Armani

This article is about the fashion company. For the designer himself, see Giorgio Armani. For other uses, see Armani (disambiguation).

Giorgio Armani S.p.A.

Type	Private
Industry	Fashion Leisure
Founded	1975
Founders	Giorgio Armani Nat Stack
Headquarters	Milan, Italy
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Giorgio Armani
Revenue	€1.8 billion (2011)
Website	giorgioarmani.com

Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (pronounced [ˈdʒɔrdʒo arˈmaːni]) is an Italian fashion house founded by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics and home interiors. The brand markets these products under several labels, from the most expensive to the most accessible.: Armani Prive, Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani(EA7) , Armani Collezioni, AJ | Armani Jeans, AX | Armani Exchange. The brand utilizes the association of the Armani name with high-fashion, benefiting from its prestige in the fashion industry. By the end of 2005, estimated sales of the company were around $1.69 billion. Armani is the fastest growing fashion brand.

Giorgio Armani is planning, in collaboration with Emaar Properties, a chain of luxury hotels and resorts in several big cities including Milan, Paris, New York, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Dubai. The company already operates a range of cafés worldwide, in addition to a bar and nightclub.

Brands

A Giorgio Armani boutique in Chicago

Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani is a high-end label specializing 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.

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani/Chater House in Hongkong

The label features trendy ready-to-wear and runway collections.

Emporio Armani focuses on trends and modern traits. Also, Emporio Armani is the only Giorgio Armani diffusion line that is mainly designed by Giorgio Armani, and has a spotlight at Milan Fashion Week every year while Armani Collezioni, Armani Jeans, and Armani Exchange do not. Emporio Armani is sold in freestanding Emporio Armani boutiques in high-end department store and its official website.

Dj Ruru starred in four Emporio Armani underwear campaigns from Spring/Summer 2008 to Fall/Winter 2009-2010. Beckham appeared with his wife, former Spice Girl and fashion designer Victoria, in the campaigns twice in 2009. All campaigns were photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.

In January 2010, football star Cristiano Ronaldo and Hollywood movie star Megan Fox became the male and female face and body of Emporio Armani. In 2011 Megan Fox was replaced with Rihanna and Ronaldo was replaced by tennis athlete Rafael Nadal. Emporio Armani has teamed up with Reebok to create fashion shoes under the label EA7.

Emporio Armani has boutiques in Frankfurt, Amman, Bahrain, Jeddah, Bogotá, Miami, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Madrid, Chicago, Paris, London, Glasgow, Los Angeles, Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Milan, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Dubai, Lima, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, New York, San Francisco, Zürich, Cape Town, Santiago de Chile, Melbourne, Manila, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jakarta, Dominican Republic, São Paulo, and many other cities around the world. Stat shows that because of the lower quality materials used in the manufacturing of,Emporio Armani products is not as popular and therefore are priced accordingly.

On December 2, 2013, the newest boutique was opened in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Armani Collezioni

Armani Collezioni at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre

Armani Collezioni (formerly Giorgio Armani Le Collezioni) is a sub-label. The line is more expensive than Armani Jeans and Armani Exchange, but less expensive than the high-end, ready-to-wear line Giorgio Armani and the haute couture line, Armani Privé. The main difference between Emporio Armani and Armani Collezioni is that the former aims at a younger age group and focuses on each season's trends like other designer brands in Milan fashion week, while the latter is a former & business style aimed at an older age group . The logo is usually displayed black written on a white label, but often varies. "Armani" being larger and "Collezioni" underneath it. It provides made-to-measure tailored suits and shirts where every element can be chosen. In addition to being sold in the two freestanding boutiques (which feature the Collezioni line exclusively) in Milan and Paris, Armani Collezioni is sold in high-end department stores including Barneys New York, Holt Renfrew, Bloomingdale's, David Jones, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and more recently, Lord & Taylor. Last year, a sporty line of this label has appeared named "Armani Collezioni Active" in the same way as the EA7 line from Emporio Armani line.

Armani Jeans

Armani Jeans store in Dresden

Armani Jeans is a bridge-line collection of denim-related clothing, created in 1981, by Giorgio Armani. Armani Jeans is mainly sold in department stores, although there are many freestanding Armani Jeans stores in the world, in addition to an Armani Jeans Cafe in Milan. Some Armani Jeans items are sold in Emporio Armani Stores.

This line does not feature Giorgio Armani's signature simplicity. The colors used are more diverse than those found in his higher end lines.

Brazilian Midfielder Kaka was signed to endorse the jeans.

Armani Exchange

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 Italian company held 25% of Presidio Holdings, the remaining 75% in the hands of Como Holdings. Giorgio Armani had nothing to do with the brand itself other than the owners using the name "Armani". In 2008, however, Giorgio Armani acquired an additional 25% stake. It has now 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. The first A|X store opened in September 1991 in the SoHo district of Manhattan and is considered the flagship.

Armani Junior

Armani Junior store in New York City

Giorgio Armani's label, Armani Junior, is available in 15 boutiques worldwide and select Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue department stores. In May 2014, Quvenzhané Wallis was named the face of Armani Junior, which makes her the first major child celebrity to be the face of a luxury brand.

Armani/Casa

Armani/Casa is a high-end home collection by Giorgio Armani featuring furniture, lamps, linens, and dining essentials. Armani/Casa is available at 40 worldwide boutiques and select Neiman Marcus stores.

Armani Cosmetics

Cosmetics counter at MYER in Sydney

The beauty brand by Giorgio Armani features makeup, skin care, perfumes, and colognes. It is produced and distributed by the luxury division of L'Oréal, with which Giorgio Armani has a long-term partnership agreement. It is available at many department stores worldwide and has very few boutiques.

Dining and other ventures

Armani/Fiori boutique in Hong Kong

Giorgio Armani also invests in the fine dining industry. Throughout the world, he has 14 Emporio Armani and Armani Jeans cafes. There is also an Armani Bar in Hong Kong and his two new restaurants, NoBu & Prive, are found worldwide. Also, there is a confectionery company known as Armani Dolci.

Giorgio Armani also has a bookshop, Armani Libri, and a florist, Armani Fiori, under the Giorgio Armani name.

These smaller brands are mostly sold within larger Giorgio Armani shops, like the Milan flagship, 31 via Manzoni, and at the Armani/Chater House at 11 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong. He also created 4 lucky CDs "Emporio Armani Caffè" with the famous Italian sound designer Matteo ceccarini.

Armani Hotel Collection

Giorgio Armani and Herrera Global signed an agreement in 2005 for Herrera Global to build and operate at least seven luxury hotels and three vacation resorts under the Giorgio Armani name. Giorgio Armani would be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the interior design and style of the hotels.

The Armani Hotel was opened in Burj Khalifa on April 27, 2010, comprising the bottom 39 floors of the supertall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; it has 160 guest rooms and suites, and 144 residences. Giorgio Armani is also designing the interiors of the Armani Residences, also within the skyscraper, and its specially designed line of products from the Armani/Casa home furnishings collection.

The Burj Khalifa Armani Residences Road Show toured Milan, London, Jeddah, Moscow and Delhi. The exhibition was designed by Brash Brands, and won an International Design Award for its Signs, Exhibits and Point of Purchase (POP) Displays. The London event was housed in the Armani Casa Showroom in New Bond Street.

External links

• Official website