.Gucci New gTLD Application
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New gTLD Application Submitted to ICANN by: Guccio Gucci S.p.a.
Application Downloaded On: 28 Jul 2014
String: Gucci
Application ID: 1-951-28008
Applicant Information
- Full legal name
Guccio Gucci S.p.a.
- Address of the principal place of business
Via Tornabuoni, 73r Florence -
50123 IT
- Phone number
+39 055 290017
- Fax number
+39 055 212634
- If applicable, website or URL
Primary Contact
6(a). Name
Vanni Volpi
6(b). Title
Intellectual Property Counsel
6(c). Address
6(d). Phone Number
+39 055 75922590
6(e). Fax Number
+39 055 751785
6(f). Email Address
Secondary Contact
7(a). Name
Lorna Gradden
7(b). Title
Operations Director
7(c). Address
7(d). Phone Number
+44 207 4218250
7(e). Fax Number
+44 870 0118187
7(f). Email Address
Proof of Legal Establishment
8(a). Legal form of the Applicant
Corporation
8(b). State the specific national or other jurisdiction that defines the type of entity identified in 8(a).
Italy
8(c). Attach evidence of the applicant's establishment.
Attachments are not displayed on this form.
9(a). If applying company is publicly traded, provide the exchange and symbol.
9(b). If the applying entity is a subsidiary, provide the parent company.
9(c). If the applying entity is a joint venture, list all joint venture partners.
Applicant Background
11(a). Name(s) and position(s) of all directors
Name
Position
Alberto Valente Chief Financial Officer
Diana Zanetto EVP & Chief Merchandising and Licensing Officer
Jean François Palus Group Managing Director
Massimiliano Carpino Global General Counsel
Micaela Le Divelec Lemmi EVP & Chief Corporate Operations Officer
Patrizio di Marco President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Triefus Chief Marketing Officer
11(b). Name(s) and position(s) of all officers and partners
Name
Position
Alberto Valente Chief Financial Officer
Diana Zanetto EVP & Chief Merchandising and Licensing Office
Jean François Palus Group Managing Director
Massimiliano Carpino Global General Counsel
Micaela Le Divelec Lemmi EVP & Chief Corporate Operations Officer
Patrizio di Marco President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Triefus Chief Marketing Officer
11(c). Name(s) and position(s) of all shareholders holding at least 15% of shares
Name
Position
Gucci Group N.V. Not Applicable
11(d). For an applying entity that does not have directors, officers, partners, or shareholders: Name(s) and position(s) of all individuals having legal or executive responsibility
Applied-for gTLD string
- Provide the applied-for gTLD string. If an IDN, provide the U-label.
Gucci
14A. If applying for an IDN, provide the A-label (beginning with "xn--").
14B. If an IDN, provide the meaning, or restatement of the string in English, that is, a description of the literal meaning of the string in the opinion of the applicant.
14C1. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (in English).
14C2. If an IDN, provide the language of the label (as referenced by ISO-639-1).
14D1. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (in English).
14D2. If an IDN, provide the script of the label (as referenced by ISO 15924).
14E. If an IDN, list all code points contained in the U-label according to Unicode form.
15A. If an IDN, upload IDN tables for the proposed registry. An IDN table must include:
the applied-for gTLD string relevant to the tables,
the script or language designator (as defined in BCP 47),
table version number,
effective date (DD Month YYYY), and
contact name, email address, and phone number.
Submission of IDN tables in a standards-based format is encouraged.
15B. Describe the process used for development of the IDN tables submitted, including consultations and sources used.
15C. List any variants to the applied-for gTLD string according to the relevant IDN tables.
- Describe the applicant's efforts to ensure that there are no known operational or rendering problems concerning the applied-for gTLD string. If such issues are known, describe steps that will be taken to mitigate these issues in software and other applications.
As the applied-for gTLD string is not an IDN and is consistent with the requirements of the Applicant Guidebook Section 2.2.1.3.2 (String Requirements), Guccio Gucci SpA does not believe there are any known operational or rendering problems concerning the string.
- OPTIONAL.
Provide a representation of the label according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/).
18A. Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
Our organisation, Guccio Gucci SpA (hereunder Gucci), is the owner of the globally well-known trademark “GUCCI” and of all intellectual property rights pertaining to Gucci’s creations and collections.
Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci is one of the worldʹs leading luxury fashion brands. With a renowned reputation for quality and Italian craftsmanship, Gucci designs manufactures and distributes highly desirable products such as leather goods (handbags, small leather goods, and luggage), shoes, ready-to-wear, silks, timepieces and fine jewellery. Eyewear and fragrances are manufactured and distributed under license by global industry leaders in these two sectors. Gucci products are sold exclusively through a network of directly operated boutiques and a small number of selected franchisees, department and specialty stores.
Gucci is today a brand looking to the future, but with a deep respect for its past; a brand with a very defined and strong soul; a soul that has evolved over 90 years, built upon values of innovation, forward thinking, passion, heritage and craftsmanship.
