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luxury fashion branding- Pricing Armani’s pricing strategy is the premium-pricing strategy. Some
of the sub-brands have products in lower priced categories such as denim
but the brand applies the same premium-pricing principle to all product
categories in varying degrees. - Distribution Armani goods are retailed through directly owned stores
and selected distributors. The company’s online boutique also retails
selected products in the US market only. Armani also has stores at outlet
shopping centers such as the company’s own outlet shopping center
located in Vertemate, near Como in Italy and Gucci Group-owned ‘The
Mall’ located in Florence, Italy. In addition, Armani products can also be
found at several of the Value Retail Outlet Villages such as La Vallée
Village, Paris and Wertheim Village, Frankfurt. The brand might need to
tighten up its product distribution to generate a higher level of brand
equity. - Promotion Giorgio Armani had an early recognition of the relationship
between the cinema and luxury goods. He was the pioneer designer to
skillfully use film to promote luxury products. The international recogni-
tion and subsequent global expansion of Armani began after the brand
‘dressed’ movie stars in several films. The most notable of these are the
characters played by Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton in the famous
Hollywood movie American Gigolo. This has been cited as the movie that
propelled Armani to ‘star’ status in the fashion world. Armani has also
designed clothes for more than 100 films, including The Untouchables,
Goodfellas, Father of the Bride and Arriverdeci Grazia.
Another entertainment related strategy of Armani is his use of celebri-
ties and movie stars as artists and ambassadors of the brand. Armani hardly
features paid celebrities in its print or other mass media advertisements but
the brand’s creations are often worn by the most talented and notable
celebrities at important ceremonies such as the American Oscar Awards.
Giorgio Armani also frequently collaborates with celebrities in the creation
of special pieces such as apparel and leathergoods. An example is his coop-
eration with the actress Ziyi Zang, to create a dress for her for the 2006
Academy Awards ceremony.
Armani’s relationship with celebrities and the cinema has resulted in a
wonderful chemistry with international stars and has also contributed to
creating a fashion empire and turning the designer into an icon. As a
pointer, in 2002 and 2003, the New York Guggenheim and the British
Royal Academy of Arts put up retrospectives of Armani’s work, recogniz-
ing him not only as a fashion designer and businessman, but also as an
artist.
However, the long-term strategic challenge of the company is the possibility
of retaining its profitable status as a one-man business in a sector that is
propelled by acquisition and consolidation. Armani is one of a few luxury