1.
Los Angeles
–
Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L. A. is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. With a census-estimated 2015 population of 3,971,883, it is the second-most populous city in the United States, Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The citys inhabitants are referred to as Angelenos, historically home to the Chumash and Tongva, Los Angeles was claimed by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo for Spain in 1542 along with the rest of what would become Alta California. The city was founded on September 4,1781, by Spanish governor Felipe de Neve. It became a part of Mexico in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence, in 1848, at the end of the Mexican–American War, Los Angeles and the rest of California were purchased as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, thereby becoming part of the United States. Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality on April 4,1850, the discovery of oil in the 1890s brought rapid growth to the city. The completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct in 1913, delivering water from Eastern California, nicknamed the City of Angels, Los Angeles is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, and sprawling metropolis. Los Angeles also has an economy in culture, media, fashion, science, sports, technology, education, medicine. A global city, it has been ranked 6th in the Global Cities Index, the city is home to renowned institutions covering a broad range of professional and cultural fields, and is one of the most substantial economic engines within the United States. The Los Angeles combined statistical area has a gross metropolitan product of $831 billion, making it the third-largest in the world, after the Greater Tokyo and New York metropolitan areas. The city has hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984 and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and thus become the second city after London to have hosted the Games three times. The Los Angeles area also hosted the 1994 FIFA mens World Cup final match as well as the 1999 FIFA womens World Cup final match, the mens event was watched on television by over 700 million people worldwide. The Los Angeles coastal area was first settled by the Tongva, a Gabrielino settlement in the area was called iyáangẚ, meaning poison oak place. Gaspar de Portolà and Franciscan missionary Juan Crespí, reached the present site of Los Angeles on August 2,1769, in 1771, Franciscan friar Junípero Serra directed the building of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, the first mission in the area. The Queen of the Angels is an honorific of the Virgin Mary, two-thirds of the settlers were mestizo or mulatto with a mixture of African, indigenous and European ancestry. The settlement remained a small town for decades, but by 1820. Today, the pueblo is commemorated in the district of Los Angeles Pueblo Plaza and Olvera Street. New Spain achieved its independence from the Spanish Empire in 1821, during Mexican rule, Governor Pío Pico made Los Angeles Alta Californias regional capital
2.
Shopping mall
–
A shopping arcade is a specific form serving the same purpose. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, however, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible by vehicle. Technical innovations such as lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, as a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather. In places around the world, the shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America, outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, malls are commonly referred to as shopping centres, the majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton, Manchester Arndale, Bullring Birmingham, Liverpool One, Trinity Leeds, Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow and these centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year, there are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion and this represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year. One of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, isfahans Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehrans Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history, the oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage, different rows specialized in different goods, such as Bakers Row or Fleshmongers Row. The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today, the Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today. The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798, the Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819
3.
Beverly Hills, California
–
