Word: gucci
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...worked. Gucci is arguably a hotter brand than any in the LVMH stable. And Gucci is seeking to bestow its panache on shoemaker Sergio Rossi and fallen couture house Yves Saint Laurent, in a series of deals valued at more than $1 billion. "We are going to apply our own business model to YSL," De Sole promises, "going from a licensed-type situation to a controlled situation." Last week YSL announced it would be cutting its licensing agreements from 160 to about 50 to protect the value of its brand. It doesn't hurt that Ford, arguably the premier designer...
...Both Gucci and LVMH have been in fashion with investors, in part because Asia's recovery is viewed as a boon for sellers of swank. Gucci's stock, at $84.81, is off 33% from its 52-week high but still well above the $60 it was trading at a year ago, while LVMH, which trades in Paris, is up to $411 a share after reporting $8.4 billion in 1999 revenue, a 23% jump from last year...
...Kiehl's, a 149-year-old posh beauty brand that was acquired last week by French global giant L'Oreal. In February, Klein, noting the sums Arnault has been paying and the increasingly treacherous fashion market, also put his company up for sale. Potential suitors--LVMH and Gucci among them--have shied away from Klein's privately held company because its licensing agreements would deny a buyer dominant control of its product lines...
Arnault hates to admit it, but he still desperately wants to make Gucci the jewel in the LVMH crown. The leather-goods maker is exactly the type of company Arnault knows how to maximize: a hot name with tightly held licensing and underexploited accessories markets. During the '80s Gucci became an overextended brand synonymous with suburban housewives. Starting in 1994, Gucci's De Sole and Ford began cutting back on licensing while focusing on building up the core fashion and leather-goods businesses. Ford persuaded celebrities like Tom Hanks and Madonna to don Gucci suits, and in just four years...
Both men take great pride in their remaking of the company and were horrified when it looked like Arnault--of whom Ford has said, "We could teach [him] a few things about this business"--would capture Gucci. To fend off the raider, the partners brought in self-made French billionaire Francois Pinault, the owner of Christie's auction house and part owner of Converse shoes, who used a controversial clause in Gucci's bylaws to purchase a 42% stake in the firm for $2.9 billion. Arnault insists Gucci's white-knight strategy was illegal, and the battle for the company...