Guess (clothing retailer)
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| Guess Inc. | |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: GES) |
|---|---|
| Founded | Los Angeles, CA (1981) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, CA |
| Key people | Paul Marciano, co-chairman, co-CEO Maurice Marciano, co-chairman, co-CEO |
| Industry | Clothing store |
| Products | Clothing |
| Revenue |  $936.06 million (2005) |
| Employees | 7,300 (2005) |
| Website | www.guess.com www.guessinc.com |
- This article is about the clothing line. For alternative meanings see guess (disambiguation).
Guess, (styled GUESS? in press reports) is a popular American name-brand clothing line that uses a question mark as its emblem. It is known for its sexualized advertising campaigns, which have featured black-and-white photographs of fashion models and actresses such as Claudia Schiffer, Drew Barrymore, Anna Nicole Smith, and Paris Hilton.
Guess also markets other fashion accessories besides clothes, such as watches and jewelry. They also own the line Marciano.
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[edit] History
[edit] The beginning
Guess was founded by Georges, Armand, Paul, and Maurice Marciano, four brothers born in Algeria but who supposedly grew up in the south of France and were influenced by the culture and style in the region. Their family is of Sephardic Jewish descent, and Marciano is a Sephardic Jewish surname. They moved to California in 1977 and founded the company in 1981. Their first product was a three-zipper style of jeans they named "Marilyn" (Style # 1015). Department stores and fashion critics were initially reluctant to carry the new 'stone washed denim' jeans, but in December when Bloomingdale's finally agreed with Georges to put on sell two dozen pairs of the new jeans as a favor to the brothers, they sold out quickly.
Their advertising campaigns began in 1982, and they introduced their well-known black-and-white ads in 1985. Their fashion models have included a number of widely-recognized supermodels, many of whom, such as Brooke Shields, Claudia Schiffer, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Carré Otis, Eva Herzigova, Laetitia Casta, Carla Bruni, and Naomi Campbell became famous in part because of the ad campaigns. Other, previously known models have included Diora Baird, Drew Barrymore, Anna Nicole Smith, Stephanie Anne Tadeo, Michael Brian Sy, and Paris Hilton.Last 2006,Guess had a Competition in Asia-Guess Faces to Watch.The winners are from Philippines, Michael Sy and Stephanie Tadeo. They received one million pesos from Guess and had a one year contract from Guess.They did several ad campaign last September 2006 which made them renowned in the modelling world.The ad direction is by Paul Marciano and they have been photographed by Charmaine Ang, Jonathan Sy, Wayne Maser, Ellen von Unwerth, and Neil Kirk. They won a number of Clio Awards.
During the 1980s Guess was one of the most popular brands of jeans. The company was one of the first companies to create designer jeans. While the first jeans were for women, in 1983 a men's line debuted. In 1984 Guess introduced its new line of watches known as "Guess", "Guess Steel", and "Guess Collection (Gc)." The watch line is still in existence today, and has been joined by a number of other accessory sidelines. In 1984, they also introduced a line of baby's clothes, called "Baby Guess"
[edit] Stagnation and Controversy
After Abigail's line in the 1980s the company began to take a downturn during the nineties, as other companies such as Calvin Klein, Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger, and Gap began rising in popularity. Guess's sales suffered, and its stock dropped dramatically.
In 1990 a women's right group based out of California called for a boycott of the famous-jean company calling Guess ads sexist and demeaning to females around the world. The women's right group claimed the ads mixed sex and violence; however the boycott failed to establish a major impact because the company's large fan-base was mainly women.[citation needed]
As well as increasing competition, Guess also saw a serious tarnishing of its image during this time. As awareness of sweatshop use among major corporations grew, Guess was quickly marked as a major offender in this area. In 1992, Guess contractors faced litigation from the US Department of Labor due to failure to pay their employees the minimum wage or adequate overtime. Rather than face a court case, $573,000 in back wages was paid to employees.
Soon afterward, Guess promised to monitor their contractors for illegal activity, and the company earned a place on the US Department of Labor's 'Trendsetters List', but this position was suspended several years later in 1996 after independent inspectors found violations of regulations at seven of the company's contractors. In the same year the company was sued by the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees (UNITE), again because of failure to pay the minimum wage or overtime to workers. The settlement, supervised by the US Department of Labor, saw the reinstatement of 8 workers found to have been illegally fired and another $80,000 in back pay given to workers, but almost immediately afterward Guess announced that it was moving its sewing production to Mexico. The company denied that the move was related to these court cases, but its public image continued to suffer.
