A French luxury group called Kering owns Gucci. Originally a family-owned and operated company, they are now a corporate company with over 99% of its shares owned by Kering, which is one of the world's most valuable luxury goods conglomerates.
Anyone who has seen the movie House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga, has some understanding of the long and colorful history of this company and its heated battles for control of the Gucci empire.
Gucci was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci and was initially just a single shop in Florence that sold leather goods, handbags, gloves, wallets, and other accessories. Then in 1953, after Gucci passed, Gucci divided the shares of his company among three of his five sons, Aldo, Rodolfo, and Vasco.
During most of the 1980s, Aldo and Maurizio were in a legal battle over who would become Chairperson of Gucci. The position went to Maurizio, who assumed control.
In 1993, Maurizio sold the fashion label to Investcorp. This is the sale that ended the Gucci family's complete ownership of Gucci. Following Maurizio Gucci's sale to Investcorp, he was gunned down by an assassin for hire in 1995.
Gucci went public on the New York and Amsterdam stock exchanges as the company thrived under the leadership of CEO Domenico De Sole and Ford -- dubbed the Tom and Dom Dream Team, becoming architects of the ultimate luxury brand revival.
De Sole and Ford shifted their focus: Gucci morphed into Gucci Group and spent many years building up the brand's luxury persona.
In May 1999, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute purchased a controlling 42% stake of the Gucci Group for $3 billion following a long and very public battle with a luxury rival for the brand. Later in 2003, Kering raised its stake in the Gucci Group to 67.6%, and again in 2004 to 99.4%.
Marco Bizzarri has been the CEO of Gucci since December 2014, and Alessandro Michele has been the creative director since January 2015. Gucci is a subsidiary of the French luxury group Kering.
