Preview case

Click Preview case to review the first page of this case

Main case New

Gucci in the Metaverse

By Stefano Turconi, Umberto Lobina

2023

Set in April 2022, the case chronicles how Kering-owned luxury-fashion house Gucci underwent a comprehensive creative and cultural transformation, making it more inclusive, agile and digital. Faced with the emergence of the metaverse, Gucci decided to take the lead, bargaining that a test-and-learn approach would mitigate the risk of operating in such a loosely defined, unproven domain. Under the direction of EVP of Brand and Customer Engagement Robert Triefus, Gucci ran a number of experiments in social gaming, established a dedicated metaverse team, launched NFT drops and scooped virtual real estate. As the cash-flow engine of Kering, Gucci could afford to explore the metaverse without needing to generate revenue immediately. But, as Gucci set ambitious medium-term performance targets for itself and competitors flocked to the metaverse, Triefus and his colleagues had to address several questions; from sizing the addressable and obtainable market opportunity to seizing its innovation potential.

Learning objectives

  1. Understand the opportunities and challenges inherent in the trade-off between experimentation and monetisation
  2. Assess how emerging opportunities fit into a company’s strategy and culture
  3. Map the ‘cone of uncertainty’ facing an industry and a company
  4. Practise the forecasting of addressable and obtainable markets
  5. Identify the components and actions needed to run an efficient ‘experimentation system'

Details

Publication Date: October 2023
LBS Case Code: CS-22-007
Topic:
Subjects: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Industry:
Geography: ,
Pages: 26
Format: pdf