Gucci on the Go

Who would pay $1,480 for a crocodile handbag? Or $1,150 for a solid gold-mesh belt? Or $500 for a three-piece set of calf luggage? Those who would--and do--constitute the glittering clientele of Gucci, the Florentine leather company that offers fancy quality at fancy prices. Before flying off to wed Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy stopped at Gucci's Manhattan shop to select a brown crocodile handbag. Darryl Zanuck had Gucci copy his favorite 30-year-old valise, and Capucine bought a leather dog carrier. Frank Sinatra recently sent his secretary to pick up a pair of moccasins. Other regular patrons include Rothschilds and Rockefellers, movie stars and magnates from several continents.

The Symbol. Gucci spares neither time nor money to turn out the products that more and more people want in an increasingly affluent world. Even shopgirls and clerks seem willing to spend beyond their means to own the same kind of luggage or clothes as Jackie or Frankie or Princess Lee. The Gucci shoe, a chunky loafer with a metal snaffle across the instep and a price tag from $31 to $49, has become one of those subtleties of dress that are supposed to separate the Main Line from the wrong side of the tracks. Enriched by demand for such symbols, Gucci has opened branches in London, Paris, Manhattan, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills. Last year the company increased its assets to an estimated $28 million.

Expansion has been paid for entirely from profits. Aldo Gucci, one of the directors, says: "We do not believe in flirting with banks." But the company is beginning to outgrow its own financing. Last week Aldo Gucci revealed that it plans soon to sell some shares of its U.S. operation to the public.

Cottage Industry. The Guccis--Aldo and two brothers--trace their family's merchant tradition in Florence to 1410. For the past six decades, members of the clan have prospered by selling expensive handcrafted leather goods. In the past year they have begun producing dresses and men's pants in a fabric made of linen and synthetics, and monogrammed with tiny Gs; it matches the material of. a new line of suitcases.

The brothers or their aides inspect as many as 100 crocodile skins before choosing the four that make one handbag. Shoes and other leather goods are made from the hides of Tuscan cattle that are not allowed to leave their stalls at all lest they be scratched. The Guccis' staff of 185 workers, helped by peasants who work for Gucci in their homes around Florence, shape and sew as many as 7,000 pairs of shoes each month, plus pigskin bags made of 130 separate pieces. "There is not much that you can teach a Florentine about merchandising or craftsmanship," says Aldo Gucci.

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