Gucci’s Success Capturing the Millennial Market

A Few Reasons Why Gucci Has Seen Revenues Skyrocket

Gucci this, Gucci that, everything Gucci. It’s the hottest brand amongst luxury label brands and just seems to pick up more traction with each season. Luxury brands always have their ups and downs, its part of the industry. Certain labels find more success with each season and see how new designers resonate with consumers. Since Gucci selected Alessandro Michele to be the Creative Director in 2015, Gucci has found a new tune to its success strategy. Connecting with the Millennial market.

Millennials are the new market for every brand  to cater to and to customize their communication channels according with. How are Millennials shopping habits day to day? What do Millennials prefer to see within products? What should be the marketing strategy with Millennials? All these are questions that Gucci has answered in their keys to success with Millennials the past few seasons.

Digital Marketing Experience

Gucci’s Millennial success can be pointed directly at the team of CEO Marco Bizzarri and Creative Director Alessandro Michele. The two have teamed up and vastly revamped the company from the ground up. The company culture to the direction of the company’s future path to success were all rekindled. According to Fashionista.com, Gucci sales increased 49% ($1.55 billion) in just the third quarter of 2017. That was on top of similar increases in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2017 as well. Kering CEO  attributes half of all Gucci sales to the Millennial market. Part of this success has also been the digital marketing strategy and ecommerce business which has tripled in sales.

When viewing the Gucci website you will notice how engaging and immersive it is compared to other luxury brand websites. The site description of “Redefining Modern Luxury Fashion” sums it up perfectly. Gucci reference hashtags are strewn about strategically in reference to connecting with social media channels. Vivid images clearly expose every detail on each product. The web pages stream through seamlessly springing you anxiously to a new link. The popular Gucci Ace sneaker is shown easily in the more than twenty varieties all in one location for you to see. The shopping experience is as effortless as can be.

Utopian Fantasy

The Spring 2018 season marketing campaign “Utopian Fantasy” encompasses European art history references with a fantasy blend. The campaign contains iconic art influences of European art history and intertwine it with a Gucci twist. Digitally remastered oil paintings have women showcasing Gucci pieces of the upcoming season. Mermaids are wearing Gucci handbags and scanning through their cell phones. A Golden knight strolls through on a horse with his Gucci handbag and cell phone. It’s a perfect connection to stir the creative Millennial mindset and communication channel that creates chatter on social media.

#Guccigram continues to pick up traction with Gucci followers being able to once again utilize their creative thoughts to reprocess new ideas for Gucci products. The buzz does all the work for itself within the digital marketing realm and Gucci has capitalized on this. In fact, in 2017 Gucci picked up 8 million new Instagram followers. 24/7 digital marketing at its finest where Millennials can shop whenever they want without missing a release.

Collaborations

Gucci’s Millennial success can also be attributed to their collaborative efforts from the past few seasons. The collaboration with Graffiti artist Trevor Andrew for the Gucci Ghost collection was something entirely new. Many would consider this a step away from what many mainstream luxury labels would even think of producing. Gucci spaceships, skulls, and dripping paint adorned the collection. This is an example of the creative direction Alessandro Michele wanted to take Gucci towards. It was entirely different and a reference in connecting with another consumer market that had proven successful. Gucci has also teamed up with a number of celebrities to further connect to todays Millennial icons. Artists such as Jared Leto, Rhianna, and Lady Gaga have all mixed and matched with Gucci. During the Super Bowl LI halftime Lady Gaga wore a complete Gucci outfit.

Retail Redevelopment

We all know that retail has become a treacherous rope for fashion retailers to stay afloat with. Stores are closing left and right with certain retailers completly shutting down. Gucci CEO Marco Bizzari realized this and set out with redeveloping all Gucci stores. Omnichannel marketing is a must these days. How do you further connect the digital shopping experience and use it to further elevate the in-store shopping experience? Gucci stores are all further incorporating the “New Store Concept” immersion of digital and in-store experiences.

One idea was the Gucci Art Lab, a 3,500 sq. ft design and production facility slated to open in 2018. To further keep up with increasing demand, Gucci decided to bring more production in house. This will give Gucci the ability to further adapt with consumer trends and needs. As we all know the Millennial is an always-changing and demanding consumer these days.Gucci Osteria is also a new development of Gucci stepping into the restaurant business. As a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Gucci Osteria is part of the Gucci Complex experience. The complex also includes a retail shop of rare Gucci products available only at the location in Florence. Projects such as Gucci Complex have all helped elevate the Gucci brand and channel its exposure of influence within the Millennial market.

The Millennial Committee

Having a group of in-house under 30 millennials as constant advisors was a strategic maneuver from CEO Marco Bizzari to identify the potential of the Millennial market. As Quartz learned, the new “shadow committee” helps Bizzarri learn different perspectives and discuss topics to further generate ideas from. A constant stream of tips and advice from Millennials fully involved within the industry. Ideas such as these that have helped Gucci outperform the competition. In 2017 it was one the most searched brands online and top within the luxury category.

Gucci’s Millennial Success Future Outlook?

Gucci has set in motion the modern way of communicating with the Millennial market. What does the Millennial customer desire and how is it they want to continue shopping with Gucci? CEO Marco Bizzari understands this concept and lets the creativity of the brand flow to the customers. In return, Millennials have been very receptive with the Gucci products and continue to be entrenched within the digital brand experience. From unique digital marketing campaigns, influential ideas that resonate with the Millennial market, Gucci understands what the Millennial customer is looking for. With an amazing Creative Director in Alessandro Michele at the helm guiding the product strategy it will be hard to see Gucci’s Millennial success cooling down anytime soon.