He Opened A Small Clothing Store With His Brother And Turned It Into Billions!

starting a small clothes shop in Milan Mario Prada had set into motion an Empire that would transform the city into a global fashion Hub and create a family Dynasty worth billions and to do it he went in the opposite direction to his biggest rival picking up where he left off the Next Generation waged a bloody war to destroy the company led by descendants never meant to be heirs this is the story of Prada chapter one early life Mario was born in Milan which was a well-known City for textile production like Silk and velvet as industrialization swept Europe a main manufacturing easier inspiring Italian fashion designers like Bulgari Gucci and Ferragamo to develop unique Styles Mario Prada was very much part of this new wave of Italian fashion Pioneers together with his brother Martino Mario hatched a business plan to provide travel Goods to a very specific demographic the rich by 1913 they were ready to start his own operation opening a shop in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel II a historic four-story shopping arcade and at the time most popular in Milan this location was linked to luxury retail and Prime real estate for fashion from here Mario and Martino created Fratelli Prada meaning the Prada Brothers selling predominantly luxury travel cases and steamer trunks as well as other travel Goods all fashioned out of leather and it didn't take long for their craftsmanship to be noticed in 1919 Fratelli Prada earned a lucrative contract as the official supplier of the Italian Royal House from then on Prada designed the house of Savoy coat of arms eternally linking the company to the Italian aristocracy and in 1931 the company was renamed and Incorporated simply as Prada and later the Prada group the brand may have been popular with the inner sanctum of Italian royalty but if it wanted to gain National Supremacy there was a Tuscan brand standing in its way chapter 2 an Italian rivalry while Mario was busy building his legacy another designer 150 miles south was doing the same in Florence guccio Gucci established his business around the same time making luxury accessories for the rich Market their approaches however were radically different Gucci targeted American and Italian movie stars to advertise his products and expanded quickly into the international market selling in hot spots like New York and London meanwhile Prada refrained from the world of celebrities and instead focused on the domestic Italian Market as a result Prada was not widely known to the rest of the world while Gucci was but Global success was calling only it wasn't where Mario Prada thought it would come from by the 1950s with death approaching it was time for Mario to hand off the Reigns to the Next Generation this was where he would be forced to compromise Mario believed in traditional gender roles where women were forbidden from joining the workforce he had always envisioned handing his company to his son unfortunately for him though his son refused to keep the business in the family he turned to Louisa his daughter who had always shown an interest in her father's growing Empire Mario died in 1958 and might not have had high hopes for the future of his creation but his reluctant decision to put his daughter at the company's head would turn out to be a defining moment in the history of Prada ushering in an era of female leaders that expanded the business far beyond the walls of Italy and more importantly finally get one over on their Rivals Gucci if this early rivalry was the Cold War then the next Clash was going to be a World War Chapter 3 The matriarchs Louisa took charge and for 20 years steadily expanded the business she Ved into different areas like ocean and airline travel but she was careful not to take on too many risks airing on the side of caution to preserve what her father had built when she finished her Reign the business was raking in an annual turnover of 450 thousand dollars which would be about three million dollars today this was certainly a success but Prada had a long way to go before becoming the global Behemoth it is today and it was going to be through Mario's granddaughter Maria Bianchi who was much more ambitious than her mother still in her 20s Bianchi had already lived a colorful Life by the time she was pulled into the family business she had been adopted by her aunt and raised in Milan throughout her education she became passionately political involved with civil protests fighting for women's rights as an active part of the Italian Communist Party these politics stuck with her and After High School she studied political science she earned her PhD from the University of Milan Maria also spent five years training at the prestigious Teatro Piccolo to become a mime but she was destined for an entirely different life by the 1970s Maria had taken the name muchia Prada her mother's name and had been recruited to work in the family business in the design department for accessories in 1978 muchia officially took charge of Prada some reports claim that she was reluctant to take charge an Elites in the oven guard weren't convinced she had what it took to direct a brand built on Timeless conservative tastes that were adverse to change though she would soon prove them wrong with her rigorous education all elements of politics and philosophy would come together to take her grandfather's brand in a strong New Direction raking in billions of dollars over the following decades chapter 4 success in the 80s unsatisfied with the Prada company staying in the leather goods business muchia saw a much larger potential together with Patricio Bertelli a Tuscan Leather businessman who she partnered with both personally and professionally the company would be in strong hands Patricio had a wealth of experience and production facilities at hand which were crucial in forming the basis for future expansion Patrizio managed the business component allowing muchia to work on design full-time and she quickly got to work developing an idea she had been experimenting with for years she had created black waterproof backpacks using a nylon fabric known as pokone and in 1985 used it to create a Prada black nylon handbag it quickly became a European must-have fashion accessory because of its solid build quality and impeccable design far away from her political studies muchia had found her calling her bag was so successful that it generated waves of copycats boosting the value of original Pradas even more this opened the brand name Prada to the rest of the World opening up doors for Prada in New Markets they began increasing their networks of stores and for muchia the architecture and interior design of her shop fronts were just as important as the products inside for the first store of this new era she employed architect Roberto bacchioli which grabbed attention for its distinctive light green now called Prada green the first of these was in Milan but other fashion capitals of New York Madrid and London none of these were allowed to be exact copies but each with its own personality all these new stores demanded new products and muchia learned that she could maintain the luxury value of the brand while still moving towards accessibility this proved to be a winning formula in 1988 muchia capitalized on her bag's success to release Prada's first prey a porter line of women's clothes including designer shoes which were a huge success in contrast to the shortcut racy designs dominant in the 1980s Prada offered clean elegant lines with a characteristic Simplicity and as opposed to other luxury Brands like Louis Vuitton or Gucci Prada steered away from making the label the main focus point chapter 5 an old rival by the 1950s Milan was fast becoming the fashion capital of Europe it was close to production facilities the first Milan Fashion Week kicked off in 1958. 