Benetton

Benetton since 1965 Ponzano Veneto

Index

  1. The Origin: Benetton Siblings
  2. Company Information: 1998
  3. The Start of Innovative Advertising
  4. Brand Development Through 2000s
    1. New Mega Stores
    2. 2001- 2002 Financial Information
    3. Sale of all Sports Accessory Businesses
    4. Silvano Cassano
    5. The Company By 2003
    6. Joel Berg
    7. 2005 Financial Information
  5. 40th Anniversary
  6. Events & Campaigns
    1. Opening Soon…
    2. It’s My Time Global Casting Campaign
    3. Unhate Foundation
    4. Color Campaign
    5. On Canvas
    6. Benetton For Women Empowerment
  7. Current Situation

The Origin: Benetton Siblings

Carlo, Gilberto, Giuliana and Luciano Benetton
Carlo, Gilberto, Giuliana and Luciano Benetton

Benetton was established in 1965 in Ponzano Veneto (Treviso) by the Benetton siblings Luciano, Giuliana, Gilberto and Carlo. At the beginning it was simply an artisan’s workshop specialized in knitwear that was well-designed at rather affordable prices.

“My sister Giuliana,” says Luciano Benetton, “made sweaters for a small shop in our area. One day, she gave me a sweater that was very bright yellow. Well, everyone wanted it. They were tired of the sad and dull colors of the time. Then, said: “Come on, let’s try it; you, Giuliana, will design and I will sell. We bought an old machine to weave stripes onto net stockings. We sold it cheap, and we transformed it. Since then, no one has been able to stop us.”

Company Information: 1998 

By 1998 Benetton had a turnover of almost 9 trillion liras, company stores and franchisees all over the world. The company had become the twelfth largest Italian industrial group in the Mediobanca ranking, and it is one of the most important clothing and textile concerns in Italy. Half of the sales came from the traditional areas of sportswear and accessories under the brands; Benetton, Benetton 012, Sisley, Zerotondo, and Tutti i colori del mondo. At this point, the company had licenses for accessories, underwear, beachwear, cosmetics and linens. The other half of the turnover came from more recent areas of expansion: wholesale distribution, highway restaurants, real estate, and merchant banking.

Benetton 1990s AD
Benetton 1990s AD

The group produces 80% of their T-shirts, shirts, dresses and trousers, which are sold all over the world, in-house. The remaining 20% has been manufactured abroad for the past few years. In the plants at Castrette, a giant and very modern factory sheds fitted with cables and designed by the architect Tobia Scarpa. At this plant 1,000 people operate computers and control panels that would remind you of one of the great research centers for advanced technology.

The Robostore logistics system

Benetton created the Robostore logistics system, which staffs 14 people who sort 30,000 packages a day and 10 million pieces per month. The staff loads them on trucks and, according to the destination, separates them by country and sales point, and looks like a conveyer belt, or like a baggage claim at an airport. Moreover, the less complicated steps of processing, such as sewing and ironing, are given out by contract to a group of companies in the Veneto work almost exclusively for Benetton and employ 30,000 people.

Benetton is a giant production network which starts with wool from sheep in Argentina and goes all the way to distribution in the last Benetton shop in the third world, or in Greenland, where they sell Benetton sweaters and shirts. It is a network which studies the fabric, designs the Collection, and cuts, dyes and controls the quality, of almost 80 million pieces a year. Also while distributing them, at almost the same moment, and therefore practically without any warehousing, to 7,000 shops in 120 countries.

The Start of Innovative Advertising  United Colors of Benetton

Over the years Benetton’s advertising campaigns became innovative and often provocative. In 1982, world-renowned photographer Olivero Toscani created for Benetton the first of his multiracial campaigns with the United Colors of Benetton slogan. Later on, the Italian brand moved into controversial issues such as AIDS, Gulf War casualties and so on. From images of A freshly born baby complete with umbilical cord, to a picture of an HIV-positive patient as he lay dying in hospital, Benetton’s campaigns whipped up controversy and placed the brand front and center in the public eye.

Advertisement Regarding AIDs. Photographed by Olivero Toscani
Advertisement Regarding AIDs. Photographed by Olivero Toscani

As a result, through the 80s and 90s the brand’s penchant for courting controversy helped boost the brand recognition of Italian fashion giant, leading to Benetton’s chain of shops hitting 7,000 worldwide by 1993. In 2000, Benetton advertising had entered a new phase. Fabrica, Benetton’s communication center took over the Group’s communication, ending up collaboration with Oliviero Toscani for 18 years.

