Top 4 Business Lessons Learned From Guccio Gucci — A Man Who Founded Gucci
With a net worth of more than 18.2 billion dollars, Gucci is one of the most influential luxury brands in the world. The brand competes with other luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Hugo Boss, to name a few. But who is the founder? What is his name? And what lessons can we learn from him?
The founder of the House of Gucci is Guccio Gucci, an Italian businessman born in Florence ( found in the central region of Italy known as Tuscany). His birthday is 26 March 1881. He founded the House of Gucci in 1921 in Florence. He is the son of Gabriello Gucci( who was a leather craftsman and a merchant) and Elena Santini.
Overview:
Below are business lessons I’ve learned from researching his life. I believe these lessons will help you.
- Learn your target market
- Save enough money for your business
- Ask for help when you need one
- Never be afraid to change your mind
Learn Your Target Market
In 1898 he left home in Florence to go to Paris( some people believe that this was because his father kicked him out, and others believe that he was looking for an adventure). When he arrived in Paris, he got his first job in an exclusive hotel called de Savoy.
At the Savoy hotel, he worked as a dishwasher, waiter, bellhop, then elevator operator. Working at the Savoy Hotel was a big deal at the time because it was the first hotel in the world to introduce electric elevators and electric lights. The hotel also kept a higher standard in everything, from the service to entertainment and elegant dining.
Because of this, it attracted royals and affluent people. People like Winston Churchhill, Frank Sinatra and many more favoured this hotel.
In the hotel, Guccio Gucci observed the habits and mannerisms of these people. From the way, they dressed themselves to their trunks for their luggage. He noticed everything, from the quality of the items to the material used.
He also saw that the wealthy treated their clothes and accessories as status symbols. Therefore, the quality mattered more to them. They were willing to pay more for the quality. The price tag did not matter to them.
Because of observation and close encounters with the wealthy of his time, Guccio Gucci understood his target market. He understood what his clientele needed and what he should produce.
Save Enough Money for Starting Your Business
Before Guccio Gucci could begin his brand, he saved his money. Firstly he became an employee of the Savoy Hotel. His duty was to load/unload luggage for the wealthy guests in the hotel. He then worked for Compagnie des Wagons-Lits, the company that dealt with luxury trains. This company began in 1872, and Georges Nagelmackers is the founder.
Guccio worked for this company for four years, and then the war happened. And Guccio Gucci had to serve in the war.
Immediately after serving in the war, Guccio Gucci worked for Franzi, a business founded by Rocco Franzi in 1864 in Milan. In this job, Guccio Gucci learned how to work with leather and everything about the trade.
Guccio Gucci then used the money he had saved for his first shop. With encouragement from his wife, he purchased a shop in Florence in 1921. And this was the first Gucci shop.
So if you want to start a business, you need to save. Save money to fund your business.
Ask for Help When You Need One
In the few years of opening and operating his business, the business was struggling to survive. He could not make profits with his business. So he would buy goods on credit from his suppliers with the promise of repaying them later, but with time they stopped giving him credit. He owed them too much money. They demanded he pays them back the money he borrowed.
At this point, Guccio Gucci didn’t have money to pay them back. So he called his staff and his family and told them they had to shut down. When he made the announcement, he was in pain. It pained him that his business had failed.
Upon hearing this, his son-in-law gave him a loan from his savings which he had for marrying his daughter. He couldn’t bear seeing his father-in-law suffering and in pain. Months after that, he was able to pay back the loan. And the brand began flourishing.
When Guccio was unable to save his business, he sought help. And he did receive the aid he needed from his son-in-law.
You need people in your life. People who will support you. People who will believe in you. People who wish only the best for you and want to see you succeed. You can never prosper alone.
Never be afraid to change your mind.
In 1921, he sold leather Items handpicked by him from Tuscany, Germany and England. The problem with these items is they were not the quality he wanted, so he started his workshop and hired the locals.
Again, he never had any plans for expanding his business. But after his son Aldo travelled to Europe to find a location for the next shop without his father’s knowledge. Guccio Gucci was not pleased with him. He saw his son’s move as a gamble they could not afford.
But in the end he had to change his mind and allow the shop to exist in another location(Rome). And because of this, the shop in Rome was the one that saved his business during world war II( from 1939–1945).
During the war, soldiers would go into the shop and buy gifts for their wives and girlfriend.
Conclusion:
The life of Guccio Gucci is a success story that shows us that you can never succeed alone. You need people who will help you and be there for you.
Never give up on your dreams. You can succeed if you believe in yourself and your dreams. Thank you for reading my article.