Beverly Hills is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, surrounded by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. By 2013, its population had grown to 34,658, sometimes referred to as 90210, one of its primary ZIP codes, it was home to many actors and celebrities throughout the 20th century. The city includes the Rodeo Drive shopping district and the Beverly Hills Oil Field, gaspar de Portolá arrived in the area that would later become Beverly Hills on August 3,1769, travelling along native trails which followed the present-day route of Wilshire Boulevard. The area was settled by Maria Rita Quinteros de Valdez and her husband in 1828 and they called their 4,500 acres of property the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. in 1854, she sold the ranch to Benjamin Davis Wilson and Henry Hancock. By the 1880s, the ranch had been subdivided into parcels of 75 acres and was being bought up by anglos from Los Angeles. Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker acquired most of it, at this point, the area was known as the Hammel and Denker Ranch. By 1888, Denker and Hammel were planning to build a town called Morocco on their holdings and they did not find enough to exploit commercially by the standards of the time, though. In 1906, therefore, they reorganized as the Rodeo Land and Water Company, renamed the property Beverly Hills, subdivided it, the development was named Beverly Hills after Beverly Farms in Beverly, Massachusetts and because of the hills in the area. The first house in the subdivision was built in 1907, although sales remained slow, Beverly Hills was one of many all-white planned communities started in the Los Angeles area around this time. Restrictive covenants prohibited non-whites from owning or renting property unless they were employed as servants by white residents and it was also forbidden to sell or rent property to Jews in Beverly Hills. Burton Green began construction on The Beverly Hills Hotel in 1911, the hotel was finished in 1912. The visitors drawn by the hotel were inclined to purchase land in Beverly Hills and that same year, the Rodeo Land and Water Company decided to separate its water business from its real estate business. The Beverly Hills Utility Commission was split off from the company and incorporated in September 1914, buying all of the utilities-related assets from the Rodeo Land. In 1919, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford bought land on Summit Drive and built a mansion, finished in 1921, the glamor associated with Fairbanks and Pickford as well as other movie stars who built mansions in the city contributed to its growing appeal. By the early 1920s the population of Beverly Hills had grown enough to make the water supply a political issue, in 1923 the usual solution, annexation to the city of Los Angeles, was proposed. There was considerable opposition to annexation among such famous residents as Pickford, Fairbanks, Will Rogers, the Beverly Hills Utility Commission, opposed to annexation as well, managed to force the city into a special election and the plan was defeated 337 to 507. In 1925, Beverly Hills approved an issue to buy 385 acres for a new campus for UCLA. The cities of Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Venice also issued bonds to pay for the new campus
4.
West Hollywood, California
–
West Hollywood, occasionally referred to locally as WeHo, is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip, as of the 2010 census, its population was 34,399. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in the United States, the citys irregular boundary is featured in its logo, it was largely formed from the unincorporated Los Angeles County area that had not become part of the surrounding cities. West Hollywood benefits from a dense, compact urban form with small lots, mixed land use. According to Walkscore, a website that ranks cities based on walkability, commercial corridors include the nightlife and dining focused on the Sunset Strip, along Santa Monica Boulevard, and the Avenues of Art & Design along Robertson, Melrose, and Beverly Boulevard. Major intersecting streets typically provide amenities within walking distance of adjacent neighborhoods, West Hollywood has a Subtropical-semi-arid climate with year-round warm weather. The record high temperature of 111 °F was recorded September 26,1963, snow is rare in West Hollywood, with the last accumulation occurring in 1949. Rainfall is sparse, and falls mainly during winter months, around 5,000 of the indigenous inhabitants from the Tongva Indian tribe canoed out to greet Juan Cabrillo. The Tongva tribe was a nation of hunter-gatherers known for their reverence of dance, by 1771, these native people had been severely ravaged by diseases brought in by the Europeans from across wide oceans. The Spanish mission system changed the name to Gabrielinos, in reference to the Mission de San Gabriel. The Gabrielinos are believed to have burned the pitch for fuel, by 1780, what became the Sunset Strip was the major connecting road for El Pueblo de Los Angeles, and all ranches westward to the Pacific Ocean. This land passed through the hands of owners during the next one hundred years. Most of this area was part of the Rancho La Brea, Sherman became the location of the railroads main shops, railroad yards, and car barns. Many working-class employees of the railroad settled in this town and it was during this time that the city began to earn its reputation as a loosely regulated, liquor-friendly place for eccentric people wary of government interference. Despite several annexation attempts, the town elected not to part of the City of Los Angeles. For many years, the area that is now the city of West Hollywood was an area in the midst of Los Angeles. Because gambling was illegal in the city of Los Angeles, but still legal in Los Angeles County and these businesses were immune from the sometimes heavy-handed law-enforcement of the L. A. Some people connected with movie-making were attracted to this area of the County
5.
