Benetton Group S.r.l. () is a global fashion
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...
based in
Ponzano Veneto
Ponzano Veneto is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northwest of Treviso.
Ponzano Veneto borders the following municipalities: Paese, Povegliano, T ...
, Italy, founded in 1965. Benetton Group has a network of about 5,000 stores worldwide.
It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the
Benetton family's holding company Edizione.
History
In 1965, the Benettons opened their first store in
Belluno
Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites regi ...
and three years after in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
. The company's core business consists of clothing brands United Colors of Benetton and Sisley.
Benetton was an iconic brand in the 1980s and 1990s, but has since struggled to regain this position. In 2000, it ranked 75th in Interbrand's ranking of the best global brands; however, by 2002, it had dropped out of the list.
In 2012, Benetton Group was
delisted from the stock exchange and is now a fully owned subsidiary of the
Benetton family company Edizione holding.
In 2017, the group posted a loss of €180 million. Prompted by the heavy losses,
Luciano Benetton
Luciano Benetton (born 13 May 1935) is an Italian billionaire businessman and one of the co-founders of Benetton Group, an Italian fashion brand. He served as the chairman of Benetton from 1978 to 2012.
Early life
Luciano Benetton was born o ...
, who was then 83 years old, returned from retirement as
Executive Chairman for the brand.
Revival efforts also included appointing
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac as artistic director and re-appointing photographer
Oliviero Toscani. As of 2020, United Colors of Benetton has 1,500 employees and uses 25,000 workers through
subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or (in many cases) a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract.
Put simply the role of a subcontractor is to execute the job they are hired by the contractor ...
s. In March 2020,
Massimo Renon was named CEO of the company.
Marketing
Benetton is known for its sports sponsorships, and for its "United Colors"
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
campaign. In 1982, Benetton hired
Oliviero Toscani as
creative director
A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
, which led to a change in advertising focus towards raising awareness for various issues worldwide. In 1984, Toscani photographed the first multiracial ad for the brand.
In 1989, Toscani refocused Benetton's advertising strategy under the "United Colors of Benetton" campaign. The campaign's graphic, billboard-sized ads depicted a variety of shocking subjects, including the deathbed scene of a man (
AIDS activist
David Kirby) dying from AIDS. Another ad featured a bloodied, unwashed newborn baby with umbilical cord still attached. The newborn ad prompted roughly 650 complaints to the
British Advertising Standards Authority, which noted in its 1991 annual report that the Benetton baby ad "attracted more complaints than we have ever previously known." A third ad included a black stallion
copulating with a white mare, while a fourth advert showed a
light-skinned
Light skin is a human skin color that has a base level of eumelanin pigmentation that has adapted to environments of low UV radiation. Light skin is most commonly found amongst the native populations of Europe and East Asia as measured through s ...
girl with blond hair hugging a
dark-skinned boy whose hair was shaped into devil horns.
In 2000, Benetton was included in the reference publication ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' for the "Most Controversial Campaign."
In November 2011, Benetton created the UNHATE Foundation, launching a worldwide communication campaign described as an invitation to leaders and citizens of the world to combat the "culture of hatred." Benetton claimed the campaign was created to serve as its corporate social responsibility strategy.
The UNHATE poster series uses altered images of political and religious leaders, such as then-
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Repub ...
, then President of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...
, kissing each other. Following
Vatican protests, Benetton removed an ad purportedly showing
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
kissing
Ahmed Mohamed el Tayeb, the imam of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
's
Al Azhar mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...
.
Benetton won the Press Grand Prix at the 2012
Cannes Ad festival for its Unhate campaign.
In November 2017, Benetton launched a campaign in collaboration with Devbhumi, a company owned by rural women from
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
's remote
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in the North India, northern part of India. It is often referred to as t ...
region. The initiative claimed to have empowered more than 6,000 rural women artisans in India.
In 2019, Benetton Group announced it would be hosting one of the four days of talks and presentations which makes up the 88th annual International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) congress.
Sport and sponsorship
Benetton Group entered
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
as a sponsor of
Tyrrell in , then
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
in ; this arrangement was extended to both Alfa and
Toleman
Toleman Motorsport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and participated in 70 Grands Prix.
Origins
The Toleman company was formed in 1926 by Edward Toleman for the purpose of delivering Ford ...
in .
Benetton Formula
Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000, the t ...
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
Flavio Briatore
Flavio Briatore (; born 12 April 1950) is an Italian businessman. He started his career as a restaurant manager and insurance salesman in Italy. Briatore was convicted in Italy on several fraud charges in the 1980s, receiving two prison senten ...
