The Entrepreneur – Giorgio Armani Essay Example

Profile

Giorgio Armani was born on July 1934, together with his sister and brother, grew up in the northern Italian town of Piacenza. After graduating high school, Armani headed to medical school at the University of Piacenza, but after 2 years he realized that medicine was not for him --- specifically the sight of blood. While he became interested in the world of fashion, then he dropped out of medicine to accept a job as a merchandiser at the Rinascente department store. Thereafter, Armani worked as a fashion designer in Nino Cerruti, resulting in an exceptionally rich and varied evolution of his style.

Without any formal training, Armani designed a line of menswear in 1964. Encouraged by his partner Sergio Galeotti, Armani left Nino Cerruti and became a freelance fashion designer and consultant. In 1975, he and Sergio set up their own company, Giorgio Armani S.p,A., and launched a men’s and women’s ready-to-wear line under the “Armani” label.

Personality and talent Before becoming a famous designer, he worked for Ungaro and Zegna as a buyer, fashion coordinator and staff designer, where he evolved his style. His talent as a designer can be traced back to his 20 years in the industry, and his intricate ability to produce timeless clothing that remains in tune with the times.

He is known to be arrogant and rude, and loves being hailed as the top Italian designer (which explains his dislike for Valentino and Versace).

Sophia Loren says this of Armani's skills and talents; "Armani knows what women want. I feel comfortable wearing his clothes and I would excuse him even if he showed

women naked! But I love his transparencies, it's a matter of now you see it, now you don't."

Giorgio Armani is one of the most influential and famous designers in the world. His name is associated with 2 things: power suits and quality fabrics. Ever since the Greedy '80s, Wall Street hot shots and Hollywood "super-agents" have been wearing his suits, known to inspire confidence in the wearer and respect from others.

Though he never set out to be a designer, Armani has taken the little company he created in 1974 and turned it into a fashion empire, where his wears are regularly featured in media-heavy events such as the Academy Awards.

Armani's philosophy of fashion and style, together with his entrepreneurial ability, has been central to the success of Giorgio Armani S.p.A. He is actively involved in the strategic direction of the Group and oversees all aspects of design and creativity. Perhaps best known for revolutionising fashion with his unstructured jacket, he has, over nearly 30 years of designing, developed a stable of collections, including his signature Giorgio Armani line, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange and Armani Casa home interiors, offering a choice of lifestyles to the marketplace. Today, the Group's product range includes women's and men's clothing, shoes and bags, watches, eyewear, jewellery, fragrances and cosmetics, and home furnishings.

"My philosophy has always been to help women and men feel comfortable and confident through the clothes that they wear, rather than to create decoration for the sake of it." -Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani is one of the most influential and famous designers in the

world. His name is associated with 2 things: power suits and quality fabrics. Ever since the Greedy '80s, Wall Street hot shots and Hollywood "super-agents" have been wearing his suits, known to inspire confidence in the wearer and respect from others.

Though he never set out to be a designer, Armani has taken the little company he created in 1974 and turned it into a fashion empire, where his wears are regularly featured in media-heavy events such as the Academy Awards.

Sales have reached over $1 billion, primarily from the United States. In 1998, he boasted having the highest profits of any Italian fashion house. Armani has used the cachet of his brand name to launch multiple lines that include: A/X Armani Exchange, Giorgio Armani, Armani Jeans Emporio Armani, and Armani Golf.

Woman magnetism Armani has recently admitted what everyone already knew, that he is bisexual. In a recent Vanity Fair interview he said, "I have had women in my life. And sometimes men... to do this work, one must have a free mind."

Not that he would have a hard time attracting his share of women, especially with the promise of some free couture, but the ladies will have to settle for being a second choice since, Armani admitted to preferring men over women.

Accomplishments and fame In 1982, Armani became the first fashion designer to appear on the cover of Time magazine since Christian Dior in the 1940s. That caused the ire of fellow Italian designer Valentino, who failed to understand why he was overlooked.

The enormous buzz that Armani carried in the '80s was primarily due

to his roster of celebrity clients. He became one of the first designers to actively seek out celebrities to get his name out, beginning with super stylish coach Pat Riley of the Los Angeles Lakers at the time.

Coolness factor Armani isn't the easiest of people to talk to, or even hang around with. If his cold stare doesn't scare you away, the snobbish attitude will. Not cool, Giorgio.

Personal style It's Armani for crying out loud. This category should be named after him.

