A turnaround of the company devised in the late 1980s made Gucci one of the world's most influential fashion houses and a highly profitable business operation. 

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In October 1995 Gucci went public and had its first initial public offering on the AMEX and NYSE for $22 per share.  November 1997 also proved to be a successful year as Gucci acquired a watch licensee, Severin-Montres, and renamed it Gucci Timepieces.  The firm was named "European Company of the Year 1998" by the European Business Press Federation for its economic and financial performance, strategic vision as well as management quality.  Gucci world offices and headquarters are in Florence, Milan, Paris, London, Hong Kong, Japan and New York.  PPR headquarters are in Paris.

A Gucci cap worn by Lindsay Lohan in 2002
Gucci clutch designed under creative directorship of Tom FordIn 1989, Maurizio managed to persuade Dawn Mello, whose revival of New York's Bergdorf Goodman in the 1970s made her a star in the retail business, to join the newly formed Gucci Group as Executive Vice President and Creative Director Worldwide.  At the helm of Gucci America was Domenico De Sole, a former lawyer who helped oversee Maurizio’s takeover of ten 1987 and 1989.  The last addition to the creative team, which already included designers from Geoffrey Beene and Calvin Klein, was a young designer named Tom Ford.

Raised in Texas and New Mexico, he had been interested in fashion since his early teens but only decided to pursue a career as a designer after dropping out of Parsons School of Design in 1986 as an architecture major.  Dawn Mello hired Ford in 1990 at the urging of his partner, writer and editor Richard Buckley.

In early 1999 the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, headed by Bernard Arnault, increased its shareholdings in Gucci with a view to a takeover.  Domenico De Sole was incensed by the news and declined Arnault’s request for a spot on the board of directors, where he would have access to Gucci’s confidential earnings reports, strategy meetings, and design concepts.  De Sole reacted by issuing new shares of stock in an effort to dilute the value of Arnault’s holdings.  He also approached French holding company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) about the possibility of forming a strategic alliance.  Francois Pinault, the company’s founder, agreed to the idea and purchased 37 million shares in the company, or a 40% stake.  Arnault’s share was diluted to a paltry 20%, and a legal battle ensued to challenge the legitimacy of the new Gucci-PPR partnership, with the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom representing Gucci.  Courts in the Netherlands ultimately upheld the PPR deal, as it did not violate that country's business laws.  The second largest shareholder is Crédit Lyonnais with 11%.  As of September 2001 a settlement agreement was put into place between Gucci Group, LVMH, and PPR.

Following Ford's departure, Gucci Group retained three designers to continue the success of the company's flagship label: John Ray, Alessandra Facchinetti and Frida Giannini, all of whom had worked under Ford's creative direction.  Facchinetti was elevated to Creative Director of Womenswear in 2004 and designed for two seasons before leaving the company.  Ray served as Creative Director of Menswear for three years.  32-year-old Giannini, who had been responsible for designing men's and women's accessories, currently serves as Creative Director for the entire brand.

Frida Giannini, formerly Creative Director of accessories, is named sole Creative Director in 2006.  In 2009, Patrizio di Marco replaces Mark Lee as CEO of Gucci.

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