La Cienega Boulevard
–
It was named for Rancho Las Cienegas, an area of marshland south of Rancho La Brea. From south of Fairview and from north of Rodeo Road, La Cienega Boulevard is a surface street. A portion of La Cienega in and adjacent to Beverly Hills is known as Restaurant Row for its number of upscale restaurants. It continues south passing Interstate 10, and the Metro Expo Line and it is unusual among Southern California roadways to be built to freeway standards. South of Interstate 10, La Cienega was built to standards in the late 1940s as part of the proposed Laurel Canyon Freeway. The SR170 freeway was never completed south of U. S, as such, emergency call boxes like those found along the areas freeways were installed along that stretch in the early 1970s. The area of La Cienega Boulevard, from Beverly Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard and its shops and galleries house many antiques, furniture, rugs, accessories and art. Art dealer Felix Landau operated his trend-setting gallery there in the 1960s, La Cienega in Beverly Hills, north of Wilshire Boulevard, is known as Restaurant Row because it features many upscale restaurants. La Cienega Boulevard is named after Rancho Las Cienegas Mexican land grant roughly in the now called West Los Angeles. The difference in spelling between the Spanish word ciénaga and the name of the thoroughfare originated with the name of the rancho, Metro Local lines 105 and 217, and Metro Rapid line 705 run on La Cienega Boulevard. As of April 28,2012, the Metro Expo Line serves a station at Jefferson Boulevard. The entire route is in Los Angeles County, setting the World on Fire, Kenny Chesney and Pink,2016 Southern California Unsigned Freeways – La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Design Quarter
6.
Bloomingdale's
–
Bloomingdales is a luxury department store owned by Macys, Inc. Brothers Joseph and Lyman G. Bloomingdale founded Bloomingdales in 1861, the pair were sons of Benjamin Bloomingdale, a Bavarian-born salesman who had lived in North Carolina and Kansas, and settled in New York City. In 1872, the Bloomingdale brothers opened their first store at 938 Third Avenue, at the time the East Side was a working class neighborhood with shanty towns, garbage dumps, and stockyards. Most of their customers and competitors were in the Upper West Side, within a few years after opening the store, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened, the new St. These additions brought to the East Side wealthy customers, who built brownstones that surrounded the new park, the store moved in 1886 to its current location on 59th Street and Lexington Avenue. It was designed with large glass display windows and large merchandising areas. Many of these products were European imports, by the start of the 20th century, Bloomingdales growth had greatly increased, facilitated by its convenient location at a hub of New York Citys horse-drawn trolley system. Offerings at the time included ladies stockings at 10¢ a pair, $10 mens wool suits, the slogan appeared on billboards and on 5,000 free beach umbrellas which were offered to street vendors and delivery cart drivers. The popular upper class shopping area moved downtown along Sixth Avenue to between 14th and 23rd Streets, in 1913, the 59th Street Station of the Lexington Avenue subway was constructed in Bloomingdales basement, further reinforcing the All Cars Transfer to Bloomingdales slogan, and business recovered. By the 1920s, the covered the whole city block. In 1930, Bloomingdales moved to a new location off of Lexington, the building, which had grown to encompass the entire block, had an eleven-story addition and was completely redesigned by architects Starrett & van Vleck in the Art Deco style. In 1949, Bloomingdales opened its first branch store in Fresh Meadows, subsequently, Bloomingdales built a full line store in White Plains combining its Eastchester and New Rochelle stores. The same year Bloomingdales joined Federated Department Stores, now Macys, in 1961, all over in the US the company started using designer shopping bags to promote its Esprit de France exhibit. The design, by artist Jonah Kinigstein, was based on French tarot cards in dramatic shades of red, black, in 1973, the iconic Brown Bag appeared. These were designed by Massimo Vignelli, who designed the current store typeface. Fashion designer Michaele Vollbracht designed one of the shopping bags in red, black, and white of a formally dressed man on one side. Other artists who have designed shopping bags were fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez, in 1969, Bloomingdales two branch stores opened in Garden City, New York on Long Island, and Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Bloomingdales opened home furnishing stores on the East Coast using products from the home furnishings department
7.
