Benetton Group

Type Public (BIT: BEN) Founded Treviso, Italy (1965) Ponzano Veneto

Headquarters Key people

Luciano Benetton, Chairman

Carlo Benetton, Deputy Chairman Alessandro Benetton, Executive Deputy Chairman Gerolamo Caccia Dominioni, Chief Executive Officer Giuliana Benetton, Director Gilberto Benetton, Director Industry Products Revenue Employees Fashion Complete list of Benetton brands 2.1 billion (2008) 9,766 (2008)

Benetton Group S.p.A. is a global fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan (BIT: BEN). Benetton has a network of 6,200 stores in 120 countries. The stores are managed by independent partners and generate a turnover of over 2 billion euro per year.

Contents

1 Early years 2 Products 3 Marketing 4 Sponsorship

5 Criticism 6 Results 7 Fabrica Early years

Facade of the Benetton store in Milan, Italy In 1955, Luciano Benetton, the eldest of four children, was a 30-year-old salesman in Treviso. He saw a market for colourful clothes, and sold a younger brother's bicycle in order to buy his first second-hand knitting machine. His initial small collection of sweaters received a positive response in local stores in the Veneto region, and soon after he asked his sister and two younger brothers, Gilberto and Carlo, to join him. In 1965, the entity known as the "Benetton Group" is formed.

In 1966, the Benettons opened their first store in Belluno and three years after in Paris, with Luciano as chairman, his brother Gilberto in charge of administration, their younger brother Carlo running production, and Giuliana as a chief designer.

Products

The company's core business remains their clothing lines. Casual clothing is marketed as the "United Colors of Benetton"; there are also a fashion-oriented "Sisley" division, "Playlife" leisurewear. Their products include womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and underwear and they have expanded into toiletries, perfume, and items for the home such as kitchen accessories and baby products.

By the year 2000, the group was selling 150 million garments worldwide, annually in 6,200 stores and many countries.

Marketing

The 1983 season Tyrrell 001, showing the company's logo at the time. The company is known for sponsorship of a number of sports, and for the controversial "United Colors" publicity campaign. The latter originated when photographer Oliviero Toscani was given carte blanche by the Benetton management. Under Toscani's direction, ads were created that contained striking images unrelated to any actual products being sold by the company.

These graphic, billboard sized ads included depictions of a variety of 'shocking' subjects such as a deathbed scene of a man (AIDS activist David Kirby) dying from AIDS, a bloodied, unwashed newborn baby with umbilical cord still attached, two horses mating, close-up pictures of tattoos reading "HIV Positive" on the bodies of men and women, a collage consisting of genitals of persons of various races, a priest and nun about to engage in a romantic kiss, pictures of inmates on death row, and picture of bloodied, shot up pants and t-shirt of a soldier killed in Bosnian War. The company's logo served as the only text accompanying the images in most of these advertisements.

Sponsorship

Schumacher's B194 of the 1994 season

Main articles: Benetton Formula, Benetton Rugby Treviso, Pallacanestro Treviso, and Sisley Volley Treviso Benetton Group entered Formula 1 as a sponsor of Tyrrell in 1983, then Alfa Romeo in 1984; this arrangement was extended to both Alfa and Toleman in 1985. Benetton Formula Ltd. was formed at the end of 1985 when the Toleman and Spirit teams were sold to the Benetton family. The team saw its greatest

success under Briatore, who managed the team from 1990 to 1997. Michael Schumacher won his first Drivers' Championships with the team in 1994 and 1995, and the team won their only Constructors' title in 1995. From 1996, the team raced under an Italian licence although it continued to be based, like Toleman, in Oxfordshire in England. The team was bought by Renault for US$120m in 2000 and was rebranded Renault F1.

In 1979 Benetton first sponsored their (then amateur) local rugby team, A.S. Rugby Treviso. Benetton Rugby has since become a major force in Italian rugby, with 11 league titles and supplying many players to the national team.

In 1982 the company bought its local basketball team, Pallacanestro Treviso, now commonly known as Benetton Basket. Their Sisley brand sponsors the local volleyball team, Sisley Volley Treviso.

Criticism

Benetton has faced criticism from Mapuche organizations, over its purchase of traditional Mapuche lands in Patagonia. The Curianco-Nahuelquir family was evicted from their land in 2002 following Benetton's claim to it, but the land was restored in 2007.

