Btec hnd in business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Btec hnd in business - Assignment Example The market forces including cultural changes that have impacted Giorgio Armani have been touched upon. Finally an attempt has been made to gauge the impact of globalization, international trade and WTO on the functioning of Giorgio Armani Group. 2.0 Introduction The Giorgio Armani Group is a leading player in the luxury and fashion goods market. The group is privately owned and is vertically integrated. The behemoth designs, manufactures, distributes  and retails its products through a network of close to 500 stores in 46 different countries of the world (Armani, 2013). Since its inception in 1975, the Giorgio Armani Group has grown by leaps and bounds through a series of important alliances, relevant acquisitions and rolling out licenses. Its teaming up with Reebok to manufacture high-end fashion shoes under the brand name EA7 is one such example of sound business tie-ups. The group’s product portfolio includes a vast array of lifestyle and fashion items including apparel, accessories, cosmetics, eyewear, fragrances, home furnishings, jewellery, shoes and watches (Armani, 2013). Giorgio  Armani is the founder of the vast empire that bears his name. The group comprises of the Giorgio Armani S.p.A, the parent  company and many other subsidiaries. ... Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange, Armani Junior, Armani Teen, Armani Baby, Armani/Casa, Armani Beauty, Armani Hotels, Armani/Fiori, and Armani/Dolci (Armani, 2013). 3.0 Mission, Vision, Strategy and Goals The group’s mission is to ‘create  clothes and accessories  that aspire to a kind of perfection that transcends fashion’. The group’s vision is to dominate the world of fashion in the long run. The Giorgio  Armani Group pursues its mission and vision by investing in technology and infrastructure that enables it to manufacture new product lines and create new divisions to handle its ever expanding portfolio of products and services. The fashion house strives to create an ambience in its retail stores that that ingeniously give a boost to the displayed products (Annunziato, 2001). Today, Armani is one of the strongest brands in the world. It enjoys the enviable position of being one of two Italian companies along with Prada to find place in the top 100 brand s drawn up by Interbrand and Business Week (Galbraith, 2004). The long term strategic goal of the group is to keep its luxurious image intact. The group has diversified into various other industries but it the customers still see it as the epitome of luxury and fashion. As a strategy, the Armani Group keeps a tight control over all aspects of its business, be it manufacturing, distribution or retail. The apparel maker has limited the Emporio Armani merchandise to  Emporio Armani  stores because of the issue of control (Business World, 1998). The group has bought back factories from licensees to ensure tight control over production. In fact, Mr Giorgio Armani is known to be a hard task master who takes decisions on his own. While he listens to suggestions and takes feedback, the ultimate decision rests in his hands