Macy's
–
Macys, originally R. H. Macy & Co. is a department store owned by Macys, Inc. It is one of two owned by the company, with the other being Bloomingdales. Macys has conducted the annual Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City since 1924 and has sponsored the citys annual Fourth of July fireworks display since 1976, Macys Herald Square is one of the largest department stores in the world. The value of Herald Square has been estimated at around $3 billion, in 2015 Macys was the largest U. S. department store company by retail sales. Macys was the 15th-largest retailer in the United States for 2014 by revenue and they all failed, but he learned from his mistakes. On the companys first day of business on October 28,1858 sales totaled US$11.08, equal to $306.15 today. From the beginning, Macys logo has included a star, which comes from a tattoo that Macy got as a teenager when he worked on a Nantucket whaling ship and it also offered a money back guarantee, although it accepted only cash into the 1950s. The store also produced its own clothing for both men and women, assembled in an on-site factory. In 1875, Macy took on two partners, Robert M. Valentine, a nephew, and Abiel T, la Forge of Wisconsin, who was the husband of a cousin. Macy died in 1877 from inflammatory kidney disease, la Forge died the following year, and Valentine died in 1879. This latter 5-story building was purchased by Robert H. Macys ignored the tactic, and simply built around the building, in 1912, Isidor Straus died in the sinking of the Titanic at the age of 67 with his wife, Ida. The original Broadway store was designed by architects De Lemos & Cordes, was built in 1901–02 by the Fuller Company and has a Palladian facade, but has been updated in many details. There were further additions to the west in 1924 and 1928, and the Seventh Avenue building in 1931, all designed by architect Robert D. Kohn, the newer buildings were increasingly Art Deco in style. In 2012, Macys began the first full renovation of the iconic Herald Square flagship store at a reported cost of US$400,000,000, STUDIO V Architecture, a New York-based firm, was the overall Master Plan architect of the project. STUDIO Vs fresh design of the department store raised controversy over the nature of contemporary design, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The store has several wooden escalators still in operation, the problem of pre-existing buildings also presented itself when Macys built a store on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, in the New York City borough of Queens. This resulted in a unique round department store on 90 percent of the lot, Macys no longer fully occupies this building, which now contains the Queens Place Mall, with Macys Furniture Gallery as a tenant, instead it moved its full outlet to the nearby Queens Center. This relocation was the result of Macys merger with Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Abraham & Straus, in 1994, more distant acquisitions included Lasalle & Koch, Davison-Paxon-Stokes, L. Bamberger & Co
8.
Victoria's Secret
–
Victorias Secret is an American designer, manufacturer and marketer of womens premium lingerie, womenswear and beauty products. With 2012 sales of $6.12 billion, it is the largest American retailer of womens lingerie, Victorias Secret is wholly owned by L Brands, a publicly traded company. Victorias Secret was founded by Roy Raymond, and his wife Gaye, in San Francisco, California, eight years prior to founding Victorias Secret, Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store. The companys first store was located in Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, Raymond picked the name Victoria to associate with the refinement of the Victorian era. The Secret was what was hidden underneath the clothes, Victorias Secret grossed $500,000 in its first year of business, enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations and a mail-order operation. By 1980, Raymond had added two more San Francisco stores at 2246 Union Street and 115 Wisconsin Street, by 1982, the fourth store was added at 395 Sutter Street. Victorias Secret stayed at that 395 Sutter Street location until 1990, in April 1982, Raymond sent out his 12th catalogue, each catalogue cost $3. Catalogue sales now accounted for 55% of the companys $7 million annual sales, the Victorias Secret stores at this time were a niche player in the underwear market. The business was described as more burlesque than Main Street, raymonds philosophy of focusing on selling lingerie to male customers became increasingly unprofitable and Victorias Secret headed for bankruptcy. In 1982, it had grown to five stores, a 40-page catalogue, Raymond sold Victorias Secret Inc. to Leslie Wexner, creator of Limited Stores Inc of Columbus, Ohio, for $1 million. In 1983, Leslie Wexner revamped Victorias Secret and he discarded the money-losing model of selling lingerie to male customers and replaced it with one that focused on female customers. Victorias Secret transformed from more burlesque than Main Street to a mainstay that sold broadly accepted underwear. The new colors, patterns and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful, glamorous way and with the appeal of European luxury were supposed to appeal to. The stores were redesigned to evoke 19th century England, from at least 1985 through to 1993, Victorias Secret sold mens underwear. In 1986, four years after the sale, The New York Times commented, in an industry where mark-downs have been the norm, in the five years after the purchase, The Limited had transformed a three store boutique into a 346 store retailer. Howard Gross took over as president from his position as vice-president in 1985, the New York Times reported on Victorias Secrets rapid expansion from four stores in 1982 to 100 in 1986, and analysts expectations that it could expand to 400 by 1988. In 1987, Victorias Secret was reportedly among the best-selling catalogs, in 1990, analysts estimated that sales had quadrupled in four years, making it one of the fastest growing mail-order businesses. The New York Times described it as a visible leader
9.
