By BrandsShouts No, generally, Guess is not considered a luxury brand, and there are clear reasons for that. The first one is, of course, about the price, and then there is the exclusivity factor. But if you want to understand that in a much better way, just keep on reading this quick look at the Guess brand.
Let’s First See The Background Of Guess
Guess was initially founded in 1981 by four brothers: Georges, Maurice, Armand, and Paul Marciano, who relocated from France to Los Angeles. They started the label with denim, and the Marilyn Jean, a stonewashed tight-fitting jeans with zippers at the ankle, and the first big success of the brand was born from there. Consequently, a significant department store, Bloomingdale’s, acquired the product, and the jeans were sold out in a short time.
Guess didn’t just limit itself to jeans, but eventually spread its brand to sell clothing, handbags, watches, and shoes in addition to jeans. During the 1980s, the brand’s black-and-white ad campaigns featuring models such as Claudia Schiffer were very important for the brand’s recognition all over the world. The company went public in 1996 as a step for more growth, and according to the 2025 projections, the company is expected to have more than 1,500 stores worldwide with an annual turnover of around $3 billion.
Why Guess Is Not a Luxury Brand?
Guess is not completely a top-of-the-line luxury brand. Nevertheless, the brand is somewhat of a class that is several times known as “affordable luxury” or “premium high street” labels. The company is somewhat halfway between the two extremes: true luxury labels and standard retail fashion brands.
Like for example, Guess handbags in India ranged from ₹4,500 to ₹18,000 in 2025. Meanwhile, the prices of luxury bags are notably higher. Typically, the luxury handbags’ prices start from ₹50,000 and above. It is a fact that the watches and bags of Guess are made of good and lasting materials, say fabric for the bag and stainless steel for the watch, still, they lack the uniqueness and high quality that are the features of brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton.