Giorgio Armani - Grade: A PDF

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Dea Harizaj MHR 300 Section 4 01/29/2016 One of the leading fashion houses in the world is Giorgio Armani SpA. This firm is named after, managing director and CEO Giorgio Armani. Some of the company’s main rivals in the competitive world of fashion include D&G, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. This paper will address and attempt to critique the company’s mission and vision statement as well as conduct a SWOT analysis relative to their particular mission and vision. Italian executive, Giorgio Armani SpA’s mission is “to continually create clothes and accessories that aspire to a kind of perfection that transcends fashion. Armani's clothing ignores the constant demand for novelty and possesses an elevated character, a quality that conveys a sense of permanence in a world infatuated with the temporary. Now, Giorgio Armani is poised for the future with a vision that crystallizes his approach to fashion as timeless, and yet always timely. Giorgio Armani is committed to the long-term view, reflected by his creation of new lines and divisions, and in his investment in new technology and infrastructures.” This includes a combined mission and vision statement, but we can clearly see where the cut off line between the two stays. Let’s first start out by taking a look at the firm’s mission statement. According to lecture we learned that a great mission statement explains why an organization exists, reflects interests and values of the organizations stakeholders inside and outside the organization, also contains clarity and differentiation in the way it’s presented. In this mission statement, we see that the organization exists to continually create clothes and accessories to aspire perfection that transcends fashion. What this means is that Armani is

focused on pursuing perfection in a particular industry, that being fashion. Also, this means that the firm will not be making products that do not aim for perfection or that do not aim to exceed the definition of fashion. What a consumer can take away from this mission statement is that Armani products are extremely unique and not only that but perfected or pretty close. What the organizations mission statement fails to build into their mission statement is address who exactly this is aimed towards, meaning who are the stakeholders whose interests and values are are being reflected. We can make an attempt at guessing that it would be people interested in fashion however it’s not very clear who this includes. Would it be celebrities, models, or the worldwide population? The mission statement does state that it wants to bring a “sense of permanence in a world infatuated with the temporary”. However simply stating the world seems a bit too broad. In lecture, we were given the example of Apple where their mission statement stated: “Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals, and consumers around the world, through its innovative hardware, software, and internet offerings.” Contrasting this mission statement in comparison to the one of Giorgio Armani (although very different industries) here not only do we clearly see what Apple wants to accomplish but also who they want to bring their computing experience too being students educators etc. A way to perhaps improve Giorgio Armani’s mission statement would be to add on more explicitly who their targeted audience is, that they want to bring more than fashion perfection to. It’s important for a company’s mission to state why they exist and what they do as well as who they affect, however in fast changing world it’s also important to pay close attention to how they hope to grow and what their plans for the future are. The information regarding an organization goals and what they hope to achieve in the future is included in their vision statement. A successful vision statement not only shares where

the organization hopes to go, what they hope to achieve and time points, but also aims to inspire motivate and should guide how decisions are being made. Breaking down Giorgio Armani’s vision there are two parts to it. First he wants his take on fashion to be seen as not only a trend but for it to be a classic or timeless. Secondly, he plans to make the Armani name permanent by continually creating different lines and divisions as well as investing in new technology and infrastructure. This vision statement is ideal in inspiring associates working for the company. Their goal when designing different Armani products is not to try and create something that would be a hot trend for everyone in the year 2016 for example, but creating fashion that would be well adored in 1980 in 2016 and in 2030. This would be their objective in mind in order for creating unique pieces holding the Armani name, differentiating it from other companies in fashion that might be focused on what is hot this season. The second part of his vision includes opening different lines, which as a matter of fact the company has done. They created Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange etc. What this vision statement does not include is a specific timeline of what they would like to achieve in five years or ten even. Although a successful vision statement includes different time points it’s important to keep in mind that Giorgio Armani SpA is an extremely successful name brand that has been established since 1975 (Giorgio Armani History). That being said, the company is past looking into what they hope to establish in a short period if time. Their vision states that they are looking into long term to where the company will be in a century for example. This could explain their involvement in not only different fashion lines but also innovation in technology and areas that could be related to fashion but not directly. However, in motivating employees in keeping track of what their short term goals are and hinting to consumers what they can expect in the near future, it might be helpful to include some sort of idea of what’s to be expected now and close to now. Giorgio