In the last three years, the team led by Patrizio di Marco, Gucci President and CEO, has been able to give new life to the long lasting values of the brand – including the mission of “made in Italy”, outstanding quality and superior artisanal craftsmanship – while perfectly combining them with its fashion authority and versatility.
Today the brand has reached a higher-level positioning and exclusivity, recapturing the more knowledgeable client as it continues to attract aspirational customers especially from the newer markets.
“Made in Italy” is an integral part of the essence of Gucci. It is a cultural approach, a know-how that took generations to build, and a genuine mission that has allowed Gucci to become one of the world’s most desirable luxury fashion brands.
Today, Gucci’s “Made in Italy” production, coupled with a strong social responsibility towards its employees, ensures that 100% of its leather goods, shoes and ready to wear products are still produced in its workshops in Italy, employing over 45,000 people, in addition to Gucci’s own employees. This handcrafted legacy passed down through generations of artisan families, continues to be an immense source of pride for Gucci and has made a huge contribution to its position as a worldwide leader in the luxury business.
In 2011 we generated revenues of approximately €3,1 billion. We employ over eight thousand people on average and have around 370 directly operated stores worldwide.
Gucci is fully committed to maintaining and protecting its intellectual property rights throughout the world in order to ensure that its unique heritage be strongly preserved and fully respected. The GUCCI trademark is registered and protected in almost all countries around the world and internationally recognized as one the most well-known and renowned luxury brand in the world. Gucci already owns more than 600 domain names and 5000 trademarks on average.
Accordingly to some third party research and surveys, Gucci has been ranked in 39th place of the Top 100 Best Global Brands by Interbrand (http:⁄⁄www.interbrand.com⁄en⁄best-global-brands⁄best-global-brands-2008⁄best-global-brands-2011.aspx), and in 6th place between the “50 Top Brands in Social Media” by My Social Media Reputation, (please refer to http:⁄⁄www.mysocialmediareputation.com⁄).
The Company steadily continues to invest in the web and in digital activities as valuable complementary communication and business channels, building a new level of direct engagement for the brand, in order to connect in a much deeper and richer way with existing and future clients.
Gucci was, in fact, a pioneer when it launched its U.S. e-commerce site in 2002 and we continue to see innovative digital channels as an important way to connect with our customers. The current website operates in 18 e-commerce markets (namely in 14 European markets, plus US, Canada, Korea and Japan) and in eight different languages with over 4,000 products available.
Gucci.com is considered to be an industry benchmark e-commerce site. In addition, we have a China content site in two languages and an International site.
The official Gucci Facebook page has passed 7 million registered fans, while well over 1 million people have downloaded the new Gucci Style by Guccio Gucci App from iTunes.
Through gucci.com and other social or digital media (like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Foursquare and the Gucci Apps), the company has broadened its reach in a rich and very direct way. Innovative media and technology represent a valuable complementary business channel as well as a significant way of communicating. A strong passion for new technology – along with the powerful recognition of the Gucci brand – is allowing us to develop more personal and constant relationships with current and prospective consumers. Ultimately, the aim is to offer the same values and experience to an online customer or visitor as we do in our physical stores.
Our application for .GUCCI complements this clear vision and philosophy: a new gTLD offers a platform for reaching customers in a new way, whilst supporting all Digital initiatives and protecting and enhancing the Gucci brand.
We will use .gucci, first and foremost, to reinforce the authenticity of our website and trust in engaging with the brand. We will also explore the potential for tailored experiences that visitors and customers view content and products that are most relevant to them. In addition, we will use .gucci to promote, support, protect and enhance the well-known character and the customer recognition and appreciation of the Gucci brand; to reach new consumers and strengthen the relationship with existing clients; to develop e-Business initiatives and global penetration; to offer the potential for innovative means of digital communication and marketing in the future.
18B. How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?
How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, internet users and others?
We hope that a new gTLD for .GUCCI will provide a clear and direct pointer to Gucci online and Gucci digital Flagship Store content, giving internet users the peace of mind that they are being directed to a trustworthy and genuine Gucci destination.
What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of speciality, service levels or reputation?
We would like .GUCCI domain names to become directly and immediately identifiable with the Gucci brand itself, to be an extension of the brand so that internet users know what they can expect under a .GUCCI domain: the same quality and excellence that they associate with the brand.
What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?
A .GUCCI gTLD would ideally allow us to stand out from our competitors. The mission of this company is to be leader and pioneer in anything we do, not only in our core businesses in the luxury and fashion sector.
What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
GUCCI has a reputation for outstanding quality, and we also have a passion and commitment to the highest levels of customer satisfaction. In staying true to the core values of the brand, the mission of the company is the pursuit of excellence, both in terms of product offering as well as customer experience, through all the different touch points with the customer. Registrants of .GUCCI domains will be treated in the same way and to the same standards as we conduct all of our business.
