Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani S.p.A., commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, and distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, accessories, and home interiors. Armani licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear; L'Oréal for fragrances and cosmetics; and Fossil for watches and jewelry. It is considered Italy's third-biggest fashion group behind Gucci and Prada. History Armani and his partner, architect Sergio Galeotti, founded Giorgio Armani SpA in 1975, reportedly on money from the sale of Armani's Volkswagen. The company signed a license with Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) in 1978. It partnered with L'Oreal on a licensing agreement for the production and distribution of fragrances, cosmetics and beauty products in 1980 and with Luxottica for eyewear in 1988. Armani also entered into a manufacturing and distribution license with Simint in 1991 when the company launched A|X Armani Exchange. By 1993, the Armani name was represented by 23 licensees and two large joint ventures in Japan. By the 1990s, the company's strategy was to cancel licenses and take production in-house in a bid to exert more control over quality and distribution. Manufacturing arrangements later brought back in-house include the acquisition of Antinea (1990), Simint (1996) and Intai (1998). In 2000, after buying factories from GFT, Armani formed a joint venture with Zegna for the production and distribution of the Collezioni men's collection. Armani also increased to 85 percent of its share in the joint venture in Japan with Itochu.