In the clothing industry, Benetton seems to have achieved a successful formula and resembles many Made in Italy manufacturing districts, but with only one brain at the top. Everything began almost by chance. And by the 2000s the global annual turnover amounts to about 4 trillion liras. The company is listed on the stock exchange in Milan, New York and Frankfurt.

Brand Development Through 2000s

In March 2000 an agreement is signed for the transfer of the Formula One Team Benetton to the French automotive company Renault for $120 million. Benetton is to continue as the official sponsor for two more years. In Hamburg, a new four-storey superstore opens in the city center. The development of the sales network continues through direct investments in several German cities, after the shop openings in Berlin, Leipzig, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart and Hanover. The German market is the second in strategic importance and sales volume after Italy.

1986 Benetton Formula One Team
1986 Benetton Formula One Team

By September the first superstore opens in Moscow, at 19 Tverskaya, with 20,000 sq. ft. on three floors. The following month, a new flagship store opens in Cardiff. In December, Benetton concludes an agreement to acquire 12 department stores from the Coin Group, for 25.3 billion liras.

At the end of 2000 the Group’s balance sheet shows consolidated revenues of 3,908 billion liras (€2.02 billion) and a net profit of 471 billion liras (€243 million). The dividend distributed to shareholders was 90 liras per share. Markets in which it grew most were Korea, the U.S., and Japan. In Japan, the Group pursued a strategy of closing down small points-of-sale and opening new mega-stores.

Txt e-solutions

In May 2001 the company reached an agreement with Txt e-solutions, a company specialized in the design and production of software. The agreement foresees the supply of solutions to make mega-store distribution more efficient on a worldwide basis, through a direct control which would show the changes occurring in every local micro-market and allow a response in real time. Txt Sc&Cm For Fashion, coordinates the management of supplier relations with the needs of the distribution network in order to optimize it with respect to consumer demand.

New Mega Stores

September 2001 the Group chooses Bologna for its first mega-store which, thanks to the collaboration with Fabrica, will also be an experimental environment focused on creativity and culture. Also this month the subject of the new communication campaign is voluntary service. UNV, the section for voluntary service at the United Nations, supported the initiative. The investment of about 24 billion liras covered press services and bill-posting in 60 countries.

Benetton Megastore Ljubljana
Megastore in Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia)

A month later marks the début of a new megastore in Milan, in Corso Vercelli. Soon after there are openings in Palma de Mallorca and Paris, where 2 new flagship stores open on Place de l’Opéra and Avenue des Champs-Elysées, and also in Lisbon. Benetton invests 52 billion liras in three mega-stores in Japan, with one in Kyoto and two in Osaka.

The turnover in Japan in 2000 is roughly of 580 billion liras. Furthermore, all together, the Group has 100 mega-stores all over the world, with a target of 300 within 2004, and a distribution network of 5,000 shops scattered in 120 countries. In the previous two years the Group invested about €500 million for the opening of mega-stores in the historic centers of large cities.

2001-2002 Financial Information

At the end of 2001 Benetton had a turnover of €2.098 billion, an EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization&b;) of €398 million and a net profit of €148 million. The result is not directly comparable with the €243 million of 2000 because that was influenced by a gain on the sale of the Formula One Team. In comparative terms, however, the net profit diminished by 6.5%.

According to Forbes in 2002, the Benetton fortune is worth $4.9 billion, corresponding to 62nd place in the ranking of the world’s richest people.

The agreement with Viceversa Edizione Design

In addition, in March 2002 a preliminary agreement is concluded with Viceversa Edizione Design, a company that will create a line for the home under the Benetton brand. Then in July, Benetton issued a three-year bond (debenture loan) for 300 million Euros, the second in the history of the company. Moreover, later, the company débuted two new stores in Venice and Shanghai.

In February 2003 after opening plants in Croatia, Slovakia and Hungary, Benetton invests $16 million dollars in Tunisia. A new mega-store is opened in Osaka, Japan, with an investment of 1.5 billion yen. It is the tenth since the beginning of 2001. The overall sum invested amounts to 12 billion yen, or about €90 million. In 2001 the turnover in Japan is €200 million, in line with the results in 2000.

At this time, the theme of the new communication campaign is Food for Life, the problem of hunger in the world. Carried out together with the World Food Program, a U.N. agency, it has a budget of €15.7 million.

