It was also made into a movie! The Glory and Fall of Gucci

Gucci is one of the world's leading fashion brand companies. Its history is about 100 years old (founded in 1921), a little shorter than that of Louis Vuitton or Chanel, but it has a wide range of leather goods such as bags, shoes, and scarfs, as well as clothing, jewelry, watches, and perfumes.

Old Gucci began as a leather goods specialty store in Florence.

Gucci's history dates back to 1921, after the First World War. The founder, Guccio Gucci, started a leather goods specialty store in Florence. Guccio, who had lived in London and other cities, used his sensibilities to offer many high-quality, artisanal products. In the beginning, he also manufactured leather goods such as harnesses and travel bags. The store's performance was so good that a second store was opened in its second year of operation.
Since Gucci started as a leather goods store, it was particular about leather materials, but when World War II broke out, it was no longer possible to manufacture leather goods. The "Bamboo Series" was born as a result of thinking of products using less leather material, and bamboo was used for the handles. Also, the shortage of leather products continued after the end of World War II, so Gucci invented a product using leather material that is generally not used much. That is "pigskin. Pigskin" originally means "pigskin," but the material used by Gucci was boar skin. The pigskin became very popular as one of Gucci's signature items, partly because the products made from this material were extremely durable. Famous designs such as the Junkie bag and the Sherry line were also created during Guccio's time.

Bamboo series still popular today

Family turmoil after the third generation of management

In 1953, Guccio died, and his third son, Aldo, became the second president, leading Gucci's international expansion and opening the first overseas store in New York. At the same time, Gucci introduced low-heeled moccasins, which became a huge hit with women at the time, selling over 20,000 pairs a year. At the time, Gucci was already a well-known luxury brand among celebrities, but these moccasins were a hit, and the brand became known to the general public as well. Aldo then developed a new perfume and watch business, and strengthened its appeal to further capture the hearts of women who had been captured by the moccasins. These two major businesses grew steadily and are still important to Gucci today.
Aldo also designed the GG mark, which is still used by Gucci today. Although he is often forgotten because of his great achievements in developing a new customer base, he has also left his mark in design.
Paolo, son of Aldo, became the third president of Gucci, and this is when Gucci began to lose its way.

Gucci's representative mark 'GG mark'

Paolo had talent as a designer, and he had a track record of designing Gucci's first prêt-a-porter collection. Until then, Gucci had been operating under the corporate concept of being a high-end luxury brand, but he himself had the idea that he wanted people from all walks of life to wear Gucci. He implemented this ideal without the company's permission, and began to develop a brand that targeted the middle class as well. This damaged the image Gucci had built up as a luxury brand, and it resulted in a decline in overall Gucci sales. Paolo's outburst infuriated Aldo, who expelled him from the Gucci management.
Paolo's banishment from Gucci management should have ended there, but instead, Paolo plans to take revenge by removing Aldo from his position as president of Gucci. However, as an exile, his power was weak, so he needed a partner to work with. Paolo was his cousin.
As a result of their plan, Aldo resigned as president at the 1984 shareholders' meeting, and Maurizio became the third president. Subsequently. Aldo's camp and Maurizio and Paolo's camp sued each other, and a bloody legal battle ensued. A son sends his own father to prison...what an amazing ending.
Gucci is in danger of dismantling its brand because of this incident, but it will continue to operate.

The founding family withdraws from management...and the shocking end

After a series of turmoil, Maurizio, who had temporarily stepped down as president, is appointed chairman of Gucci. Maurizio lacked the management and designer talent of Aldo and Paolo, and the brand's value and sales declined year by year.
At this point, Gucci was a family business (all family members owned all the shares), but the family members were not happy to have Maurizio, who had been at the center of so much turmoil, back at the top of Gucci, and they decided to sell off their respective holdings. As a result, the majority of the Gucci family's holdings went into the market, and the reputation of the brand was ruined. Maurizio, seeing this situation, realized that Gucci had no future and decided to divest himself of all of his holdings. The Gucci family thus withdrew from the management of Gucci.
In fact, there was one person who was not satisfied with the Gucci family's decision to withdraw from the Gucci business: Maurizio's wife, Patricia. It was Maurizio's wife, Patrizia. Originally, she had an ambition to "become the wife of the president," and is said to have been the mastermind behind the scenes who encouraged Aldo and the camp of Maurizio and Paolo when they were fighting. As a result, Maurizio became the president and Patrizia achieved her ambition at one time, but after becoming the wife of the president, Maurizio realized that what Patrizia loved was the Gucci brand and fortune itself, and they separated and began living together with his mistress, Maurizio then moved in with his mistress, and they divorced. Maurizio then decides to remarry his mistress and, tired of running the business, decides to divest himself of his Gucci shares, which for Patrizio means giving up the life of a celebrity. After much deliberation, she asked a hitman to assassinate Maurizio, and in 1995 he was shot four times while on his way to work.
Incidentally, two years later, due to a dispute over the reward money with the hit man, it came to light that Patrizia was at the center of the assassination and she was arrested.
The story is so dramatic that it has been made into a movie (2021/House of Gucci) starring Lady Gaga. This is the story of the Gucci family's family feud (the Gucci brand business is now run by a French company called Kering, which took control of the company).