Gucci is an Italian luxury brand of fashion and leather goods. Gucci was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1921. Gucci generated about €4.2 billion in revenue worldwide in 2008 according to BusinessWeek and climbed to 41st position in the magazine’s annual 2009 “Top Global 100 Brands” chart created by Interbrand; it retained that rank in Interbrand’s 2014 index. Gucci is also the highest-selling Italian brand.
Gucci operates about 278 directly operated stores worldwide as of September 2009, and it wholesales its products through franchisees and upscale department stores. In the year 2013, the brand was valued at US$12.1 billion, with sales of US$4.7 billion. In the Forbes World’s Most Valuable Brands list, Gucci is ranked the 38th most valuable brand, with a brand value of $12.4 billion as of May 2015. As of January 2015, the creative director is Alessandro Michele.