GUCCI
How to save the business
Intermediate Level:
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Listening: Gucci - company history
•
Pronunciation: /ch/
•
Reading: Gucci – how to save the business
•
Grammar: Expressions of frequency
•
Functional Language: Common email mistakes
•
Cultural Awareness: Business dress etiquette
•
Role Play: New markets for luxury
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INTRODUCTION:
Discuss these questions:
What do you know about Gucci? Who are the target customers?
LISTENING 1:
A spokesperson talks about the history of Gucci. Listen and answer these questions.
1. When was Gucci founded?
2. How did Guccio Gucci promote brand identity?
3. Who took control of the company when Guccio Gucci died?
4. What problems did Gucci have?
5. How did Tom Ford save the company?
PRONUNCIATION - /CH/
There are 3 common ways to pronounce /ch/ in English
/ch/ as in cheese
/sh/ as in champagne
/k/ as in chemist.
•
•
•
CH is often pronounced /ch/. Words with this pronunciation usually have a Latin
origin. Examples: cheap, check, charm.
CH words with a hard /k/ pronunciation often come from the Greek language.
Many of these terms are scientific or technical in nature. Examples: chemist,
chaos, technician.
The words where CH is pronounced with a soft /sh/ sound are French in origin
e.g. chic, champagne, machete
Exercise: Say these words and tick the correct pronunciation box
WORD
Chemistry
ch
sh
k
WORD
X
ch
sh
k
Children
Chicago
Chalet
Challenge
Champagne
Christ
Character
Chocolate
Champion
Chaos
Chauffeur
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CULTURAL AWARENESS POINT
BUSINESS DRESS ETIQUETTE
Business Dress etiquette in the UK
• Men: Ties are important symbols of their school, army, university or club.
For business meetings, men normally wear dark suits and ties.
• Women: Normally wear suits, dresses or skirts and blouses.
Business Dress Etiquette in Italy
• Dressing well is a priority in Italy.
• Men: generally wear dark coloured, conservative business suits and a tie.
• Women wear either business suits or conservative dresses.
• Elegant accessories are equally important for men and women.
Business Dress Etiquette in the USA
• Business suit and tie are appropriate in all major cities. Wear dark coloured
business suits. For an important formal meeting, choose a white shirt.
• Women wear classic clothing and classic colours of dark blue, and grey, and
give a confident and conservative appearance.
DISCUSS:
1. Is a tie important in your country or culture?
2. Do you think taking your jacket off in a meeting is OK?
3. What about the colour of the clothes, what is the etiquette?
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Introductory questions: How often do you wear a tie? Do you ever wear
sunglasses when inside a building? Do you take a holiday in summer?
GRAMMAR PRACTICE: expressions of frequency
SAMPLE SENTENCES.
• Always eat fruit at lunchtime
• Our customers usually pay by credit card
• The sales staff work hard every day
FORM
Frequency is classified on a scale of: ALWAYS = 100 - NEVER = 0%
These percentages are a general indication, not exact definitions.
100% - always
95% - almost always, nearly always
85% - usually, normally, regularly
75% - often, frequently
50% - sometimes
40% - occasionally
25% - rarely, seldom
10% - hardly ever
0%
- never
To be more precise the following terms can be used:
Once, twice, three times a day / week / month / year
Every hour / day / week / month / year
• We sell seven handbags a day
• They visit the shop once a month
EXERCISE: Complete the following sentences with an expression of frequency in
each space. In some cases more than one option is possible.
1. They have a meeting at 10am
2. We have a meeting
3. I
morning.
a week.
fly to Milan, and
take the train. It is too far away.
4. Gucci publishes its P & L account
5. The manager
6. They
a year.
checks the orders before they are dispatched.
sell the products at discount, because it is a luxury brand.
7. I telephone our agents
day, and sometimes
8. According to the contract we have to sell 1,000 items
a day.
week.
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Speaking Practice: In pairs, ask and answer questions about the following
situations using the expressions of frequency.
