words by Gabi Logan
Luciano Benetton, head of the Italian clothing company United Colors of Benetton, announced through an interview in Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he will step down as president of the Benetton group. His eldest son Alessandro will take over his duties.
In 1965, Luciano Benetton sold his younger brother’s bicycle to buy his first knitting machine and created a limited but successful line of colourful sweaters. After his initial success, he brought his sister and two brothers into the company, which he has guided over the last 47 years to its current size. Today, the Benetton group operates 6,500 retail stores in 120 countries.
Though the group has a turnover of more than 2 billion euros, it has struggled in recent years due to lower-priced competitors H&M and Zara entering the market. Increasing material costs, most notably of cotton, and the economic downtown have also negatively affected the company’s dividends.
Benetton told Corriere della Sera that these issues affect all Italian companies, noting that “we are obliged to compete not only on labour costs; we must streamline rigid rules and extra bureaucracy”.
The group delisted the company from the Milan Stock Exchange last month after buying out minority shareholders. This move is hoped to allow Alessandro to innovate and have the flexibility to expand into new markets more quickly.
Alessandro Benetton has served as executive vice president of the Benetton group for the past two years. Before joining the family business, he was an analyst at Goldman Sachs and founded his own merchant bank, 21 Investimenti.