Benetton Campaign Food for Life
Campaign Food for Life

Sale of all Sports Accessory Businesses

Also, in march a preliminary agreement is concluded with Prime Newco, part of the Tecnica group, and Benetton sold the brand Rollerblade. This is part of the strategy of concentrating on the core business, which is clothing. The value of the deal is €20 million. Then, Benetton sells the Prince brand of tennis rackets and the Ektelon brand of equipment and accessories for badminton to the U.S. private equity fund Lincolnshire. The value of the deal is €36.5 million Euros. The agreement completes Benetton’s exit from the sports accessory business and plans for the new strategic architecture of the company, a return to the core business of clothing.

Silvano Cassano

In March 2003, Luigi De Puppi abandons his position as managing director of the Benetton Group. Then in April, Silvano Cassano is the new managing director of Benetton Group. He joins the company at a historic moment. The unexpected diversification into sports accessories that began in 1997 ended with the recent sale of Nordica, Rollerblade and Prince. Today the company has refocused its attention on clothing.

The Company By 2003 Luciano Benetton

In May the first quarter results show revenues of €351 million, net of changes in the exchange rate, a 3.8% increase. Overall turnover is €444 million (compared to €447 million in 2002), due to the anticipated drop in the sporting goods business. The net profit of €25 million showed an increase of 29%. Retained earnings remained at €76 million, while borrowings amounted to €709 million, against €756 million in the first quarter of 2002. Also, the development of new points-of-sale continues. The Groups has plans to open 22 new stores in Russia this year, and 10 more in 2004. The goal is to reach 100 shops within the end of 2004.

At this point, the Benetton Group is present in 120 countries with its brands United Colors of Benetton, Sisley, the Hip Site, Playlife and Killer Loop. It manufactures more than 100 million pieces a year, 90% of which is made in Europe. The distribution network consists of 5,000 points-of-sale. Benetton Group is controlled by the family’s finance company, Edizione Holding, consisting of a network of companies active in different sectors: other than clothing, which makes up 69.9% of the combined activity, there is the autostrade (highway) division, plus restaurant services, telecommunications, real estate, agriculture, and minority shareholdings in various companies.

The Edizione Holding Group

In total, Edizione Holding has a turnover of €7 billion and employs 50,000 workers. In eight years the Benetton siblings Luciano, Gilberto, Giuliana and Carlo have assembled, piece by piece, under the umbrella of Edizione Holding, a group which, from its beginnings in the textile sector, has now become a conglomerate. In 1994, textiles represented 100% of the turnover; in 2003 sweaters would represent 30% of the total.

In September 2003 the company débuted several new mega-stores in Hong Kong offering the brands United Colors of Benetton, Sisley, Playlife and Killer Loop. Also, in Birmingham offering the brands United Colors of Benetton, Sisley and The Hip Site. Also, in Paris that takes up five floors inside a historic building of the second half of the 1800s, it sells the United Colors of Benetton and the Sisley Collections. The group’s expansion in Germany continue with the opening of a mega-store in Berlin, on three floors, offering the entire Collections of United Colors of Benetton and Sisley.

Joel Berg

During the same year, in October Joel Berg is the new director of United Colors of Benetton. He is responsible for the brand’s image as well as advertising and the presentation of the Collection. At the end of the year Benetton Group presents its strategy for the period 2004-2007. Sales are expected to grow 25% and the gross operating margin by 40%. In order to attain such results without having a price war, product quality is to be improved. The strategy is based on a strong distribution network and production know-how. 2003 closes with a consolidated turnover of €1.859 billion, a net profit of €108 million and a net financial position of €368 million.

The 15th anniversary of Benetton

In June 2004 the 15th anniversary of Benetton’s listing in the New York’s stock exchange. Also, the group’s presence on the Internet doubles, with the web-sites www.benetton.com and www.benettongroup.com. The first is a web-site focused on consumers, while the second offers financial information and news about the Group’s communication activity. Then, in December 2004, a new store is opened on the very centrally-located via Maistra in St. Moritz. Covering two floors, it offers the entire United Colors of Benetton Collection.

2004 closes with a consolidated turnover of €1.686 billion, €1.504 billion of which is produced by the casual division. The gross operating margin is €757 million, the net profit is €123 million and the retained earnings is €431 million Euros.

2005 Financial Information

The first quarter  of 2005 shows a turnover of €378 million Euros (compared to €381 million in the same period of 2004) and a net profit of €23 million (compared to €28 million in 2004). The retained earnings position improves, with €470 million, against €497 million the previous year. Later, in April a joint venture agreement is signed with the Boyner Group, with the goal of strengthening the Benetton brands in Turkey.

