Gucci’s Fifth Avenue store located in Trump Tower.
The end of Donald Trump’s presidency brought about many things. One of those things was a distinctive distance from the former president and anyone or any brand that had been previously associated with him. No one wanted to be attached to his tarnished legacy in any way. Several brands have spoken out directly against his actions and have made it clear that they do not support him in order to keep their loyal consumers. Brands such as Tiffany’s have even closed their stores located within Trump’s Trump Tower locations. This distancing is seeming like the common thing to do for brands as well as people. However, Gucci apparently does not agree. They have decided that they will keep their New York City, Fifth Avenue store located within Trump Tower. What does this say about Gucci. Is it a matter of simply not caring, or a matter of supporting the disgraced former president? This New York Times article: Gucci Extends Lease in Trump Tower touches on the brand’s decision to keep their store location.
If I were on the public relations team at Gucci, I would actually advise against extending the lease simply for the fact that it made headlines. The fact that this lease extension made national news headlines shows that there is some negative connotation about keeping the location. It could be possible that the Gucci team did not see that this would be an issue, maybe they thought that by not moving their location, they would be staying under the radar. However, that is clearly not the case and for Gucci not to take a stand on such a pivotal issue in America at the moment, speaks volumes to its consumers. They may have not needed to take a direct stand and do something like issue a statement about leaving but leaving quietly would have been better than staying.
In a time where taking a stand is considered a must for companies, this was not a smart move but Gucci. However, the brand is well known and loved globally so this will not cause such a huge hit to the brand that anything detrimental will occur. However, if Gucci continues down this path of not taking a stand or speaking out against injustices, they may start to see detrimental effects especially considering that they have been in hot water in the past for allegations of racist designs. This should be an important lesson to the brand that they cannot just plan to fly under the radar anymore in today’s culture.