, who managed the team from to .
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
won his first
Drivers' Championships with the team in and , and the team won their only
Constructors' title in 1995. From , 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
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
for US$120 million in and was rebranded
Renault F1
The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
in 2002.
In 1979, Benetton first sponsored their (then amateur) local rugby team, A.S. Rugby Treviso.
Benetton Rugby
Benetton Rugby, also known as Benetton Treviso ( or ), is an Italian professional rugby union team based in Treviso, Veneto competing in the United Rugby Championship, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Champions Cup.
Treviso rugby ...
has since become a major force in Italian rugby, with 11 league titles and supplying many players to the national team. Benetton Group has also sponsored
Treviso Basket (1982–2012) and
Sisley Volley
Volley Treviso is a professional volleyball team based in Treviso. They were known at the past with the sponsorship name Sisley. The team plays at the Serie B.
Achievements
* Italian Volleyball League (9): 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004 ...
(1987–2012).
Image:Tyrrell 011 1983.jpg, The 1983 season Tyrrell 011, showing the company's logo at the time.
Image:Benetton B 194 4841.JPG, Schumacher's B194 of the 1994 season.
Image:Patrese, Alfa Romeo 02.08.1985.jpg, Riccardo Patrese's Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
Benetton 185T.
Criticisms
In 1991,
Edizone Holding International, a Benetton subsidiary, bought
Compañía de Tierras del Sud Argentino S. A. and became the largest private landowner in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
after taking over the land the company had inherited from the 19th century
Conquest of the Desert
The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intention of establishing dominance over the Patagonian Desert, inhabited primari ...
. Benetton has faced criticism, particularly from
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...
organizations, over its ownership and management of traditional Mapuche lands in
Patagonia
Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and ...
. In 1997, Benetton invested in a museum in
which presented the
Mapuche as migrants from Chile, which was interpreted as an attempt to diminish the Mapuche's traditional claims. The Curiñanco-Nahuelquir family was evicted from their land in 2002 following Benetton's claim to it, but the land was restored in 2007. The company published a position statement regarding the Mapuche in Patagonia in 2012. Protests and occupations began again in 2015. Activist
Santiago Maldonado
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, wh ...
was last seen being evicted by the
Argentine National Gendarmerie
The Argentine National Gendarmerie ( es, Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, GNA) is the national gendarmerie force and corps of border guards of the Argentine Republic. It has a strength of 70,000.
The gendarmerie is primarily a frontier guard forc ...
from the disputed area in August 2017. His body was found two months later.
Benetton aroused suspicion when they considered using
RFID
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electroma ...
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. Benetton's position on RFID technology is also available on their website.
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, ...
launched a boycott campaign against Benetton for buying
wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool.
...
from farmers who practiced
mulesing
Mulesing is the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the breech (buttocks) of a sheep to prevent the parasitic infection flystrike (myiasis).
The wool around the buttocks can retain feces and urine, which attracts flies. The scar t ...
. 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. Benetton's position statement on the mulesing controversy is available on their website.
Building collapse at Savar
On 24 April 2013,
the eight-storey ''Rana Plaza'' commercial building collapsed outside
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
. It housed one of the factories in which Benetton clothing was made. At least 1,130 people died.
Benetton first denied reports linking production of their clothing at the factory, but clothes and documents linked to Benetton were discovered at the disaster site. Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only nine attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims. Several companies refused to sign including Walmart, Carrefour, Bonmarché, Mango, Auchan and Kik. The agreement was signed by Primark, Loblaw, Bonmarche and El Corte Ingles.
A year after the collapse, Benetton faced international protests after failing to pay any compensation to the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund. Protests included shutting down Benetton's flagship Oxford Street store in London.
In April 2015, Benetton Group announced that it has doubled compensation for Rana Plaza victims recommended by independent assessors (PWC AND WRAP) and applied the principles of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety to global suppliers. Benetton's engagement for Bangladesh is available on their website.
See also
*
Benetton family
*
Colors (magazine)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Advertising and marketing controversies
Italian companies established in 1965
Clothing companies established in 1965
Clothing manufacturers
Clothing retailers of Italy
Companies based in Veneto
Companies listed on the Borsa Italiana
Design companies established in 1965
Eyewear brands of Italy
Fashion accessory brands
Multinational companies headquartered in Italy
Retail companies established in 1965
Underwear brands
Watch manufacturing companies of Italy
Clothing brands of Italy