marketing challenges
The founders' dilemma: This phenomenon is classic and occurs for any company that is built on the basis of a strong and charismatic founder and leader. As the main competitive advantage for the company is the founder/leader himself, neither the founder nor the company would think of life after the founder. Moreover, whenever the companies' success and survival depends very heavily on the existence of a single person, such companies and its leaders should take proper action from an early stage so that proper leaders can be nurtured within the organization. The Giorgio Armani company is a classic case of founders' dilemma: Giorgio Armani, the CEO and owner of the Armani brand is in his early 70s. However, the company seems not to have made any plans for life after Giorgio Armani. In a recent interview, Giorgio Armani was quoted as saying that the search for a corporate partner and a successor was "not for the today, not for tomorrow but perhaps for after tomorrow". Though there have been cases where companies after much effort have been able to stand up and live after the demise of their founders, those are the rarities. Armani should formulate a structure in his company along with his key management people to put in place a definite structure that identifies and nurtures future and upcoming leaders who can carry on the business even after the demise of any single individual. This aspect gains a bit more importance in the fashion industry as the personality, concept and ideas of individual designers prove to be real competitive advantages. Keeping this in mind, Giorgio Armani should tackle this challenge when there is still a considerable amount of leeway to play with. Brand dilution due to over-stretch: The primary objectives of businesses are to earn profits and to enhance shareholder value by maximizing ROI. One of the main reasons that businesses invest in branding and brand management is for the same reasons. Strong brands, as is well known, provide companies with a very powerful tool to enter newer markets with limited investments by leveraging their strong brand equity. It gives companies numerous revenue streams. Given this simple but strong fact, it is not a surprise that most of the strong brands in the world have leveraged their brand equity and extended their brands into newer product categories, newer markets and even newer market segments. Armani, when analyzed in this light, has extended its strong brand equity a bit too far. Though the core business of Armani is in fashion apparel business, it has extended its brand into categories as different as luxury hotels and even confectionaries. The Aradhya
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
examples that immediately come to mind are those of Calvin Klein and Pierre Cardin. One of the many reasons that these brands diluted their brand equity was because they used their brand names on a very wide range of products. One of the main factors that make fashion houses and their products premium are their exclusivity. By franchising their brand names to literally everything, these brands lost a significant portion of their strong brand equity. Though Armani might have extended its brand to hotels because luxury travel is catching up fast as a fad with elite travelers, managing the brand along these different dimensions could be a massive challenge. Managing brand architecture: Given Armani's portfolio of brands within the fashion segment, as in many of the other markets that it operates in, effectively managing this portfolio of brands will prove to be the biggest challenge in the future. As the brand moves into different territories, interacts with different sets of customers, and represents different personalities, it becomes quite a task for maintaining consistency across all of its marketing communications and other activities. Though Armani has been using the corporate brand name in all its sub-brands, and across all its offerings, it is indeed a double-edged sword. On one hand, this gives Armani a great opportunity to build a very strong corporate brand but on the other, it gives rise to a huge risk of diluting the brand equity. Given this strategic dilemma, Armani has to tread carefully in the future. Armani should also realize that its existence is mainly due to its strength in the fashion apparel business. As the brand extends through different landscapes, Armani should not lose focus as new pressures on resources build up. Maintaining financial independence: Armani is a rarity from a financial perspective as well. Giorgio Armani has been the only shareholder of the company from its inception till now. Armani has not taken any bank loans either. It has been one of those rare companies which has managed to have very healthy operating profits and ploughed back almost 700 million Euros into the business since 1999. Having this financial independence has helped Armani immensely as the company tests newer territories. With no pressures from shareholders and without having to bother about meeting quarterly targets, Armani has been able to operate quite successfully. As is commonly known in the fashion industry, it takes a considerable time for the concept and products to take root in the market. For any company to sustain this gestation period, it needs to operate in an environment where there are no day-to-day financial pressures. Having this kind of financial independence to operate in has been one of the key success factors for Armani.
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Fashion Marketing Strategies
Giorgio Armani
But to continue as a one man company in the future could be quite difficult. With consolidation happening in many industries, it might just be a matter of time that it catches up with the fashion industry as well. When such a thing happens, it could pose a big challenge to the working style of Armani and its continued success. In this light, Armani might want to think of other options when it has a choice and before something is thrust upon it. Sustaining consistent brand personality: One of the main aspects of a fashion brand is its personality and its identity in the marketplace. Building and sustaining a personality that is relevant and one that resonates with the customer base is one of the most difficult aspects of building a strong brand. Armani, with its presence in diverse markets, a very wide brand portfolio, and interacting with diverse set of customers, faces this huge challenge of building a relevant and resonant personality. With the ever growing competition in the fashion industry and ever growing brand portfolio, building and nurturing this personality will prove to be a very big challenge for Armani in the future.
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