• Apply for jobs
• Give orders to my colleagues
• Read the newspapers
• Check emails
• Send an SMS
• Buy Gucci
• You decide on a question
READING EXERCISE: Fill in the gaps with a suitable expression of frequency.
Gucci is Back
Gucci does not really sell shoes and handbags. Gucci sells image. But the Gucci
label has not 1.
been associated with exclusivity. In the early 1990s there
were thousands of fake copies of its products on the market. This 2.
impacts
on the image of a company, and 3.
leads to bankruptcy. But Gucci has
been saved and its brand image is once again an exclusive name.
On the financial front, the news is also good. In 2008, Gucci Group's parent
company, French conglomerate PPR, announced revenues of over $8billion.
Gucci's brand was revitalized when the designer, Tom Ford, took over as creative
director. The new role meant that he was responsible for the design and conception
of all product lines within the company: clothing, perfumes and brand protection. This
4.
requires hands-on management of the stock exposure.
With Ford as its leader, Gucci was 5.
going to go bankrupt. He turned the
brand into a stylish, sexy, and exclusive fashion label with famous customers like
Madonna and David Beckham.
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BUSINESS VOCABULARY: Selected expressions
Choose the best explanation for each expression from the listening exercises.
1. Be a hit
a. A big success b. A big failure c. Violent
2. Bring in
a. Employed to do a specific job b. To introduce a subject c. Trick
3. Dilute
a. Weaken b. Destroy c. Make public
4. Stretch
a. Pull in opposite directions b. Destroy c. Separate the company
SPEAKING PRACTICE:
•
Can you think of a product that has been a big hit? Why was it a
big hit?
•
Can you think of a brand that has been diluted? What
happened?
FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY: Common eMail mistakes
EXERCISE: Find the common mistakes in each of these sentences.
e.g. I am afraid but we have not received our order yet
1. I look forward to meet you next Monday.
2. Please accept my apologies, I have being really busy this week
3. If you require any further informations, please contact me
4. If you would send me the figures I would be grateful.
5. The new Gucci range is on in the shops next week.
6. I’m sure they are really appreciate it.
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Listening 2: You will hear the 2nd part of the recording where the spokesperson
talks about Gucci’s turnaround. Listen and answer the questions.
1. Why did Tom Ford go to live in Florence, Italy?
2. What did he tell Gucci when he arrived in Italy?
3. What happened in 2000?
4. Was it a miracle?
5. What did Aldo Gucci say?
ROLE-PLAY
ROLE-PLAY EXERCISE:
Form groups.
One group is owner of Gucci, PPR.
The other group is the creative designer Tom Ford and his team
.
•
PPR wants to extend the brand into luxury real estate
•
Tom Ford sees this as a big mistake.
Prepare reasons why and why not, and an alternative to boost sales of the
brand. Think about brand protection, customer loyalty and the value of luxury
name.
Try to make the role-play as authentic as possible.
NOTE: While talking you should practice the grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation you have learnt in this module.
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Audio-script 1 – Gucci – Intermediate Level
Gucci – Intermediate Level
Gucci is one of the most recognised, iconic and famous fashion brands in the world.
It was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence in 1906.
Guccio understood the importance of brand identity, and stamped his products with
the logo ‘GG’. The luxury accessories became very popular with the rich.
After Guccio Gucci died in the early fifties, his sons Aldo and Rodolfo took control
and expanded the company, opening stores in glamorous locations such as London,
Paris and Los Angeles.
But the Gucci family had a lot of internal conflict, and they made poor business
decisions. All these problems pushed Gucci into serious trouble, and something
radical was needed to save the company.
They did this by employing Tom Ford as Creative Director. He saved the company by
deciding on a strategy for recovery, redesigning the products, making them more
exclusive and sexy.
Audio 2 – Intermediate - Gucci
What was Tom Ford’s strategy to save Gucci?
He went to live in Florence, Italy, so that he could absorb himself in the brand.
