Giorgio Armani S.p.A. (pronounced [?d?ord?o ar?ma?ni ?spa]), commonly known as Armani, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded by Giorgio Armani which designs, manufactures, distributes and retails haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, eyewear, cosmetics and home interiors. It is considered Italy\'s second-biggest fashion group behind Prada.[3] The brand markets these products under several labels:[4] Giorgio Armani Priv?, Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani (including EA7), Armani Jeans, Armani Junior, and Armani Exchange. The brand utilizes the association of the Armani name with high-fashion, benefiting from its prestige in the fashion industry. In 2016, estimated sales of the company were around $2.65 billion.[5] In 2017, Giorgio Armani announced that his company will close two of its fashion labels, Armani Collezioni and Armani Jeans, as part of the restructuring process for his company.[3] While Armani Collezioni will merge back into the \"Giorgio Armani\" line, Armani Jeans will be mixed with the Emporio Armani line due to their similarities in styles and the use of the same brand logo. Giorgio Armani is in collaboration with Emaar Properties, creating a chain of luxury hotels and resorts in several big cities including Milan, Paris, New York, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, and Dubai.[6][7] The company already operates a range of caf?s worldwide, in addition to a bar and nightclub. Armani and his partner, architect Sergio Galeotti, founded Giorgio Armani SpA in 1975, reportedly on money from the sale of Armani\'s Volkswagen.[8] The company signed a license with Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) in 1978.[8] It partnered with L\'Oreal on a licensing agreement for the production and distribution of fragrances, cosmetics and beauty products (1980)[9] and with Luxottica for eyewear (1988).[10] Armani also entered into a manufacturing and distribution license with Simint in 1991 when the company launched A|X Armani Exchange.[11] By 1993, the Armani name was represented by 23 licensees and two large joint ventures in Japan.[12] By the 1990s, the company\'s strategy was to cancel licenses and take production in-house in a bid to exert more control over quality and distribution.[11] Manufacturing arrangements later brought back in-house include the acquisition of Antinea (1990), Simint (1996) and Intai (1998).[8][10] In 2000, after buying factories from GFT, Armani formed a joint venture with Zegna for the production and distribution of the Collezioni men\'s collection. Armani also increased to 85 percent its share in the joint venture in Japan with Itochu.[8] Also in the early 2000s, Armani opened five megastores designed by Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas, starting with the opening of the Armani/Manzoni store in Milan in 2000, which carries all of the company\'s brands. Other such venues are in Hong Kong (Armani/Chater House, opened in 2002), Munich (Armani/F?nf H?fe, opened in 2003), Tokyo (Armani/Ginza Tower, opened in 2007) and New York (Armani/Fifth Avenue, opened in 2009).[13] From 2003 until 2012, Safilo Group held the exclusive licence for Armani-branded eyewear before losing it again to Luxottica.[14][15][16] Beginning in 2007, the company teamed up with Samsung to develop a line of high-end electronic goods.[17][18][19] In 2007, Giorgio Armani confirmed to Reuters that he had been approached by Beiersdorf in 2005 about a potential merger but had since been too distracted by other projects to pursue that option.[20] In 2016, he confirmed he had established the Giorgio Armani Foundation[21] which, while aiming to fund social projects, is also to ?safeguard the governance assets of the Armani Group and ensure that these assets are kept stable over time.\"[22][23] By 2017, the company was seen as a prime candidate for a stock market listing.[24] In 2021, Giorgio Armani ruled out merging with either LVMH and Kering.[25] In 2021, luxury yacht maker The Italian Sea Group announced that Giorgio Armani SpA would invest in the company\'s IPO at the Italian Bourse.[26]