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Mark Lee, who has been credited with putting Gucci on an excellent growth path, breaks bread with BS.
The modern day CEO is expected to be up and running 24/7 and Gucci CEO Mark Lee is no exception. He has flown many long hours to arrive in New Delhi for a luxury conference and landed, as international flights do in this country, somewhere early morning. Yet at lunchtime, when we meet him, Lee looks fresh as a daisy. There are no yawns that are stifled, no question that catches him on the backfoot and he is charming and suave, as one would expect from someone heading a global luxury brand that is well-recognised worldwide.
But being at the forefront of trying to sell luxury to the world, write Archana Jahagirdar and Surajeet Dasgupta, means that Lee has a tight schedule and "Lunch with BS" has to be had in a private suite at the Taj Palace, also the venue of the luxury conference. The food is uninspiring, suited for a working lunch, but Lee is clearly hungry even as the BS team is busy firing away questions. After a couple of patient responses from him, he interrupts to say, "Can I take my first bite of this sandwich?"
Lee is an old Gucci Group hand, having worked with YSL, a label owned by the group, as its CEO. He says, "Being at YSL was special as that was the first label that I headed. When I joined, that brand needed a revamp." Lee is now, of course, totally focussed on Gucci, the flagship brand that has owed its recent successes, in some small measure, to being featured prominently in hit sitcoms like Friends and Sex and the City. But Lee points out, "That wasn't product placement. Often we get to know about it once it is aired. But yes, it did help us. It's wonderful when we get mentioned in these kinds of TV series." He mentions how another hit soap, Ugly Betty, recently featured Gucci in its plot line, much to the advantage of the brand.
Lee's tenure has led to incredible growth for the label. But things weren't always smooth. The label was once in danger of being overshadowed by the less than savoury shenanigans of the Gucci family. Then there was the departure of the creative head Tom Ford from the label. Ford was credited with creating a snazzier, more contemporary design for the label, taking it away from its more frumpy past. Lee is frank when asked about this, "The label was moving away from its tradition under Ford." Lee has been quoted in the recent past about the whole Tom Ford episode as well as the importance the creative head of a luxury brand should have in claiming credit for its success. He said then, "There is still a mystique about the designer, but at the end of the day, the brand is king."
Lee is all praises for the current creative head, Frida Giannini, for using the label's archives to recreate modern design that links the past and present well. He cites the bamboo handle bag that was initially created in response to material shortage in Italy during the war, but has since gone on to acquire iconic status. Lee says Giannini used the Flora scarf that was originally designed for filmstar and subsequent royalty, Grace Kelly, and reinterpreted it for a current collection. He elaborates, "Gucci is a blend of heritage and modernity. We are always moving the brand forward but are rooted to symbols of the past."
Gucci's heritage may work well in European markets which are aware of that heritage, but would this nod to the past work in newer markets like China and India? Lee is confident it will: "There is now a big part of the world that is very connected and this is truer today than at any other point in time. So design isn't a challenge anymore. If a bag works in one place, it generally works everywhere. We are after all creating desire."
For Lee, if the brand's supremacy is important, so is tradition. Ask him about the possibility of shifting the production of Gucci products out of Italy, and he demurs, "For us, being in Italy is important. Many of our main vendors have been in this business for generations." Gucci products, he says, are manufactured entirely in Italy and this is something that the company refuses to reconsider even though many other competing brands have already shifted their production to countries like China.
The food, so far mostly inconsequential to the conversation, makes its presence felt briefly when Lee asks for seconds of the sandwiches. The sandwiches appear and food is once again relegated, like it should be, to the background. Lee eats sparingly, preferring to concentrate on the conversation. He speaks in a relaxed manner, fielding each question with practised ease.
The conversation veers towards the special edition collections that Gucci has put out for New York and China. Will that happen for India any time soon? Taking another small bite of his sandwich, Lee answers, "New York is one of our biggest markets. China is another market where we have grown from one store to now 18. So there is a reason for doing these special collections. It will be one step at a time for us."
What about the undue influence of brands like Gucci on the way a consumer is made to spend on things they don't need, like the phenomenon of the "It Bag", which is now sold for ridiculous prices — close to a thousand dollars? Says Lee, "Even at the luxury end of spending, the consumer is price-sensitive, so we can't just sell anything at any price. We do use expensive and rare materials for objects that are then sold at appropriate prices." But aren't companies like Gucci dictating how people dress, by showcasing "trends"every few months and aspiring to make the human race almost monochromatic in the bargain? For instance, if skinny jeans are the must-have for the season, then that's all that is available in stores all over the world? Lee denies this, "This may have been true earlier but is not so anymore. There are several style choices that are available to the customer, now more than ever. For instance, if it is shoes, then there is the ballerina flats, as well as very high heels that will be sold."
Towards the fag end of the lunch, we ask Lee if cannibalisation is a worry for a company like Gucci Co, which is the holding company of the brand and of other luxury labels like YSL, Stella McCartney and so on? Lee says, "We try not to kill each other internally. We try to kill the outside brands. There are some synergies between the labels behind the scenes. It would be foolish to compete with each other."
As the plates are cleared, the waiter comes around asking for coffee and tea preferences. Lee refuses the beverage selection and looks as if he is all set to leave, moving readily from this to his next appointment.
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