The agreement with Selective beauty

In May 2005 a license agreement is signed with Selective beauty for the worldwide development and distribution of Benetton perfumes. Later in June, the group secures, with a syndicate of 10 banks, a revolving line of credit for €500 million, to be due in 2010. In June a worldwide licensing agreement is signed with Zorlu Holding for the production and distribution of the Sisley Home Collection. 

40th Anniversary

Benetton 40th Anniversary Catwalk
40th Anniversary Catwalk

The celebrations featured a fashion show of Benetton’s fall/winter collection, the first time Benetton fashions appeared on the catwalk. The event was held on October 10th 2006 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Also, there was a month-long exhibition, `Les Yeux Ouverts’ (Eyes Open to the World and the Future), funded by Fabrica, its communications research centre, and its association with the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP).

In February 2008 Benetton launched a new global communication campaign called Microcredit Africa Works in favour of micro-credit in Senegal. This deal was done in partnership with Youssou N’Dour.

Events & Campaigns

Opening Soon…

Benetton Opening Soon Exhibition
Opening Soon Exhibition

OPENING SOON…  is a Benetton exhibition featured at Milan Triennale, from January 27 to February 15th 2009. The exhibition is all about the future of the fashion retail space, in partnership with POLI.design and with the contribution of the Fabrica design group. The central theme of the exhibition OPENING SOON… is the present and future evolution of the retail space, an area in which Benetton has been a leading worldwide player ever since its revolutionary debut in Italy in the Sixties.

“This exhibition,” explains Alessandro Benetton, executive deputy chairman of Benetton Group, “is the starting point for research which once again gives voice to the ideas, creativity and talent of young people. It is our conviction that supporting this type of research and merit is a necessary response to the current economic crisis, in order to be ready to seize the moment of recovery as soon as it arrives.   For Benetton, design is the essence of the group, the synthesis of the product and corporate culture, a mirror for brand values, and a decisive form of communication with the world”.

Also at this time, Alessandro Benetton, Tina Brown and Arne and Marc Glimcher celebrate the opening of the Biennale d’Arte in Venice with the “Cocktail in Venice” event.

It’s My Time Global Casting Campaign

In February 2010 the Benetton Group launch the IT’S MY TIME Global Casting Competition. In 36 days there were over 65,000 participants, interest from 217 different countries, a website visited by almost four million people with around 60 million pages viewed. Then, the first ever global online casting closes: the 20 winners will fly to New York and work with world-famous photographer Josh Olins for the autumn-winter 2010/2011 campaign, to then appear in the press, on the internet and on billboards around the world.

Benetton It's My Time
It’s My Time Campaign

Also at this time, Biagio Chiarolanza and Franco Furnò are new Directors with executive powers. A year later, You Nguyen, is appointed United Colors of Benetton’s new Chief Merchandising Officer and Creative Director.

On September 6th, 2011 Benetton opened its doors to host a triple, simultaneous event in its concept stores in Istanbul, Milan, Munich and on the web to present the overall series of 15 art installations. Created by Erik Ravelo, a Cuban artist at Fabrica, these art pieces embody the idea of colour and of a woollen thread linking all humankind. Benetton launches its fall-winter 2011 collection under the sign of art

Unhate Foundation

Benetton Unhate Campaign Featuring World Leaders Kissing
Benetton Unhate Campaign Featuring World Leaders Kissing

In November 2011 the Unhate Foundation launched with a worldwide communication campaign. This foundation was created as part of the new strategy of corporate social responsibility, as well as being a channel for the Group’s social engagement. Its objective is to contribute to fighting the culture of hatred, in line with Benetton Group’s deep-rooted values, through global communication campaigns. Several of the ad’s feature images of world leaders kissing. This was a very controversial campaign, but won the Cannes Ad Festival award in 2012.

In 2012 Benetton Group delists from the Milan Stock Exchange.

Color Campaign

Benetton Faces of Colours Campaign
Faces of Colours Campaign

In 2013 the company launched an iconic fashion campaign to celebrate the upcoming launch of the Spring/Summer 2013 collection called “Color”. The campaign featured 9 top celebrities, including big names such as Charlotte Free, chef Matias Perdomo, actor Dudley O’Shaughnessy, Hanaa ben Abdesslem. The celebrities embody 9 different colors: red, purple, pink, orange, yelllow, green, blue, black and white. Also, each color reflects their personality and mood, and through the campaign, Benetton delivered one message to its audiences: “To be natural and free.”

In the same year, Benetton Group joined with Greenpeace, and made detox commitment to help eliminate all the releases of hazardous chemicals through its global supply chain and production by 2020.