‘When I arrived in Italy I told Gucci that we would be leaders in fashion again. There's
a tradition of quality in the Florence area, and we needed to focus on that, be
exclusive and sexy again. We must not dilute or stretch the brand.
And it worked. By 2000 the company had doubled its revenues. Everybody thought it
was a miracle—but it wasn’t. We had a simple strategy, but we executed it well.
Gucci is once again going from strength to strength, and even though its prices are at
the top end, 2006 was a record year, with sales jumping by 20 per cent.
As Aldo Gucci once said, "Quality is always remembered, when price is often
forgotten."
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LESSON PLAN – Gucci – Intermediate
Key objectives – to practise aural and oral Business English
INTRODUCTION: Ask the students what they know about Gucci.
Teacher (T) – Students (SS) 5 mins
LISTENING 1: Next tell students they are going to hear a spokesman talking about
Gucci. They need to answer the questions at the end. Play the listening and ask
students the questions. (T) – (SS) 10 mins
PRONUNCIATION: Ask the students to pronounce the /ch/ words and decide which
sound they represent. (T) – (SS) 5 mins
CULTURAL AWARENESS POINT: – read the text and discuss the cultural
differences. (SS) – (T) 10 mins
GRAMMAR
Go through the Expressions of Frequency, and do the exercise that follows. Ask
students to read the questions and answers out loud. (S) – (T) 10 mins
READING: Find out if the students the lead in question. Go through the reading and
gap fill exercise. (S) – (T) 10 mins
BUSINESS VOCABULARY – Ask the students the lead in questions and go through
the exercise about business expressions Engage the students in the speaking
practice that follows. Encourage them to use the grammar and the functional
vocabulary. (S) – (T) 15 mins
FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY: Students need to correct the common email
mistakes. (T) – (SS) 5 mins
LISTENING 2: Tell students they are going to hear the 2nd part of the listening. Play
the listening and students answer the questions (SS) – (T) 10 mins
ROLE PLAY: Go through the instructions and begin the role-play. Make sure they
practice the grammar and vocabulary learnt in the lesson and to try and use the case
study material in their argument. Get the other students to discuss and offer
feedback. (SS) – (SS) 20 mins
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EXERCISE ANSWERS
LISTENING 1:
1. 1906
2. Stamped his products with the logo ‘GG’.
3. His sons Aldo and Rodolfo
4. A lot of internal conflict, and they made poor business decisions
5. By deciding on a strategy for recovery, redesigning the products, making them
more exclusive and sexy.
PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE
WORD
ch
sh
chemistry
Chicago
challenge
Chaos
WORD
ch
x
children
x
x
x
Christ
Chocolate
k
x
x
chalet
x
champagne
x
character
champion
x
sh
chauffeur
k
x
x
x
GRAMMAR EXERCISE 1
1. They have a meeting at 10 am every morning.
2. We have a meeting once a week.
3. I always fly to Milan, and never take the train. It is too far away.
4. Gucci publishes its P & L account twice a year.
5. The manager generally checks the orders before they are dispatched.
6. They rarely sell the products at discount, because it undermines the exclusivity.
7. I telephone our agents every day, and sometimes twice a day.
8. According to the contract we must sell 1000 items a week.
READING EXERCISE:
1. Always
2. Normally
3. Often
4. Generally
5. Never
BUSINESS VOCABULARY
1. A big success 2. Employed to do a specific job 3. Weaken 4. Pull in opposite
directions
FUNCTIONAL VOCABULARY:
1. I look forward to meeting you next Monday.
2. Please accept my apologies, I have been really busy this week
3. If you require any further information, please contact me
4. If you
send me the figures I would be grateful.
5. The new Gucci range is out in the shops next week.
6. I’m sure they
really appreciate it.
LISTENING 2:
1. So that he could absorb himself in the brand
2. That we would be leaders in fashion again. There's a tradition of quality in the
Florence area, and we needed to focus on that, be exclusive and sexy again
3. The company had doubled its revenues
4. It wasn’t. We had a simple strategy, but we executed it well.
5. Quality is always remembered, when price is often forgotten
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