Armani’s mission and vision statements contain many positive attributes which is why it’s one of the most successful names in fashion, however there is still room for improvement and certainly perfection. Although a mission and vision statement’s quality are essential to a strategy for success what is helpful in arriving at these statements is accessing the current reality of the company. It’s important for a company to know well what their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are. Let’s start out by scanning for Giorgio Armani SpA’s strengths. One of the main strengths is their differentiation in venturing into areas that although related to fashion, it’s not in an obvious way like what their competitors are doing. According to ABC News in 2010 Armani opened their first hotel in Dubai where Giorgio Armani himself designed every physical aspect of the hotel. Not only did he venture in hotel designing but there the clientele could find Armani Peck making gourmet takeout, Armani Fiori that makes flower arrangements, Armani Dolci selling chocolates and sweets, Armani Galleria selling haute couture purses and accessories and also during spa treatments using Armani fragranced oils (Setrakian, 2010). When most of their competition are venturing in obvious products such as cosmetics (i.e. Gucci Beauty) Armani takes it one step further and really broadens the Armani clientele which is in relation to their vision of making the Armani name permanent. Other strengths that will help Armani in fulfilling their vision are their uniqueness in the original brand and the way they publicize their products. According to Esquire magazine the Armani suit was first made famous in the US when Richard Gere wore it in the movie “American Gigolo”. Armani is well known to be worn in the red carpet. Other well-known actors to prefer Armani include George Clooney, Christian Bale, and Will Smith. Having the clothing items be preferred by celebrities of different age really fits in the company’s goal (image) of making the brand a timeless classic. Another strength of the company

still regarding clothing and apparel is their uniqueness. According to Esquire, all Armani clothes are soft hand tailored in comparison of machine made (an alternative their competitors choose) this shows their quality as well as the fact that they are comfortable. This also is in line with Armani’s goal of separating themselves from companies merely interested in the temporary and making well-liked products that will last. These are some of the strongest points that make Armani the big name that they are today A great company not only evaluates their strengths but also their weaknesses. The biggest weakness of Giorgio Armani SpA today is that at age 81 the sole shareholder is Giorgio Armani. According to The Wall Street Journal, he has yet to choose a successor which means that this really leaves a lot of questions regarding the future of the company. Other weaknesses include some problems with the image. According to The Digital Journal, PETA activists protested in front of some Emporio Armani stores, halfway nude, due to their use of fur in their products. This was bad on their image since many people walking by when realized what the protest was about decided to not shop there again (Milnes, 2012). Lastly another possible weakness in the Armani Group is that their targeted audience is the elite wealthy group. Their products are very hard to be attained by regular common people and perhaps what could be done is keeping what they already have but also opening a line of somewhat more affordable products which would lead to the Armani name being even more well known. This also ties into the opportunities that Armani has to expand. It’s in line with the Armani vision to open new divisions and lines, therefore opening a clothing line for the lower less wealthy population would be a great opportunity. Taking into consideration that one of the company’s weaknesses is the bad image caused by the use of fur, a great opportunity for the company is the making of eco-friendlier products. This would be damage control from the past

and also bringing in another type of clientele. Another not so obvious opportunity for the company is keeping track of what is happening currently in the world. For example, according to India today the Modi Government opens up 15 new sectors for FDI since 2015. Being aware of new emerging countries is a great opportunity for the company to open more stores in different places prior to their competition. These are just a few of the opportunities that would expand the company while still keeping in line with what the principles they want to achieve are. Lastly, it’s important to discuss possible threats that could eventually prohibit the company from achieving their mission. Fashion is a constantly emerging, competitive and aggressive industry. Although Armani has a great name for themselves they are aiming for timeless and there are many other competitors who offer similar products the examples being Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton. All being very well known designers so the company has to fiercely compete with these and many more companies at all times. Another possible threat are the makings of fake Armani products. Being raised in Europe, I can say from personal experience that there is a large number of products with the Armani name and logo, that are not of quality nor do they comply with the company’s mission and vision. This could be a very serious problem for them it could lead to losing of customers and harming of their image. Lastly another possible threat to not only Armani but many other international institutions are the changes in the foreign exchange market. They could really alter the company’s prices and sometimes even profits. Therefore, although expanding in different areas of the world might seem very attractive and like a fruitful opportunity for the company it certainly has its risks and it’s important for them to be taken into consideration not leading to any serious threats. To conclude, I explained how Giorgio Armani SpA current mission and vision statements

relate to what we define as such, what was good about these statements and how I believe we can adjust them. Also, I conducted a SWOT analysis suggesting what I believe to be their biggest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are and how they relate to what their current mission and vision is.

Works Cited "Giorgio Armani S.p.A. History." History of Giorgio Armani S.p.A. – FundingUniverse. Funding Universe. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. . Arora, Parthshri. "FDI Reforms: Modi Govt Opens up 15 Sectors." : Delhi, News. Indiatoday, 10 Nov. 2015. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fdi-reforms-in15-sectors/1/520792.html/ Milnes, Richard. "Video: Near Nude PETA Members Protest outside Emporio Armani Shop (Includes Interview and First-hand Account)." Video: Near Nude PETA Members Protest outside Emporio Armani Shop (Includes Interview and First-hand Account). Digital Journal, 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. . Galloni, Alessandra. "The Future of Armani." WSJ. 23 May 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. . Broeke, Teo Van Den. "Giorgio Armani's Made-to-Measure Tailoring, Road-Tested Esquire." Esquire. 01 May 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. . Setrakian, Lara. "World's First Armani Hotel Welcomes Guests in Dubai." ABC News. ABC News Network, 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. . Biography.com Editors. "Giorgio Armani Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. .

"Giorgio Armani S.p.A. History." History of Giorgio Armani S.p.A. – FundingUniverse. Web. 24 Jan. 2016. .

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