On Canvas

Benetton On Canvas Campaign in Moscow
Benetton On Canvas Campaign in Moscow

In 2014 the Group launched “On Canvas”, a new store concept that makes the product the real protagonist of the historic United Colors of Benetton brand. First locations: Milan, Moscow and Berlin. The new store concept has an innovative structure, designed to be welcoming, functional and dynamic. It is the evolution of the Benetton store, conceived as an encounter between its history and modernity, between quality and customer care, which is central to an authentic design, technological and emotional experience.

A frame as concept

The central element of the concept is the frame, which serves as a lightweight, simple but solid and almost invisible structure in which seasons, collections, colours and materials are created. Symbol of tradition and craftsmanship, the frame becomes a symbol of innovation enabling transformations within the store: changing the canvas materials, the canvases themselves, the spaces creates infinite, possible solutions for a brand that is always developing.

Also during 2014 the Benetton Group SpA gained a new Board of Directors including Gianni Mion appointed as non-executive Chairman and Marco Airoldi appointed as Chief Executive Officer and General Manager.

Benetton for Women Empowerment

On November 25, 2014 Benetton releases the New United Colors of Benetton campaign in support of UN Women, on the occasion of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The goal of the campaign by United Colors of Benetton, devised and created by Fabrica, is also to advocate international awareness of the need for concrete actions to support women and prevention programs, beginning with efforts to promote an education for young men and women that develops a culture based on recognition, respect for difference and equal opportunities.

Benetton Women Empowerment Program
Benetton Women Empowerment Program

In 2015 Benetton launches the Benetton Women Empowerment Program, a long-term initiative to support women’s rights worldwide. The WE Program (Women Empowerment Program) is a long-term, Benetton Group sustainability program aimed at supporting the empowerment of women worldwide. To fulfill the goal of gender equality and women empowerment, Benetton Group has identified five key priorities in accordance with the UN agenda.

International Women’s Day

Then in 2017, to celebrate International Women’s Day, 017 Benetton released a brand new campaign “United by Half” to encourage women all over the world to unite and fight for gender equality. This campaign is debuted in India and achieved  incredible results. The campaign video was viewed over 7.7 million times on YouTube.

Current Situation

Since 2016 Benetton has started to shift their brand identity with a new creative platform called, Clothe for Humans. This campaign aims to celebrate “the beauty of everyday moments and everyday emotions”. Also, the company has been moving from shockvertising to be ‘never shocking’, however it must surely deserve a place as one of the most effective companies ever to splash its promotional message across a billboard or magazine spread.

Benetton Exhibition I See Colors Everywhere at Trienniale in Milano 2017
Exhibition I See Colors Everywhere at Trienniale in Milano 2017

Later in September, Benetton organized an exhibition to emphasize its core of identity, color. Benetton Group’s arts and communication research center curated the I See Colors Everywhere exhibition on display at Milan’s Trienniale Through October 2017.

The year 2020 saw many changes, some even dramatic at Benetton

Benetton kicked off the year by cutting off ties with their longtime associate, photographer Oliviero Toscani in February. The disassociation was caused by Toscani’s insensitive remarks over 2018’s Genoa bridge accident, that led to the death of 43 people. Moreover, the public uproar causing  remarks led to Toscani’s alienation from the Benetton group, both personally and professionally.

Massimo Renon is the new CEO

Benetton announced the appointment of a new CEO in March. Massimo Renon, eyewear group Marcolin’s outgoing chief, was given the reins in April 2020. The company had been without a CEO since 2017 and Renon’s entry into Benetton is aimed to turnaround the brand’s business. The process for the same was initiated by Benetton’s founder Luciano Benetton in 2018, when the brand started seeing a decline in revenue.

The online store

In December, the brand launched their online store and expanded their management structure, by appointing Martino Boselli as the commercial and sales director of Benetton. Having previously worked with companies such as Amazon and Trussardi, Boselli has an experience of both e-commerce and high fashion. This digital expansion shows Benetton’s increased focus on digital activities and digital touch points, especially after the effects of coronavirus. Earlier in March, Benetton closed all it’s directly managed stored due to the pandemic. While the decision mirrored other brands in Italy, it did manage to have a significant impact of Benetton’s relaunch trajectory.

25/5/2024 Luciano Benetton announce a loss of 100 millions euro

 

Conclusione Benetton was established in 1965 in Ponzano Veneto (Treviso) by the Benetton siblings Luciano, Giuliana, Gilberto and Carlo. At the beginning it was simply an artisan’s workshop specialized in knitwear that was well-designed at rather affordable prices.

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