See also Benettons position regarding the Mapuche in Patagonia.

Benetton aroused suspicion when they considered using RFID tracking chips on clothes to monitor inventory. A boycott site alleges the tracking chips "can be read from a distance and used to monitor the people wearing them." Issues of consumer privacy were raised and the plan was shelved.

See also Benettons position on RFID technology.

PETA launched a boycott campaign against Benetton for buying wool from farmers who practiced mulesing. Benetton has since agreed to buy

nonmulesed wool and has further urged the wool industry to adopt the PETA and Australian Wool Growers Association agreement to end mulesing.

See also Benettons position regarding the controversy on mulesing between the Australian Wool Industry and PETA.

Results

Benetton achieved 983 million euro in sales of its brand United Colors of Benetton Adult, that is 50 % of the total sales in 2008. Another 30 % of sales have been achieved through sales of the brand United Colors of Benetton Kids, that is 589 million euro. The third highest percentage of 18 %, that is 358 million euro grossed the brand Sisley. The brand Playlife grossed 43 million euro.

Fabrica

Fabrica is Benettons communication research centre, created in 1994 from Benettons cultural heritage. It is located in Italy, near Venice, in a complex which Tadao Ando restored and enlarged. Fabricas challenge is both an innovative and international one. It is a way of marrying culture and industry, using a form of communication which no longer relies only on the usual kinds of advertising, but conveys industrial culture and the companys intellect through other media: design, music, cinema, photography, publishing, the Internet. Fabrica has chosen to back the hidden creativity of young artists/researchers from all over the world. Following careful selection, they are invited to develop concrete communication projects under the direction of some of the main players in these areas. Fabricas publishing activities include Colors magazine the magazine financed by Benetton Group, published in three bilingual editions English with Italian, French or Spanish Benetton family

Four members of the Italian Benetton family founded the Benetton Group S.p.A. fashion company in 1965 The three brothers and one sister were all born in Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Through Edizione srl, a financial holding company, they control a number of other businesses including 30% of Atlantia S.p.A., an operator of nearly two-thirds of Italy's motorways, 60% of Autogrill, a chain of roadside restaurants, and investments in the hotel industry including the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.

They are also well known for their ownership of Benetton Formula, a Formula One auto racing team and high-profile European basketball and rugby union clubs.

Luciano Benetton (born 13 May 1935) has served as chairman of the Benetton Group since its inception. He is also on the Board of Directors of Edizione srl. In recent years he has reduced his involvement in day-to-day operations. From 1992 to 1994, he was a Senator of the Italian Republic for the Partito Repubblicano Italiano. He has four children from his wife Maria Teresa Maestri, Mauro (born June 15, 1962), Alessandro (born March 2, 1964), Rossella (born June 23, 1965), and Rocco (born September 29, 1969). They all live in Treviso Italy. Giuliana Benetton (born 8 July 1937) is currently on the Board of Directors of both Edizione srl and Benetton Group. She has had the responsibility for planning Benetton's knitwear collections and for coordinating the product lines. Giuliana has four children, Paola, Franca, Daniela and Carlo. Gilberto Benetton (born 19 June 1941) is chairman of Edizione srl and oversees all financial and real estate investing. Gilberto Benetton is also chairman of Autogrill and a Director of the Benetton Group. He is a Director of Atlantia S.p.A.and Mediobanca S.p.A.. He is also a board member of Pirelli S.p.A. and Allianz. He has two children Barbara and Sabrina who live in Treviso, Italy. Carlo Benetton (born 26 December 1943) is Deputy Chairman of both Edizione srl and of Benetton Group. He was in charge of production and of the liaison between Benetton's headquarters and its international units. He has four children Massimo, Andrea, Christian and Leone who all live in Treviso. Italy. The next generation

Franca Benetton, Alessandro Benetton, Sabrina Benetton, and Christian Benetton have been appointed board members of the Edizione srl, the main

