Journey to the origins of luxury: BVLGARI

At the end of the 1870s, they opened a shop for themselves here, and Bvlgari's brand story sprouted. The young metal worker Sotirio Boulgaris, the founder of Bvlgari, who lived with his family in Corfu, decided to carve his own path in the 1880s and moved to Rome. After a short experience of partnership venture, he opened his own shop under the name "Sotorio" in 1884. Here, products ranging from silver belts, buckles, bracelets, buttons, tableware and antiques were offered for sale.

In the late 1800s, this enterprising businessman, St. Moritz, San Remo, Naples, Bellagio and Sorrento also reached the power to open sales points. In 1880, Sotirio Boulgaris changed the family name to a Romani name, Bulgari. Shortly after this change, he married Eleni, whom he would give the surname Bulgari, and had two sons, Constantino and Giorgio, respectively, in 1889-1890.

Sotirio Bulgari meanwhile had progressed well. He sold his growing chain of stores because he wanted to devote his concentration to one business, the jewelery and silver industry. In 1905, he bought the shop in Rome that would become Bulgari's headquarters throughout the 20th century. So Via Condotti at No: 10. In this new store, from embossed and embroidered silver products to ceramic decoration materials; It offered a wide range of products, from gold and silver jewelery to stoneware sets.

By the first 20 years of the 20th century, Bulgari had gained a cosmopolitan atmosphere. Sotirio's sons, brothers Constantino and Giorgio, also had their first business experience during this time. World War I had a negative impact on all companies and brands, just like Bulgari. However, when the situation started to improve a bit after the war, Bulgari decided to switch from silver to jewelery pieces. And with this decision, it is one step closer to the caravan of luxury brands.

A Second Generation Takes the Helm in the 1930s

After Sotirio Bulgari's death in 1932, his sons embarked on new breakthroughs in domestic and foreign relations. Brothers Constantino and Giorgio remodeled the brand. They officially changed the name of the Via Condotti store to "BVLGARI" in accordance with the Roman alphabet. They created the pink and beige “hallmark” that will be used in other retail stores of the brand. While Giorgio's trips to buy jewelery led him to the Parisian jewelery industry; Constantino's passion for antique silver would later inspire the company's classically themed products.

In the first half of the 19th century, Bvlgari both adhered to fashion products shaped by Parisian influence and followed the jewelery trends that dominate the world. In this context, the brand adopted the Art Deco theme in the 1920s. In the 1930s Bvlgari turned to platinum sets with diamonds. In the post-war years, when prosperity began to be provided gradually, jewelery houses began to produce diamond, emerald and sapphire sets with abundant jewellery. Floral motifs were among the most popular designs during this period.

Bvlgari Celebrity Favorite

Bvlgari's fame had spread. In the post-war period, the marble-floored facet of the Bvlgari store became a place where celebrities from around the world posed for paparazzi. Italian society of the 1960s, with its expanding customer profile; Evita Peron, the famous political figure of South America; Samuel Henry Kress, the American businessman Nelson Rockefeller and the founder of Woolworth; Names such as Clare Boothe Luce, the American ambassador in Italy, helped Bvlgari's reputation in the jewelery world increase and flourish.

Bvlgari Style Born in the 1960s

In the 1960s, Italian jewelry and jewelery began to gradually get rid of the French influence, and the style of the Bvlgari brothers began to find their own unique style. Now the products differed from the French style in certain points. Diamonds began to become more of a supporting material for the play of colors. When choosing stones, jewelers preferred to use stone pieces that would enable the artistic talents of the manufacturers to display instead of the traditional emerald-ruby-sapphire trio. As a result, stylized yellow gold embroidered on smooth, pleasing outlines completed the classic look of the Bvlgari.

In 1967, the third generation of the family, Giorgio's 3 sons, Paolo, Gianni and Nicola, took over the helm. After graduating from law school, the eldest son, Gianni, chose the "playboy" style of life. Continuing his life as a car racer for a while, Gianni became the CEO of Bvlgari in 1980. Paolo, also known as the creator of the trilogy, is known as the world's foremost jeweler. Although Nicola is the youngest of the siblings, he is known as the most businessman in the family. He is also involved in the design part. Nicola is also an insatiable coin collector when it comes to antiques. It is for this reason that he revived the use of coins in Bvlgari in the late 1960s.

International Expansion Begins in the 1970s

The Bvlgari brothers opened their first international store in 1970 at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue, New York. By the end of the 1970s, it had three more stores in Geneva, Monte Carlo and Paris. Bvlgari's designs from this period were clearly influenced by Tutankhamen and ancient Egypt. Also in this period, Indian motifs, especially leaf motifs, were widely used in their designs in the 1970s.

