Word: brandes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...unlike Gucci Group or any other conglomerate, private-equity firms aren't in the investment for the long haul. Brands bought today will undoubtedly be on the market again in five or so years, sold to another private-equity firm or a luxury conglomerate?or they are taken public. "It's a different approach," says William Cody, a professor in retail and marketing at University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. "Gucci is looking to build a brand to fold into its business. Private equity is looking to build a brand to sell. They always have an exit strategy...
...laughed and said, 'this guy is crazy,'" remembers former Genius president Adriano Goldschmied, who was running the meeting that day. "Diesel was a brand we had created to get rid of leftover fabrics and closeout stuff. We even chose an anti-movie-star name that said cheap, a slow car that smells...
Except Rosso, of course, who for 20 years has remained singlemindedly focused on the development of the brand and fanatically obsessed with the idea that casual clothing could be fashion's long-term winner. Since he bought out his partners, he has grown Diesel from $7 million to $1.4 billion last year, acquiring the small Belgian designer Martin Margiela in 2002 and signing up manufacturing and distribution agreements with the trendy Milan-based DSquared designers, Dean and Dan Katen. Rumors are rife that additional deals are in the works, specifically acquisitions...
Rosso credits his hardscrabble upbringing on the farm for his determination and pragmatism, including a meticulous attention to logistics widely admired by competitors. Plus he has a real flair for marketing. Today Diesel is still less than half the size of the Levi's brand (a separate high-end manufacturing division, Staff International, does an additional $114 million in sales), but it's fast growing, highly profitable and so far has managed the delicate balance Renzo evokes when he says his goal is to be the "coolest of the biggest...
...favorite Renzo-ism at L'Oréal, the French beauty giant that beat out rival Proctor & Gamble for rights to develop a Diesel fragrance next year. "We adore working with him, and we believe very much in the project," says Patricia Turck Paquelier, L'Oréal's international-brand president for designer fragrances. "But it will be a major investment for us, so we validated our intuition with research." What appealed to L'Oréal in the findings was Diesel's international positioning. Consumers perceive European styling with what she called a "think-positive, go-for-it" American spirit; young...