15 years before its counterpart in Paris in 1961 the HQ of the international Authority Vogue magazine was put in Milan muchia Prada was the latest in a line of milan-based designers like Gianna Versace and Giorgio Armani unlike them though muchia already had a powerful company under her control at the beginning of the 1990s Prada launched Mew Mew muchi's own nickname and now her new brand it was targeted at a younger audience making products that were more affordable and the company could afford to Branch out more in 1994 sales reached 210 million dollars or 432 million today by this time Prada was able to step into Chinese Japanese and American markets and the company began acquiring shares in other company companies in the domestic Market too in 1998 Prada bought a staggering nine percent of their old rival Gucci which made them the company's largest single shareholder in the build up Patrizio Bertelli muchia's husband and business partner had publicly insulted Gucci's design Direction more worrying for Gucci Patricio had a good relationship with the head of lvmh Bernard Arnold within a year Prada sold their Gucci shares to lvmh the biggest luxury conglomerate in the world for a profit more than 250 million dollars in today's money lvmh was attempting to take over Gucci at the time sparking an all-out war in the Fashion World Prada's sale Rose their shares to 14.5 percent of Gucci in a tactic that had worked repeatedly this time though it didn't work in a last-minute push of investment Gucci issued three billion dollars of new shares and acquired 40 percent of the company through an alliance that wasn't the end of it either Prada was determined to hurt Gucci and if they couldn't lead to a hostile takeover then blocking their strategy was the next best thing Prada partnered with lvmh to buy out a majority share of fashion company Fendi which Gucci had been eyeing up but this rivalry didn't make for good business Prada's next few Acquisitions proved to be losing bets only the purchase of the car shoe company and the English Shoemaker Church strengthened their portfolio but by then financial disaster was already looming chapter 6 21st century in 2000 one of Prada's most iconic pieces the bowler bag was released instantly selling out it was a continuation of the same products that muchia's grandfather had started the business with 87 years earlier but this time it was made for women not men soon any celebrity worth their salt was seen with a Prada bag the company has pivoted from the Italian aristocracy to the global Aristocrats celebrities politicians and business people the price of a single bag ranges from 1000 up to ten thousand dollars but for most it was worth the price the style that muchia pioneered was incredibly functional and utilitarian compared to Prada's competitors with that functionality came subtle branding so that Prada products were more recognized by their form rather than by logo or excesses one of the most important aspects of Prada's branding has been storefronts Mario Prada had been hesitant to expand the business and his granddaughter muchia was no different only by maintaining a high quality of architecture and design in epicenter stores the first one was built in 2001 in New York and some estimates put the costs of construction as high as 40 million dollars it is a one-of-a-kind building and typifies Prada's commitment to the art World funding exhibitions housing Collections and creating performance spaces two years after the New York Soho epicenter was built one in Tokyo popped up covering six floors which was covered in Prada's now trademark Green Glass but these towering monuments to high fashion weren't enough to save Prada from going into debt in the early 2000s in 2005 the company was forced to sell off five percent of itself to pay off debtors by 2008 Prada was still 1.1 million euros in debt once allergic to mass marketing Prada has now embraced collaborations and sponsorships as a way of returning to financial stability Prada has released glasses a collection of fragrances and even mobile phones with LG chapter 7 the fourth generation in 2011 Prada's initial public offering in Hong Kong raised 2.1 billion dollars it was a relatively modest debut compared to other fashion giants like lvmh and five years later Prada was losing out in the Fashion World to their old Nemesis Gucci who was gaining ground among young people but along with Mew Mew which reported a 50 decrease in sales in 2020 the Prada group is fighting back and last year total sales were 4.2 billion euros muchia Prada herself has amassed a net worth of 6.9 billion dollars and is regarded as one of the most powerful women on the planet Mario Prada never envisioned women working in his company let alone leading it but it turned out to be the most important element to transform prata from a niche Italian aristocratic brand to a global phenomenon in the fashion world with an uncompromising Style on under muchia's leadership Prada has combined classic and contemporary elements into its design while always maintaining practicality the confidence instilled through her prestigious education made her perfectly suited for the task at hand cementing the matriarchy of the Prada family Lucia was ready to challenge conventional fashion Norms a confidence that would push the boundaries of Aesthetics extending to architecture and The Wider art World Prada has made a permanent mark on the world muchia and Patricio both stepped down earlier this year and are currently preparing the Next Generation their eldest son Lorenzo the family's name in future Legacy rests in his hands and after two generations of women Mario Prada will finally have a male Heir in charge of the company

Channel: Business Stories

Views: 17,340

Keywords: Business Stories, mario prada, prada, prada history, history of prada, documentary of prada, prada story, prada brand, prada brand history, prada brand story, prada documentary

Id: tXc1yrHKamI

Length: 16min 25sec (985 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 08 2023