In 1974, with assistance from his partner, Sergio Galeotti, he established his own company, Giorgio Armani S.p.A. with a men's wear label, introducing a ladies' wear line in 1975. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He achieved his international breakthrough by tailoring for numerous Hollywood names and especially for Richard Gere in the title role of American Gigolo in 1980/81. His sister Rosanna Armani joined him in the company; Galeotti died in 1985.

Personal profile They proclaimed him the "King of Jackets!" after Giorgio Armani's first menswear collection in 1974. Armani’s power and talent were evident at the start of this career in fashion design. In 1982, He was the first fashion designer to show on the cover of Times magazine. In 1985, there is great trouble happened after losing his partner, Sergio Galeotti to Aids, who was responsible in business development and operation in the Armani Group. Armani has relied on close family members to help run his empire. Although many people think he could not manage as he is just a designer, not a businessman. He may question the future of his

legacy in what he calls “a young business run by old men, but he is sartorially consistent in his pursuit of “elegance without excess”.

Business Model

Giorgio Armani is the President and Chief Executive of the Armani Group and the sole shareholder of Giorgio Armani S.p.A., one of the world’s leading fashion designs company and manufactures product in several categories including fashion accessories, apparel, cosmetics, fragrances, home interiors jewellery, eyewear and watches under several labels including Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Mani, A/X (Armani Exchange), Gio and Acqua Di Gio. Armani Group today has more than billions dollars in annual sales, 4,700 direct employees, 13 factories, and over 2000 retail stores in 36 countries. In addition, the “Armani” brand is represented by more than 20 licensing and 2 large joint venture partners in Japan.

The retailing Armani’s products is a core strategic focus. The licensing is secondary business strategy in Armani. The Group licenses perfume, timewear under the “Armani” brand, but apparel still accounts major income. All brands and products under “Armani” brand with a high growth rate in terms of sale turnover and revenue, many adhere to Armani’s philosophy. “My philosophy has always been to help women and men comfortable and confident through the clothes that they wear, rather than to create decoration for the sake of it.” He said.

Armani’s philosophy of fashion and style, together with his entrepreneurial ability, has been central to the success of the Armani Group. He is actively involved in the strategic direction of all aspects of design and creativity, even though he is over 60 years old. Perhaps best known for revolutionizing fashion with

his unstructured jacket, he has over nearly 30 years of designing, developed a stable of collections.

Today, Armani has been long known for its innovative, elegance and comfort fashion as well as swimwear, underwear and accessories for both men and women. Facing increasing competition from other European and Asian companies with the same kind of products and target customers, Armani need more effort to maintain a role of market leader in term of the product innovation and market diversification. Moreover, Armani also differentiates itself from competitors to avoid some kind of price war to regional economic recession.

Armani has more than xxxxx different products for sales which include more than xx product lines and are planning to develop xx more series in the coming year. Furthermore, Armani is also planning together with EMAAR Properties PJSC to launch a chain of luxury hotels and resort to take advantage for very good brand name and customer reputation.

The Armani Group stands as one of the few remaining independent privately-owned companies in its market sector, with a proven business strategy that has capitalized on the worldwide power and potential of the “Armani” brand name.

Target Market

Armani is target into the women and men fashion in different market based on different brand name.

The brand “Giorgio Armani” is focusing on high class and selective retailing strategy. The major customers are a group of business man and women who aged 30-55 years old with high education and income level. Armani’s creations have been seen on the Hollywood affairs like Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer and so on, that steady Armani in high

class market positioning.

Besides, “Emporio Armani” brand was launched to capture the youth market, a less expensive but classically chic label, which set Armani one step closer on the road to world domination

By considering the market differentiation, Armani launched “A/X (Armani Exchange)” brand to target on medium class market in 1991. A/X does not just capture a new generation, it is the voice of urban youth, a fashion conscience, new idea and the street barometer of fashion directions.

In terms of geographic or regional channels, Armani has developed a wide outlets network in the worldwide, particular in United States where shared large volume sales scale and revenue. Because of target segment and brand image, Armani is only focusing on developed countries until 2002. However, Armani has planned to develop some 20-30 new stores in China before 2008. It is because the developing country - China where is a marketplace with unrivalled future potential.

Unique Selling Point Armani has 3 rules – eliminate the superfluous, emphasis the comfortable and acknowledge the elegance of the uncomplicated.

Giorgio Armani brought a new concept to women's dressing, and has had the most influence on fashion since Christian Dior's "New Look" and Mary Quant's mini skirt. As more and more women established themselves in the work force on an executive level they were looking for an alternive kind of power dressing to the drab dark-grey-suit-blouse-with-floppy-tie look.