Guccio Gucci was the son of an Italian merchant and grew up in the northern manufacturing region of Italy. Guccio launched the House of Gucci in 1906. It began as a small, family-owned leather saddlery shop. Guccio earned the reputation of only hiring the finest craftsman and manufacturing top-of-the-line goods. In 1938, Guccio opened his first boutique in Rome. Guccio had a large family and his sons all took an interest in the family business. Guccio unfortunately passed away in 1953. His son Aldo went on to expand the company worldwide with locations in London, Paris and New York. As Gucci grew to a multi-million dollar company, the brothers began to feud and fight over stock holdings and inheritances.
Due to the turmoil and feuding from within, the Gucci family gave up control of the fragrance wing of the company to Muelhen, a German manufacturer. This was short-lived and Muelhen was later bought by Wella. Since the purchasing of Gucci Parfums, Tom Ford, creative director for Wella, has launched several successful perfumes under the Gucci brand. Some of those include Gucci No1, Eau de Gucci and Gucci No3. The most recent perfume launched by Gucci Parfums is Gucci Envy. Gucci Envy has been heavily advertised and is on its way to becoming a best seller.