Louis Vuitton
–
Louis Vuitton Malletier, commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton, or shortened to LV, is a house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The labels LV monogram appears on most of its products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses, for six consecutive years, Louis Vuitton was named the worlds most valuable luxury brand. Its 2012 valuation was US$25.9 billion, the 2013 valuation of the brand was US$28.4 billion with revenue of US$9.4 billion. The company operates in 50 countries with more than 460 stores worldwide, the Louis Vuitton label was founded by Vuitton in 1854 on Rue Neuve des Capucines in Paris, France. Louis Vuitton had observed that the HJ Cave Osilite trunk could be stacked and in 1858, Vuitton introduced his flat-bottom trunks with trianon canvas. Before the introduction of Vuittons trunks, rounded-top trunks were used, generally to promote water run off and it was Vuittons gray Trianon canvas flat trunk that allowed the ability to stack with ease for voyages. Many other luggagemakers imitated LVs style and design, the company participated in the 1867 Universal Exhibition in Paris. To protect against the duplication of his look, Vuitton changed the Trianon design to a beige, by 1885, the company opened its first store in London on Oxford Street. In 1892, Louis Vuitton died, and the management passed to his son. After the death of his father, Georges Vuitton began a campaign to build the company into a worldwide corporation, in 1896, the company launched the signature Monogram Canvas and made the worldwide patents on it. Its graphic symbols, including quatrefoils and flowers, were based on the trend of using Japanese Mon designs in the late Victorian era, the patents later proved to be successful in stopping counterfeiting. In this same year, Georges traveled to the United States, where he toured cities such as New York, Philadelphia, in 1901, the Louis Vuitton Company introduced the Steamer Bag, a smaller piece of luggage designed to be kept inside Vuitton luggage trunks. By 1913, the Louis Vuitton Building opened on the Champs-Elysees and it was the largest travel-goods store in the world at the time. Stores also opened in New York, Bombay, Washington, London, Alexandria, afterwards, in 1930, the Keepall bag was introduced. During 1932, LV introduced the Noé bag and this bag was originally made for champagne vintners to transport bottles. Soon thereafter, the Louis Vuitton Speedy bag was introduced, in 1936 Georges Vuitton died, and his son, Gaston-Louis Vuitton, assumed control of the company. During World War II, Louis Vuitton collaborated with the Nazis during the German occupation of France, the family set up a factory dedicated to producing artifacts glorifying Pétain, including more than 2,500 busts. Caroline Babulle, a spokeswoman for the publisher, Fayard, said, They have not contested anything in the book, responding to the books release in 2004, a spokesman for LVMH said, This is ancient history
10.