Holding of the family and they will be the ones representing the new generation of Benettons into the Future. Alessandro Benetton (born 2 March 1964 in Treviso, Veneto, Italy) son of Luciano and Maria Teresa Benetton. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University and an MBA from Harvard. For training, he worked as an analyst in the Global Finance department at Goldman Sachs in London. In 1993 he founded "21 Investimenti S.p.A.," a merchant bank, and is currently Chairman of that company. In 2004 he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Benetton Group with the special responsibility of overseeing the company's expansion in Eastern and Far Eastern markets, with special reference to China and India. He is currently a board member of Autogrill. He also sits on the Advisory Committee of Robert Bosch Internationale Beteiligungen and is on the council of Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry) He has got 3 children - Agnese, Tobias and Luce. Rocco Benetton (born 29 September 1969 in Treviso, Veneto, Italy) son of Luciano and Maria Teresa Benetton. After studying Mechanical Engineering in the United States, at Boston University, he moved to New York where he worked in hedge funds for Oppenheimer & Co. and Alpha Investment Management. He served at the latter as Managing Director. In 1997 he moved to England where he managed the Benetton Formula One team until the 2000 season. He then moved back to Treviso where he founded the Companies Zero Rh+ and Oot Group. In 2003 he temporarly joined the board of Banca del Gottardo Italia.

Four members of the Italian Benetton Family (pronounced [benetton]) founded the Benetton Group S.p.A. fashion company in 1965.[1] The three brothers and one sister were all born in Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Their father owned a bicycle shop.[2] Through Edizione S.r.l., a financial holding company, they control a number of other businesses including 30% of Atlantia S.p.A., an operator of nearly two-thirds of Italy's motorways, 60% of Autogrill, a chain of roadside restaurants, and investments in the hotel industry including the Hotel Monaco & Grand Canal in Venice, Italy. Luciano Benetton (born 13 May 1935) has served as chairman of the Benetton Group since its inception. He is also on the board of directors of Edizione S.r.l.. From 1992 to 1994, he was a Senator of the Italian Republic for the Partito Repubblicano Italiano. He has four children, Mauro (born June 15, 1962), Alessandro (born March 2, 1964), Rossella (born June 23, 1965), and Rocco (born September 29, 1969). They all live in Treviso Italy. Giuliana Benetton (born 8 July 1937) is currently on the board of directors of both Edizione S.r.l. and Benetton Group. She has had the responsibility for

planning Benetton's knitwear collections and coordinating product lines. Giuliana actually began the family business by knitting sweaters, which her brother Luciano would peddle by bicycle. She is married and has four children, Paola, Franca, Daniela and Carlo.[3] Gilberto Benetton (born 19 June 1941) is chairman of Edizione S.r.l. and oversees all financial and real estate investing. Gilberto Benetton is also chairman of Autogrill and a director of the Benetton Group. He is a director of Atlantia S.p.A. and Mediobanca S.p.A. He is also a board member of Pirelli S.p.A. and Allianz. He has two children Barbara and Sabrina who live in Treviso, Italy. Carlo Benetton (born 26 December 1943) is deputy chairman of both Edizione S.r.l. and of Benetton Group. He was in charge of production and of the liaison between Benetton's headquarters and its international units. He has four children, Massimo, Andrea, Christian and Leone who all live in Treviso, Italy. [edit]The next generation

Franca Benetton, Alessandro Benetton, Sabrina Benetton, and Christian Benetton have been appointed board members of the Edizione S.r.l., the main holding of the family, and they will be the ones representing the new generation of the Benettons. Alessandro Benetton was born on 2 March 1964 in Treviso, eldest son of Luciano Benetton. He received a bachelor of science degree from Boston University and an MBA from Harvard. He worked as an analyst at the global finance department at Goldman Sachs in London. In 1993, he founded "21 Investimenti S.p.A.," a merchant bank, and is currently chairman of that company. In 2004, he was appointed deputy chairman of the Benetton Group with the special responsibility of overseeing the company's expansion in East Asia, particularly China and India. He is currently Executive Deputy Chairman of Benetton Group and a board member of Autogrill. He also sits on the advisory committee of Robert Bosch Internationale Beteiligungen and is on the council of Confindustria (Confederation of Italian Industry). He has three children, Agnese, Tobias and Luce. Rocco Benetton was born on 29 September 1969 in Treviso. He is also a son of Luciano and Maria Teresa Benetton. After studying mechanical engineering at Boston University, he moved to New York, where he worked at hedge funds, Oppenheimer & Co. and Alpha Investment Management. He served at the latter as managing director. In 1997, he moved to England, where he managed the Benetton Formula One team until the 2000 season. He then moved back to Treviso, where he founded the Companies