With increased competitors, Guess decided to emphasize what other companies could not offer customers: the complete Guess lifestyle of jeans, accessories, and image. However, Guess and the ailing retail industry experienced poor sales due to the economic recession that fell upon the United States and the devastating reactions to the September 11 attacks.
However, Guess was still able to reduce its cost structure and inventory levels. In fact, inventory levels were reduced by over 33 percent. It was, unfortunately, forced to reduce the number of new stores openings from 60 to The company also purchased the remaining 40 percent of Guess Canada with the intention of benefiting on its growth potential.
Guess continued to be hurt in with decreasing consumer confidence and continuing negative economic and political developments. However, the company was able to effectively manage its inventories and costs while product lines were enlarged, which increased customer interest. The style of the Guess men's line was improved in order to create products that were more appealing to customers and more consistent with the Guess brand.
Extra money was injected into marketing and advertising programs in order to reinforce the brand's appeal. As a result, independent surveys showed that Guess was ranked as one of the top five brands in total U. In November, Guess. The company opened a total of 24 new stores consisting of 21 new full-price retail stores and three factory-outlet stores and closed two under-performing stores in the United States and Canada. At the end of , Guess operated a total of stores in the United States and Canada, consisting of full-price retail stores, 11 kids stores and 67 factory outlet stores.
Its leading domestic wholesale customers included Federated Department Stores, Inc. Guess' retail store in Florence, Italy, was an integral part of its European design activities, and its international licensees and distributors operated Guess stores in 37 countries. Guess' retail, wholesale, and licensing business segments showed mixed performance results in The company made progress within its retail stores as the economy improved overall for the industry.
The company's actions and investments began to show positive returns when comparable store sales for the year grew 9. The retail segment provided the largest gains due to improvement of its women's and men's lines as well as growth in its accessories line; strong results from its U.
However, its wholesale business within department stores hit hard times when Guess products appeared in only department store and specialty shop locations, after an all-time high of 2, locations only a few years earlier. In , inventory levels declined In the fall of , Guess announced a development and distribution partnership with Parlux Fragrances, Inc. The next Guess girl, Paris Hilton, was hired in to help recapture business along with the company's glamorous image.
The company's web site showed Hilton in various sexy poses. In the summer of , Guess launched the Marciano chain, an extension of its brand Marciano that was designed in the style of sexy, yet sophisticated apparel and accessories. Stores in Los Angeles, California; McAllen, Texas; and Toronto, Canada were opened to serve slightly older customers interested in higher-end clothes and accessories such as glitzy evening dresses and fancy jeans.
Additional Marciano stores were planned to open in the Unites States later in the year. Guess also began opening several Accessories boutiques, a mall-based chain that carried only accessories such as handbags and hats, but no clothes.
Besides these two new store concepts, Guess was also planning on store openings over the next 12 months. Now a billion-dollar multinational retailer, Guess was one of the most widely recognized brands in the world. Known for quality, marketing creativity, and popularizing new trends and styles, the company had seen increased competition throughout its markets during the first few years of Finally, it must be said that many of the GUESS girls are more curvy than those seen in most fashion advertising.
The History of an Iconic Brand How the story began in If you wanted to create the ideal fashion brand, you might decide to take the legendary glamour of Hollywood and combine it with a dash of natural French chic. Back to article list. Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube Pinterest.
Who knew back then those people would become famous? To mark the 30th anniversary of the brand, Claudia Schiffer posed again for the brand. In Guess launched their first watch collection.
Soon after that, they went into accessories and launched the iconic Guess jewelry. Guess bags are well known all around the world. The designers are sending in three proposals with their vision of the Guess handbag. In , the winner was Mary Lai, with a denim bag. The photo editing services for the Guess brand meet the company's high standards and project specifications. Do you want a personalized offer for your business needs?
It's been a lonely place lately. Still he's not thinking about anything too radical: "Guess will always be loyal and true to its roots. That may ultimately be its undoing, according to numerous ex-employees and Wall Street analysts.
Some new blood," says Morningstar's Bridget Weishaar. You need to be relevant to today's youth. They grew up poor, sons of an Orthodox rabbi, in Marseille. When they were young, they opened a series of stores in France. Guess began in , with Georges and Maurice first, then Armand and Paul. Georges designed the clothes, burnishing Guess' signature style: stonewashed denim, lighter in color, softer and more form-fitting than competitors'.
Maurice handled product development. Armand ran distribution. Paul created the advertising, all of it in-house. Sex sold Guess jeans. Paul developed ads indelibly linking the brand with steamy images of women wearing practically nothing but Guess jeans. He opted for unknown models, demonstrating an eye for picking a face that would connect with his customers while launching the careers of many famous models: Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Laetitia Casta and Smith, who became infamous for marrying octogenarian billionaire J.
Howard Marshall before dying tragically in Guess' first big hit was the Marilyn jean, pants with such a snug fit it had three zippers: one at the fly, one at each ankle. Their expansion plans quickly exceeded their bank account.
The two denim phenoms apparently had a gentlemen's agreement that Jordache would not knock off Guess, but shortly after the deal was done, the Marcianos alleged that their new partners copied Guess' designs. It eventually led to a courtroom brawl that produced at least 70 hearings, depositions and , legal documents.
The Nakash brothers, in turn, accused the Marcianos of operating a kickback scheme and paying themselves double the salary outlined in the employee contracts.
According to previous FORBES reporting, things got even murkier when the Marcianos established a cozy relationship with an IRS agent, feeding him allegations about the Nakashes' tax dealings--a congressional panel later accused some high-ranking IRS officials of misconduct; the Marcianos reportedly denied any wrongdoing. The two sets of brothers settled in , and while the terms were never disclosed, the Marcianos emerged from the melee the sole owners of Guess, which thrived amid the ordeal.
At that point the Marcianos began to turn on one another. Georges wanted to put Guess into lower-tier stores, like J.
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