Uniqlo
–
Uniqlo Co. Ltd. is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. since November 2005, the company operates in Japan and several other countries. Since March 1949, a Yamaguchi-based company, Ogori Shōji existed in Ube, in May 1984, they opened a unisex casual wear store in Fukuro-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima under the name Unique Clothing Warehouse. Initially, from the contraction of unique clothing, the brand was going to register under uni-clo. However, in 1988, during administration work between Hong Kong in relation to the brand, staff in charge of registration misread the C as Q, from then, Tadashi Yanai changed the store name to uniqlo across Japan. In September 1991, the name of the company was changed from Ogori Shōji to Fast Retailing, in 1997, Fast Retailing adopted a set of strategies from American retailer The Gap, known as SPA, meaning that they would produce their own clothing and sell it exclusively. They engaged the retail brand consultancy, CIA, Inc, Uniqlo had begun outsourcing their clothing manufacturing to factories in China where labour was cheap, a well-established corporate practice. Japan was in the depths of a recession at the time, and their advertising campaigns, clothing quality and new retail layouts also proved fruitful. In November 1998, they opened their first urban Uniqlo store in Tokyos trendy Harajuku district, in 2001, sales turnover and gross profit reached a new peak, with over 500 retail stores in Japan. When Uniqlo decided to expand overseas, it separated Uniqlo from the parent company, in 2002 their first Chinese Uniqlo outlet was opened in Shanghai along with four overseas outlets in London, England. But sales did not go well in England, and stocks in Japanese warehouses were overflowing, in 2002 and 2003, Uniqlo profits dropped sharply. In 2004, the company began joint ventures with Japanese fashion magazines and they teamed up with new designers, and profits rose, including at London outlets. The acquisition of other companies by Fast Retailing also helped the struggling company get back on its feet. 2005 saw more expansion, with stores opening in the United States, Hong Kong and South Korea. As of year-end 2005, in addition to its overseas holdings, by 2006 sales were $4 billion. By April 2007, the company had set a sales goal of $10 billion and a ranking among the top five global retailers, joining what at the time was Gap, H&M, Inditex. Fast Retailing signed a consulting contract for Uniqlo products with fashion designer Jil Sander in March 2009. In January 2015, a number of rights violations were reported at Uniqlo suppliers in China
11.
Gucci
–
Gucci is an Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by the French holding company Kering. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921, Gucci is also the biggest-selling Italian brand. Gucci operates about 278 directly operated stores worldwide as of September 2009, in the year 2013, the brand was valued at US$12.1 billion, with sales of US$4.7 billion. In the Forbes Worlds Most Valuable Brands list, Gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand, as of January 2015, the creative director is Alessandro Michele. With beginnings at the end of the 19th century, the Gucci company became one of the world’s most successful manufacturers of leather goods, clothing. As an immigrant hotel worker in Paris and later London, young Guccio Gucci was impressed with the luggage he saw urbane guests bring with them. Before leaving, he visited the manufacturer, H. J. Cave & Sons, upon returning to his birthplace of Florence, a city distinguished for high-quality materials and skilled artisans, he established a shop in 1920 that sold fine leather goods with classic styling. Although Gucci organized his workrooms for industrial methods of production, he maintained traditional aspects of fabrication, initially, Gucci employed skilled workers in basic Florentine leather crafts, attentive to finishing. With expansion, machine stitching was a method that supported construction. Together with three of his sons, Aldo Gucci, Vasco Gucci, and Rodolfo Gucci, Gucci expanded the company to include stores in Milan and Rome as well as additional shops in Florence. Guccis stores featured such finely crafted leather accessories as handbags, shoes, the company made handbags of cotton canvas rather than leather during World War II as a result of material shortages. The canvas, however, was distinguished by a signature double-G symbol combined with prominent red, after the war, the Gucci crest, which showed a shield and armored knight surrounded by a ribbon inscribed with the family name, became synonymous with the city of Florence. Aldo and Rodolfo Gucci further expanded the horizons in 1953 by establishing offices in New York City. Film stars and jet-set travelers to Italy during the 1950s and 1960s brought their glamour to Florence, movie stars posed in Guccis clothing, accessories, and footwear for lifestyle magazines around the world, contributing to the company’s growing reputation. Guccis distinctive lines made its products among the most frequently copied in the world in the early 2000s, pigskin, calf, and imported exotic animal skins were subjected to various methods of fabrication. Waterproof canvas and satin were used for evening bags, bamboo was first used to make handbag handles by a process of heating and molding in 1947, and purses made with a shoulder strap and snaffle-bit decoration were introduced in 1960. In 1964 Gucci’s lush butterfly pattern was custom-created for silk foulards, the original Gucci loafer was updated by a distinctive snaffle-bit ornament in 1966, while the Rolls-Royce luggage set was introduced in 1970. Watches, jewelry, ties, and eyewear were then added to the product lines
