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Armani

Giorgio Armani S.p.A. is an Italian fashion company. The company designs and manufactures products in several categories including fashion accessories, apparel, cosmetics, fragrances, home interiors, jewelry, eyewear and watches under several labels including Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Junior, Armani Exchange A|X, and Armani Casa. End of year sales for 2005 were $1.69 billion.

Armani is also planning together with Emaar Properties to launch a chain of luxury hotels and resorts in several big cities including London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Dubai and Milan. The company already operates a range of cafes worldwide, in addition to a bar, restaurant and nightclub.

History

Giorgio Armani and Sergio Galeotti founded the company in Milan in 1975 with capital of $10,000. Armani today employs about 4,700 employees and has 13 factories around the world. It has nearly 300 stores in 36 countries. Recently, the house has begun a haute couture operation, showing in Paris during the Haute Couture fashion week, under the name of Armani Privé.

Unlike much of the fashion industry, which is held by massive multi-nationals like LVMH and relies heavily on licensing, Armani is held privately by Giorgio Armani and produces the vast majority of its products in-house.

Lines

Armani Casa

Armani Casa ("Armani Home" in Italian) is the high-end home collection by Armani features furniture, lamps, linens, and dining essentials. The Home Collection is expensively priced. For example, the highly acclaimed Tchaikowski Armchair retails at $9,985. Armani Casa is available at its 40 worldwide boutiques and select Neiman Marcus stores.

Armani Collezioni

Armani Collezioni is a high-end line from fashion designer Giorgio Armani. The line is more expensive than the Armani Exchange and Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani lines but less expensive than the high end ready-to-wear line, Giorgio Armani (sometimes referred to as Armani 'black label') and the haute couture line, Armani Privé. The line is typically aimed at an older customer who does not desire 'trendy' design, but places emphasis on high quality more classic items. It replaced the Giorgio Armani Le Collezioni line. In addition to being sold in freestanding boutiques (which feature the Collezioni line exclusively), it is also sold in high-end department stores such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols, David Jones, Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

Armani Cosmetics

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

Armani Exchange

Created in 1991, Armani Exchange (often A|X) is geared towards younger customers and features urban style, prêt-à-porter products, especially T-shirts, jeans, polos, and sports coats.

Armani Exchange is the most affordable of all the Armani lines and mainly targets the American market. It is geared toward older teens and young adults with a contemporary fashion style. The line features 73 stores and 8 outlets in the United States and 82 stores internationally. The United Kingdom's first stores opened in Bluewater, Kent, the Metquarter, Liverpool and in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. And in 2007 it opened its biggest store in the Bullring, Birmingham. The brand has expanded to some countries recently. In 2007, a new store was opened in the Antara Fashion Mall in Mexico City, Mexico. More recently in August 2008, new locations opened in the Eaton Center, Yorkdale Mall and Vaughan Mills, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Kings Plaza in Brooklyn, NY.

The Armani Exchange Presents Tiësto In Search of Sunrise Summer Tour 08 is a partnership tour between Tiësto and Armani Exchange. The purpose of this junction between both is to promote themselves, Armani will offer exclusive apparel to Tiësto and a special limited edition release containing 3 CD's of his In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia compilation which is due June 10. The In Search of Sunrise: North American Summer Tour 2008 is only taking place in North America on May 23rd and ending on July 4.

A|X has expanded in Canada with 2 locations in Vancouver and 3 locations in Toronto (including an outlet at Vaughan Mills). It has also opened a new boutique in Mexico City's Antara Polanco

Armani Hotels

Armani and Emaar Properties signed an agreement in 2004, for Emaar Hotels to build and operate at least seven luxury hotels and three vacation resorts under the Armani name. Armani would be responsible for overseeing all aspects the interior design and style of the hotels. The initial hotel in Dubai is expected to be ready in early 2008.

The bottom 37 floors of the Burj Dubai skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will house the world's first Armani Hotel, and Giorgio Armani is also designing the interior of the skyscraper proper.

Armani Jeans

Armani Jeans is a lower-priced collection of denim-related clothing created in 1981 by Giorgio Armani. Unlike Armani's other lower-end collection Armani Exchange, Armani Jeans is mainly sold in department stores instead of freestanding stores, although there are fifteen freestanding Armani Jeans stores in the world, in addition to an Armani Jeans Cafe in Milan.

In terms of design, the clothing from this line does not feature Giorgio Armani's signature simplicity and often has larger logos than the clothing in any of his other collections. The colours used for Armani Jeans are more diverse than those found in his higher end lines or Armani Exchange, which feature monochromatic colour schemes and focus on cut and material over colour.

There are several Armani Jeans freestanding stores throughout the world, including several in Italy, Dubai, Lebanon, Japan and Spain. The brand is particularly popular in Asia, where it is often sold in Takashimaya department stores.

Armani Junior

This line that features clothing for children. It can be purchased at its 15 worldwide boutiques and select Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue stores.

Armani Privè

Armani's haute couture line made history being the first haute couture Paris fashion show to be streamed live online. The label is strictly made to wear and not available for purchase in stores but can be ordered and tailored at a very high price.

Emporio Armani

Emporio Armani is a more youthful inspired Armani Line that markets for younger adults. The line is the third-least expensive Armani Brand and can be bought at its 13 American boutiques and over 140 worldwide boutiques, making it the largest distributed Armani brand. Products encompassed by this brand include ready-to-wear clothes, sunglasses, perfume, accessories and watches. The line is considered a "bridge line" as it features higher-end products than Armani Exchange or Armani Jeans but is not as expensive as the exclusive Armani Collezioni or Giorgio Armani ('black label') lines. Emporio Armani is sold in freestanding Emporio Armani boutiques, in high-end department stores, and through their online store.

Giorgio Armani

The Armani signature label is the most expensive Armani label and is available in its 75 worldwide boutiques.

Armani/Air

Giorgio Armani will launch an airline by 2010. Called Armani/Air and initially fly from Milan to New York and Dubai. Offering a high quality service in two class aircraft, the premium cabin will be called Prive/Air and will feature individual passenger suites.Other destinations will follow, Los Angeles and Tokyo are due to be added. The passenger cabin will be fitted out in a distinctive Armani style and aims to be quite different from other airlines flying today.

Other ventures

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. He also has a bookshop (Armani Libri) and a florist (Armani Fiori) under the Armani name and a confectionery company known as Armani Dolci. These smaller brands are mostly sold within larger Armani shops, like the Milan flagship, 31 via Manzoni, and at the Armani/Chater House at 11 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong.

Fur controversy

In July 2007, Giorgio Armani told Time Magazine that viewing PETA materials “convinced me not to use fur." However, according to PETA, Armani’s Fall 2008 collection included fur coats for babies, floral printed furs, fur-hemmed skirts and fur-trimmed jackets. The animal rights group has contacted celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Glenn Close asking that they not wear Armani-designed clothes.