Provide a complete description of the applicant’s intended registration policies in support of the goals above
The Gucci Domain Name Management team is responsible for the development, maintenance and enforcement of the .GUCCI Domain Management Policy (GDMP). This policy defines the rules associated with eligibility and domain name allocation, sets out the license terms governing the use of a .GUCCI domain name and describes the dispute resolution policies for the .GUCCI TLD. This policy is intended to be updated and revised regularly to reflect Gucci’s commercial and strategic interests and, where appropriate, ICANN consensus policies. The policy is summarised below. It is subject to change:
Registration of a .GUCCI domain name is undertaken in four steps: Eligibility Confirmation, Naming Convention Check, Acceptable Use Review, and finally Registration.
An eligibility check will be undertaken.
All domains in the .GUCCI registry will remain the property of Guccio Gucci SpA.
Checks will be undertaken to ensure that applied for character strings conform to the .GUCCI Naming Conventions. Each applied for A-Label character string must conform to the .GUCCI rules of eligibility. Each .GUCCI name must:
- be at least 1 character and no more than 63 characters long
- not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (except for IDNs)
- contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens or a combination of these
- start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen
- not match any character strings reserved by ICANN
- not match any protected country names or territory names
Internationalized domain names (IDN) may be supported in the .GUCCI registry under certain circumstances.
Checks will be undertaken to ensure that the intended use of each .GUCCI domain conforms to the .GUCCI Acceptable Use policy. These terms of use may be updated from time to time:
- Domains must be used solely for purposes that enhance the strategic or commercial interests of Guccio Gucci SpA.
- .GUCCI domains may not be used in a way which knowingly infringes third party intellectual property rights.
- .GUCCI domains must not be used for any criminal purposes, including, but not limited to phishing, malware download or fraudulent activities.
- A .GUCCI registration must be an acceptable term that will not give rise to any moral or public order questions or in any way damage the strategic interests or reputation of Guccio Gucci SpA.
- Domains may not be delegated or assigned to external organizations, institutions, or individuals without the permission of Guccio Gucci SpA.
- All .GUCCI domains will carry accurate and up to date registration records.
Before launching this TLD, Gucci will develop and publish its policies and guidelines, setting out full details of how the registry will implement its vision and purpose as set out in this answer. Gucci may adapt its policies and proposed use of the gTLD, in a manner consistent with the purpose expressed here, to reflect changes in its business and the adoption of new gTLDs by the community.
Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users?
Our e-commerce site under gucci.com deals with a significant number of visitors and amount of data, and sales, and this involves the handling of a large number of customer details, including their confidential financial details. We therefore understand the importance of data protection, privacy, and security and have the experience to allow us to build robust processes for ensuring the confidentiality of Registrants’ information in the .GUCCI registry. Gucci recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of personal and financial information. We have instituted reasonable policies and security measures to protect the information provided to us.
Gucci maintains customer data in our secured electronic Worldwide Gucci Customer and uses appropriate security measures to protect the information collected.
New methods we develop for ensuring data security through our e-commerce site will be replicated in the .GUCCI registry. Some of the measures we intend to implement are:
- Documenting policies and procedures including an escalation process
- Using appropriate levels of encryption and physical security
- Training key staff and ensuring responsibilities are understood and documented in rules of conduct
- Limiting access to records only to those employees or service providers who need access for the performance of their job duties
- Testing procedures
- Monitoring best practice and ICANN’s mandated and recommended policies
- Auditing the work of providers including the Escrow provider and checking data
- Reporting any attempts to gain unauthorised access to appropriate enforcement authorities
As the .GUCCI registry will be incorporated in Italy all data will be processed in conformity with EU Data Protection regulations.
Describe whether and in what ways outreach and communications will help to achieve your projected benefits?
Outreach and communication will be undertaken to ensure that .GUCCI domains are used in accordance with Gucci’s objectives. For example, guidelines will be produced and published on the Gucci intranet named “GUCCI 360” defining who can apply for a .GUCCI domain and how it can be used.
It is anticipated that the Gucci Brand Guidelines will be updated to reflect the advent of new gTLDs.
To assist internet users beyond Gucci to understand that .GUCCI domains are genuine and can be trusted as signposts to authentic information or services, Gucci intends to:
- Create a home page for the registry with clear messaging
- Participate in the ICANN Registry Operators Constituency
18C. What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?
What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g. time or financial resource costs as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)?
We do not expect our use of the .GUCCI registry to impact in any negative way upon internet users because there will be no market in .GUCCI domains.
How will multiple applications for a particular domain be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first come first served basis?
We have no plans to sell domains in the .GUCCI registry. Therefore the possibility of multiple applications is very remote. Should it happen, the decision on which eligible representative of Gucci gets a domain will be taken by the Domains Manager after a consideration of the registry’s policies and the strategic needs of the business.
Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g. advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).
Cost benefits will not be required because we have no intention of offering for sale domains in the .GUCCI registry.
The Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than 10 years. Additionally the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation?
Domains in the .GUCCI registry will be allocated to pre-approved members of Guccio Gucci SpA or affiliates who will meet strictly enforced terms of use. Thus there will be no requirement for contractual commitments in terms of price escalation, though we will comply with the provisions of Section 2.10 of the Registry Agreement. Domains in the .GUCCI registry will be allocated for variable time periods in line with policy set by the Gucci Domain Name Management team.