GI

ORGIO
ARMANI Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (pronounced [ˈdʒordʒo ar
ˈmaːni]), commonly known as Armani, is an
Italian luxury fashion house founded in Milan by Giorgio
Armani which designs, manufactures, 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;[3] L'Oréal for
fragrances and cosmetics;[4] and Fossil for watches and
jewelry.[5] It is considered Italy's second-biggest fashion
group behind Prada.[6]

Armani and his partner, architect Sergio Galeotti, founded

Giorgio Armani SpA in 1975, reportedly on money from the
sale of Armani's Volkswagen.[7]
The company signed a license with Gruppo Finanziario
Tessile (GFT) in 1978.[7] It partnered with L'Oreal on a
licensing agreement for the production and distribution of
fragrances, cosmetics and beauty products in 1980[8] and
with Luxottica for eyewear in 1988.[9] Armani also entered
into a manufacturing and distribution license with Simint in
1991 when the company launched A|X Armani Exchange.
[10]
 By 1993, the Armani name was represented by 23
licensees and two large joint ventures in Japan.[11]
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.[10] Manufacturing
arrangements later brought back in-house include the
acquisition of Antinea (1990), Simint (1996) and Intai (1998).
[7][9]
 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 its share in the joint venture in
Japan with Itochu.[7]
Also in the early 2000s, Armani opened five megastores
designed by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, starting with
the opening of the Armani/Manzoni store in Milan in 2000,
which carries all of the company's brands. Other such
venues are in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House, opened in
2002), Munich (Armani/Fünf Höfe, opened in 2003), Tokyo
(Armani/Ginza Tower, opened in 2007) and New York
City (Armani/Fifth Avenue, opened in 2009).[12]
From 2003 until 2012, Safilo Group held the exclusive
licence for Armani-branded eyewear before losing it again to
Luxottica.[13][14][15] Beginning in 2007, the company teamed up
with Samsung to develop a line of high-end electronic goods.
[16][17][18]

In 2007, Giorgio Armani confirmed to Reuters that he had

been approached by Beiersdorf in 2005 about a potential
merger but had since been too distracted by other projects
to pursue that option.[19] In 2016, he confirmed he had
established the Giorgio Armani Foundation [20] which, while
aiming to fund social projects, is also to “safeguard the
governance assets of the Armani Group and ensure that
these assets are kept stable over time."[21][22] By 2017, the
company was seen as a prime candidate for a stock market
listing.[23] In 2021, Giorgio Armani ruled out merging with
either LVMH and Kering.[24]
In 2021, luxury yacht maker The Italian Sea Group
announced that Giorgio Armani SpA would invest in the
company's IPO at the Italian Bourse.[25]
Giorgio Armani[edit]
Giorgio Armani is a high-end label specialising in men's and
women's ready-to-wear, accessories, glasses, cosmetics,
and perfumes. It is available only in Giorgio Armani
boutiques, specialty clothiers and select high-end
department stores. The logo is a curved "G" completing a
curved "A", forming a circle.
In 2016, the fashion house stopped using animal fur in all of
its collections, citing the availability of "valid alternatives at
our disposition that render the use of cruel practices
unnecessary as regards animals."[26]
According to The Wall Street Journal and other sources, in
addition to couture line Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani and
Emporio Armani are the company's ready-to-wear lines that
show at Milan fashion week. In addition, selling at lower
prices are Armani Collezioni, Armani Exchange and Armani
Jeans.[27]
Emporio Armani[edit]

Emporio Armani at Yerevan's Northern Avenue

Emporio Armani is the second brand of the Armani family
and features ready-to-wear and runway collections. Emporio
Armani focuses on trends and modern traits. Also, Emporio
Armani, along with Giorgio Armani, are the only two ready-
to-wear brands that are mainly designed by Giorgio Armani
himself, and has a spotlight at Milan Fashion Week every
year while Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans, and Armani
Exchange do not. Emporio Armani products are usually only
sold in freestanding Emporio Armani boutiques and on the
official website.[28]
Over the years, Emporio Armani underwear campaigns
featured David Beckham (2008–2010),[29] Victoria
Beckham (2009),[30] Cristiano Ronaldo (2010), Megan
Fox (2010), Rihanna (2011) and Rafael Nadal (2011).[31] The
brand's watches ad campaign has featured Shawn
Mendes (2019), among others.[32] Several campaigns were
photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.[29]
Emporio Armani also teamed up with Reebok to create
fashion shoes under the label EA7.
Emporio Armani is also the official kit supplier of Italian
football side SSC Napoli under its EA7 brand.
Armani Exchange[edit]

Armani Exchange store at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

A|X Armani Exchange was launched in 1991 in the U.S. It
retails fashion and lifestyle products and is known for its
occasionally provocative ad campaigns. Inspired by street-
chic culture and dance music, it is targeted as the more
accessible Armani brand.
To accelerate development of the nascent line, Giorgio
Armani co-established the joint venture company Presidio
Holdings Ltd in 2005 alongside Como Holdings, the company
owned by the Singaporean tycoon Ong Beng Seng that, since
1994, has held the production and distribution license for
A/X Armani Exchange in the United
States, Canada, Central and South America and Asia-Pacific.
Initially, the company held 25% of Presidio Holdings, the
remaining 75% in the hands of Como Holdings. In 2008,
Giorgio Armani acquired an additional 25% stake. In 2014, it
acquired the remaining 50% "ensuring full ownership of the
brand, which has 270 stores and over 3,000 employees", the
company said in a statement.
Armani Exchange products are available exclusively in 270
stores in 31 countries and on the brand's website.
In 1999, the New York Times and others raised concerns
about a generous donation made by Giorgio Armani SpA to
the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York shortly
before the museum announced that it would pay homage to
Armani himself with a major retrospective of his work.[84]
In a 2014 report, Greenpeace publicly criticized Armani and
other luxury brands after having found traces of chemicals
that can pollute waterways in children's clothing and shoes;
in response, the company committed to abolish all
chemicals which could cause environmental damage to
production sites by 2020.[85] Also in 2014, Giorgio Armani
SpA paid 270 million euros to Italian tax authorities to settle
a dispute over payments from the group's subsidiaries
abroad.[86]
In 2015, Giorgio Armani Corp's former general counsel Fabio
Silva filed a $75 million lawsuit in the New York Supreme
Court against the company, accusing it of discriminating
against him because of his Mexican origins and firing him for
having cancer.[87][88]