Throughout the nineties, UNITE continued a public relations campaign against Guess, focusing on the experiences of former employees. Eventually, Guess countered with a defamation suit against Unite and several of its officials, while in 1997 the company ran full-page ads in many major American newspapers claiming that its contractors were 'guaranteed 100% free of sweatshop labour'. The wording of these ads was changed after federal authorities complained that the claims had not been made by anyone in the government and had no official status.
While Guess saw its image severely tarnished in the United States, the company still remained fairly profitable. Guess especially began expanding in the less competitive and increasingly lucrative European and Japanese markets.
In 2004, Guess came under fire from the American Decency Association after promotional ads displayed in store fronts across the country featured hotel heiress Paris Hilton lying partily nude on a grassy surface "seducing" a male. The American Decency Association sent a letter to Guess addressing the situation. Paul Marciano personally returned a letter stating "...if you don't want to see these pictures in our stores, please stay home." The American Decency Association called for a complete boycott of the store, however the boycott failed to make any impact on the company. Guess sales have been steadily increasing since 2003. The American Decency Association has yet to imply any further boycotting of the company.
In 2005 Guess pulled a line of t-shirts from the market after Stanford’s Colombian residents called for a boycott of the company. "Ski Colombia: Always Plenty of Fresh Powder" was designed on the t-shirts released by the company in the second quarter of 2005 -- referencing to Colombia's drug-trafficking problem. Guess sent apology letters to all those who implied the company was setting a negative image of the country, however the letters seemingly left those still unsatisfied.
[edit] Upswing
In the 2000s, the company promoted a different look and sense of style, while the controversy that surrounded the company during the nineties was largely forgotten. As the marketing ads grew increasingly sexier, Guess's sales began to take a turn for the better. In 2005, Guess began catching the eye of many new people (mainly teens) who were unaware of Guess's earlier history. Since mid-2003, the Guess stock has continuously risen, eliciting nothing by positive reviews from stock holders and Wall Street, though the wider community has more mixed opinions. Recently, the clothing and accessories company has redesigned itself, offering several new aspects to the company.
Since Guess was looking to make its impact once again on the fashion market, the Marciano brothers called upon hotel heiress and fashion mogul Paris Hilton to feature in a new series of ads. The daring ads were successful in grabbing media attention for the company. The company even promoted a line of Paris accessories including a Guess Paris Hilton handbag.
[edit] Today
In 2004, Guess celebrated the 20th anniversary of its watch collection, issuing a special-edition Guess watch. The accessories department was also greatly expanded and several stores across the United States were redesigned. Guess also created a lower priced collection sold exclusively through its outlet locations and its companion website.
Guess also introduced its first brand extension, the up-scale female line of clothing and accessories, named Marciano. The line features pricey, runway-inspired styles, and is featured in several retail locations throughout the world, as well as select Guess retail stores. In 2005 Guess began marketing fragrance. The company introduced Guess for Women in the spring of 2005. Guess introduced the Guess for Men line in the spring of 2006. Guess has also continued its Guess Kids clothing line into the 2000s, and in 2006, Guess began promoting the clothing line for girls and boys through its factory retail stores.
Guess continues to be guided by the Marciano brothers, as co-chairmen and co-CEOs. Maurice has overseen the design and its sales growth, while Paul manages the image and advertising. The company operates in many countries around the world with the majority of their stores located in the United States and Canada.
Guess has begun making strides in order to improve the overall image of their company lately. For example Guess has taken great steps to separate Guess and their Guess Factory line. A link to their Guess Factory website is longer present on the initial Guess internet site that promotes and sells their pricier, history driven designs. Guess Inc. wants to improve the image of their line to enhance it's public standing as high-class, and exclusive. Guess has also pushed the idea of "sales" or "discounts" out of their main sales strategies. CHANEL a luxury brand known for its handbags, and famous "CC" design takes a similar approach, where their items are never discounted or put on sale; this focus allows the company to maintain a strictly exclusive name. Unlike Chanel, Guess doesn't have to worry about counterfeit clothing or designs -- as compared to Chanel, Guess is placed in a much lower price-range.
In October, 2006 Guess expanded their shoe-line by re-introducing men's shoes. Guess pulled the men's shoe collection from their establishment back in 2003 due to lack-luster sales and interest.
In November, 2006 Guess introduced their Marciano men's line, which is available exclusively through Guess.com, and select Guess and Marciano retailers throughout the country. As of November, 2006 the new men's collection features button up shirts, blazers, and dress pants. The men's line will, like the women's line, be developed and manufactured in Florence, Italy; and will be available for a higher price.