Although Bvlgari has made purses, brooches, and wristwatches throughout its history, it did not launch a large watch collection until the late 1970s. With its classical design, the “BVLGARI BVLGARI” wristwatch became the most well-known and best-selling watch with its yellow gold model surrounding a black round face. Another important design was Bvlgari's snake-curved clock. The 1970s were quite successful and bright for the company. Over these years, Bvlgari has raised the bar from the world's top jewelery brand to an innovative and innovative brand. Its client portfolio has expanded and a prestigious clientele has emerged, including celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Kirk Douglas and Elizabeth Taylor. Customer loyalty has increased. By the end of this decade, Bvlgari's annual sales revenue had reached $50 million.

1980s in Bvlgari

The 1980s were the years when Bvlgari experienced stagnation in growth. So much so that the company could not even open a new store until the last half of the 1980s. According to some sources, the reason for this stagnation is shown as the frictions between the 3 siblings. In fact, one of the brothers, Gianni, resigned from his CEO position in 1985. Two years after this event, Nicola and Paolo buy a third of their brothers' shares and forbid Gianni from using the Bvlgari brand. Meanwhile, the brothers propose their nephew, Francesco Trapani, to become CEO. As soon as Trapani became CEO in 1981, he implemented an aggressive strategy for growth. It first opens stores in Milan, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Osaka, Singapore, and London. Before the end of the 80s, new stores were opened in Munich and New York. Although the company was at the top of the jewelery industry, it was the 1980 designs that played a significant role in Bvlgari's progress and development in the field of "wearability". Before leaving the company, Gianni Bulgari said in an interview with the International Daily News in 1981: "You don't have to be rich to love and want quality." These two concepts have enabled Bvlgari to further expand its existing target audience, while maintaining its brand mission of making high quality products and designs.

Bvlgari produced a series called “Parentesi” with a highly modular design in 1982. An endless variety of rings, earrings, watches, bracelets and necklaces were produced, which could be combined with individual items as desired. In the 1980s, the "Docio Cuore", "Boules", "Gancio", and "Alveare" designs tripled Bvlgari's sales, and by 1989 Bvlgari's sales were up to $150 million.

Diversity in the Other Luxury Goods Category in the 1990s

Bvlgari continued to launch modular jewelry collections in the 1990s. Patterns and motifs belonging to the collections “Saetta”, “Naturilia”, “Celtica”, “Doppio Passo”, “Chandra” and “Trika” released during this period were important status symbols known as important Bvlgari pieces of the time. Although Bvlgari launches products belonging to the watch and jewelry sector, it has also entered categories such as silver tableware and gift products. After 2 years of research, it launched its first fragrance, "Eau Perfumme", a green tea-based, unisex perfume.

This was followed by perfumes BVLGARI pour Femme in 1994 and BVLGARI pour Homme in 1995. By the end of 1996, the perfume category had increased Bulgari's annual sales by 14% and contributed $40 million. It started producing silk scarves and ties in 1996. In the same year, he bought the hallmark rights of the Italian company Luxottica for use in sunglasses and other optical products. Leather goods (bags and other accessories) from the Bvlgari collection were also put on sale in 1997. With the increase of newly opened branches, Bvlgari, which has established a very good retail chain in the countries known today as the former Soviet Union, in Europe, the USA and Asia, has expanded its geographical network from the Middle East to Australia.

From 1990 to 1996, the company opened more than two hundred stores. In July 1995, the company went public on the Milan Stock Exchange and sold its 32.1% stake in two days. The stock's performance was indicative of the rapid expansion in its base. The CEO of the company, Trapani, was the undisputed leader of this period. This astute strategist was awarded a special share of the partnership for his great contribution to the family business. In 1997, at the age of 39, he was confident that he would occupy the company's most important position. As a matter of fact, it happened. Although Bvlgari, one of the legendary brands of Italy, went public in 1995, Paolo brothers and Nicola Bulgari owned 61.8% of the company.

However, when the dates showed March 2011, the LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) group acquired a large stake in the famous jewelry and luxury consumer brand Bvlgari. The sale, announced by LVMH executives on March 6, 2011, is about €3.7 billion, or over $5 billion, according to the New York Times.

BULGARI HISTORY

https://www.bulgari.com/en-int/the-maison/about-bvlgari/bvlgari-history.html#:~:text=Bulgari%20History,craftsmanship%20and%20magnificent%20jewellery%20creations.