The North Face On Sale

Gucci is for shoes, and for handbags and belts.

I am watching to see how Gucci shoes do the next few quarters. Maybe I will put more than Monopoly money on it.

Gucci has been the driving force behind it’s designs and has been helping recreate their business model. They made it quick on its Gucci shoes. The ingenious way it introduces new designs puts them way ahead of the marketing curve.

They call it “test and release.” The company makes models atheadquarters, where it has a mini-factory that can turn a concept into a shoe in less than a day. They then sell and monitor Gucci shoes models in a select number of its New York Gucci shoes stores and on its Web site to determine fashion and inventory risks.

After several weeks of observation, they decide whether a model can go to China for mass production and be distributed in retail Gucci shoes. This “test and release” method allows them to put shoes in mass production on about 12 weeks, where typically it takes a footwear company about 5 months to release shoes.