Who owns the Guess?

While the Marciano brothers started with shared ownership over the company, currently, only two brothers remain active in the company. Guess experienced much success as the first sexy designer jean brand, which is a brilliant marketing move, and was made famous by Marty McFly in the 1985 classic movie Back to the Future.

Guess began in 1981 as a book of styles started by Georges, Maurice, Armand, and Paul Marciano. The Marcianos sought to establish the Guess name as exclusively high-end.

Throughout the company's growth, distribution of Guess clothing was limited largely to upscale department stores and Marciano's own retail stores. It didn't take too long before the Marcianos began expanding their line of jeans beyond their financial means.

To raise cash, the Marciano brothers sold a 50% stake in Guess for $4.7 million in 1983 to the Nakash brothers, owners of Jordache, an established clothier which already had plants in Hong Kong. The Marciano brothers had a gentlemen's agreement with the Nakash brothers that they would not knock off their designer jean styles, and sure enough, they did.

After years of legal battles, the Marciano brothers won and were able to get the original shares that they sold to Nakash the brothers. A decade later, George Marciano sold his shares to his brothers, and the company went public. Despite going public, Guess remained very much a family-dominated company.

In 2015, it was announced that founder Paul Marciano stepped down from his position as CEO, with Victor Herrero as his carefully selected replacement. Then in 2019, Carlos Alberini became CEO. Paul Marciano currently remains the Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Creative Officer, and his brother Maurice is the Director and Chairman Emeritus.