First, Gucci identified the power of celebrity for brand status enhancement by being

associated with the greatest American and Italian movie stars of the 1940s onwards. Pradas
image was more sedate than celebrity. Second, buoyed by the demand generated by its
celebrity status, Gucci engaged in an aggressive international expansion, focusing upon
important cities including Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York, Beverly Hills, Chicago and
London. In contrast, Prada remained largely a domestic business. Finally, while Gucci
engaged in a prolific brand extension strategy through many, varied licensing agreements
(which by the beginning of the 1980s had almost ruined its brand status), Prada did not. By
the early 1980s, Prada was a business that was little known outside of Italy. With its reliance
upon imported finished goods, largely from England, Pradas product range was
indistinguishable and a distinct brand identity was indiscernible. The literature on fashion
brand revitalisation has recognised the importance of individual(s) whose vision and
creativity brings about a transformation of the brands status and success (Moore and
Birtwistle (2005) on the impact of Tom Ford at Gucci). For Prada, that transforming
individual was the founders granddaughter, Miuccia who took over the company in 1978
from her mother. The four phases of change Reviewing the Prada business model under
Miuccias 30 years of leadership, it is possible to identify four distinct phases of the brands
evolution. These phases are delineated in Table I and explored thereafter. Phase 1: the search
for a differential When Miuccia Prada took over the business, it is claimed that she was a
reluctant heiress of this somewhat moribund business. However, with the support of her
partner (who subsequently became her husband), Patrizio Bertelli, the two recognised the
need to secure a distinction for the brand. With a highly localised distribution network,
dependence upon third party products and with no recognisable design signature, she
recognis