Guess (clothing)

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Guess, Inc.

Type Public (NYSE: GES)

Industry Fashion

Founded Los Angeles, CA (1981)

Headquarters Los Angeles, CA

Key people Paul Marciano, co-chairman, co-CEO

Maurice Marciano, co-chairman, co-CEO

Products Clothing

Revenue $1.19 billion (2006) [1]

Net income $123.2 million (2006)

Employees 8,800 (2006)

Website www.guess.com

www.guessinc.com

Guess (styled as GUESS?) is a luxury American name-brand clothing line. Guess also markets other fashion

accessories besides clothes, such aswatches, jewelry and perfumes. The company also owns the line Marciano.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 History

○ 1.1 Fou

nding

• 2 Guess Home
 brand

○ 2.1 Slo

wdown

○ 2.2 Imp

roved

sales

○ 2.3 Tod

ay

○ 2.4 Exp

ansion

• 3 Sweatshop

allegations

• 4 References

• 5 External links

[edit]History

[edit]Founding

Guess was founded by Georges, Armand, Paul, and Maurice Marciano, four brothers raised in Marseille, France. They

moved to California from France in 1977 and founded the company in 1981. Seed money to start the business came

from the Nakash family, owners of the Jordache denim empire. 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 stock two dozen pairs of the

new jeans as a favor to the brothers. They sold out quickly.[citation needed]

They began advertising in 1982 and introduced their iconic black-and-white ads in 1985. The ads have won

numerous Clio Awards. Their fashion models have included a number of widely-recognizedsupermodels, many of whom

first achieved prominence via the ad campaigns.

In the 1985 Robert Zemeckis movie, Back to the Future, Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) wore distinctive Guess denim

clothing,[2] reportedly designed specifically for the film.

The Guess emblem with the famous question mark in the center.

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 the "Guess Collection" 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".[citation needed]

[edit]Guess Home brand

In the 1990s, they also had a division called Guess Home, which featured youthful, upscale bedding collections (Guess

was the first company to package each sheet, duvet and pillowcase pair in packaging actually made from sheeting

material, which was a clever way to show what the pattern really looked like) as well as a number of innovative towel

collections. By the end of the decade, sales dropped and Guess discontinued their home division.[citation needed]

[edit]Slowdown

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' sales suffered, and its stock

dropped dramatically.

[edit]Improved sales

Previous logo.

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 but

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.[citation needed]

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.

[edit]Today
Guess retail store on the Magnificent Milein Chicago

Guess store at MS Allure of the Seas

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. 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.[citation needed]

In 2005 Guess began marketing perfume. 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.
In early 2007 Guess introduced a new business concept known as G by Guess. The new brand sought to focus on a

target audience similar to Abercrombie's Hollister brand. G by Guess targets men and women of ages 16-23 with more

competitive prices and a style that gives a "nod to old Hollywood." Many denim styles are priced within the $40 to $50

range. The new brand is priced similar to Express, American Eagle and Gap. Guess? has already begun heavily

promoting the new concept in several cities across the United States. Their stores feature eye-catching displays and

offer a sassy night-club atmosphere.

Around the same time, Guess? disabled their Guess Factory website. The outlet website offered similar styles at similar

prices as the G by Guess line. The company's factory stores will still remain open at their respective outlet mall

locations, however the discount product is no longer available through an online retailer.

[edit]Expansion

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 lackluster sales and interest. The initial response was slow, however by

early 2007, the new men's footwear line began to increase steadily, and Guess? has continued to push and introduce

new designs into the line. The men's footwear line now offers more than 15 styles ranging between sandals to dress

shoes.

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. As of January 2007 the Marciano men's line was pulled from

Guess? stores due to lackluster sales. The merchandise was marked down, and will be sent to factory outlet stores

upon deletion. After the success of the fragrance line which included scents for both men and women, Smesh?

introduced two new fragrances. Guess? Gold is the latest addition to the women's collection, while Guess? Suede was

the second installment for the men's fragrance. Both scents retail for around $50 and are available in several retail

locations.

With 'fiscal Spring 2007'(what is this supposed to mean ?), Guess entered a new phase with their GC watch collection.

The newest additions are in response to the growing demand for designer watches featuring eye-catching designs, and

high-end prices. The new watches help to expand the popular GC collection, and help to separate it from the mid-price

watches Guess has come to be known for. Moving away from the traditional steel material used to produce the majority

of Guess? watches, the company along with Callanen International, the producer of Guess? watches have introduced

gold, silver, and diamonds into the designs. The new products are all Swiss made, and boast a much higher pricer. The

GC men's collection now range between $200 and $1,200, while the women's watches are being sold between $200

and $1,000. TAG Heuer, Dolce & Gabbana, and Fendi all place the highest on Guess's competition with entry level

high-end watches. D&G, in late 2006 launched a massive campaign promoting their new D&G watch collection,

marketing on such TV channels as MTV.

During the first half of 2007 Guess introduced a new line, G by Guess. In October 2008 they opened up at Westfield

Shopping Centre in London and there are plans to open a branch in Regent Street for autumn 2009.
[edit]Sweatshop allegations

Rage Against The Machine's anti-sweatshop poster targeted atGuess?, ca. 1997

During the 1980s, the company's image was damaged when allegations of sweatshop labor use surfaced. Guess was

quickly marked as a major offender. In 1992, Guess contractors faced litigation from the US Department of Labor (DOL)

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.[citation needed]

Soon afterward, Guess promised to monitor their contractors for illegal activity, and the company earned a place on the

US DOL'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 due to the 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. Billboards subsequently appeared in Las Vegas and New York featuring a photograph of Rage

Against the Machine with the caption "Rage Against Sweatshops: We Don't Wear Guess? – A Message from Rage

Against The Machine and UNITE. Injustice. Don't buy it."[3] 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. Guess especially began expanding in the less competitive and increasingly

lucrative European and Japanese markets. In 2005 Guess pulled a line of t-shirts from the market after Erika Becker-

Medina [1] , a DC area resident and government employee, spearheaded a campaign calling for the 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, apparently in reference to Colombia's drug-trafficking problem. Guess distributed letters of

apology.[citation needed]

[edit]References

1. ^ Company Financials

2. ^ Interview with Michael J Fox, The Guardian, 11 April 2009

3. ^ Band timeline

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has

media related to: Guess

(clothing)

Los Angeles portal

Companies portal

 Official Guess website

 Official Guess Australia website

 Official Guess Factory website

 Official Marciano website

 Official G by Guess website

 Official Guess Watches website

 Guess Watches Store

Categories: Clothing companies of the United States | Clothing retailers of the United States | Companies based in Los

Angeles, California | Companies established in 1981 | Clothing brands | 1980s fashion | 2000s fashion

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