1

GUCCI

How to save the business

Intermediate Level:

• 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

www.ibeschool.com

2

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.

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 ch sh k WORD ch sh k Chemistry X Children Chicago Chalet Challenge Champagne Christ Character Chocolate Champion Chaos Chauffeur

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?

www.ibeschool.com

3

www.ibeschool.com

4

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?

www.ibeschool.com

5

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 morning.

2. We have a meeting a week.

3. I fly to Milan, and take the train. It is too far away.

4. Gucci publishes its P & L account a year.

5. The manager checks the orders before they are dispatched.

6. They sell the products at discount, because it is a luxury brand.

7. I telephone our agents day, and sometimes a day.

8. According to the contract we have to sell 1,000 items week.

www.ibeschool.com

6

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.

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

www.ibeschool.com

7

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

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.

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?

www.ibeschool.com

8

Listening 2: You will hear the 2nd part of the recording where the spokesperson talks about Gucci’s turnaround. Listen and answer the questions.

ROLE-PLAY

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 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.

www.ibeschool.com

9

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."

www.ibeschool.com

10

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

www.ibeschool.com

11

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 k WORD ch sh k chemistry x children x Chicago x chalet x

challenge x champagne x

Christ x character x

Chocolate x champion x

Chaos x chauffeur 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

www.ibeschool.com