Back to color the world: at the age of 82, Luciano Benetton has given up his peaceful pensioner’s lifestyle to carry out this mission and save the family business. When, in 2008, he left the brand, which is famous for its color block sweaters at affordable prices, the company was flourishing, boasting assets of 155 million euro and almost 10,000 employees. In 2016, it made losses of nearly 81 million, the number of employees fell to around 7,000 and the company’s dyeworks closed down. Benetton did not mince his words, describing this situation as “an intolerable sorrow”.

Multicultural sweaters

According to its founder, the group committed two major strategic errors: it stopped manufacturing the beloved sweaters and it betrayed the multicultural, innovative spirit that had been truly ahead of its time.

The Benetton family’s adventure began in 1965 in Castrette, in the Treviso area, thanks to technological developments that were highly innovative at the time: instead of using different-colored wools for sweaters, the company decided to use raw wool to create many different models that were then dyed according to the needs of fashion, so that they could be restocked more rapidly in stores.

The colors of the pullovers soon became a metaphor for the united colors of the young people of different nationalities who bought the sweaters. In 1989, the “all the colors of the world” slogan soon became the hallmark of the group, allowing it to evolve towards the “United Colors of Benetton” brand. As target markets widened, the concept expanded to include, as well as different races, the concepts of tolerance, peace and respect for diversity.

The driving force behind this “political” position was above all the highly transgressive advertising campaigns by Oliviero Toscani, the photographer who believes that “conformity is creativity’s worst enemy. Anyone who is unwilling to take risks cannot be creative”. His photographs, in which a priest kisses a nun or an Israeli embraces a Palestinian provoked discussions that went beyond the fashion world.

In 2011, the UNHATE campaign was based on a series of photomontages by Erik Ravelo in which some of the earth’s most powerful men exchange mouth-to-mouth kisses. The photo depicting a kiss between Pope Benedict XVI and an imam aroused considerable controversy.
Luciano Benetton was so convinced of the importance of the campaigns in enabling his brand’s success that he decided to open an internal workshop: “Advertising should not be bought from an external supplier: it should come from the heart of the company.” This led to the launch of Fabrica in 1994, an advertising research center funded by the Benetton Group.

Benetton’s current renewal is based on the brand’s public image. In an interview with Francesco Merlo, Luciano explained: “I’ll be back in the game just like in the past, accompanied by my sister  Giuliana who, at the age of 80, has begun making sweaters again. Oliviero Toscani will also be back with a focus on integration. I don’t like the expression: ‘we told you so’, but integration, ‘jus soli’ and ‘jus culturae’, the blend of art, anthropology, poetry and love are the United Colors: a lifestyle that we foresaw and perhaps even slightly dictated. We will return to defend it once again.”

The manager, inspired by Kandinsky’s squares and concentric circles, is renewing the brand’s partnership with Oliviero Toscani, who, at the age of 75, has no intention of abandoning his mission to scandalize and provoke public opinion. The Benetton chain is back in the hands of Benetton-Toscani, who aim to give new content to the old “United Colors” motto.

The transition problem

The Benetton brand experienced the same dilemma as many Italian groups: whether to pass the baton from the first generation of founders to the children’s generation or to choose managers from outside the company to ensure more modern, international management.

This dilemma became even greater as the group expanded its areas of interest: from pioneers of fashion at affordable prices, over time Benetton also became a leading motorway concession group in Europe with 14,000 km of toll roads, through the Atlantia brand. With the Edizione holding company, they also invested in catering (Autogrill) and real estate. However, the Group’s diversification slogan forced the “Folpetto” (“Baby octopus” in Venetian dialect) brand to the sidelines.

In May 2013, the four siblings, Luciano, Giuliana, Gilberto and Carlo Benetton, tried to pass on the reins to their respective children, Alessandro, Franca Bertagnin, Sabrina and Christian Benetton. However, the attempt to keep everything in the family did not last long: in 2014, Alessandro stepped down as president of the company and in November 2016, he also left the board of directors due to strategic differences with the family. Francesco Gori, from the Pirelli Group, was appointed as chairman, and in May 2017, Tommaso Brusò was appointed chief operating officer. It was not until the start of 2015 that the Benetton Group, with a series of divestments and divisions, was organized into three distinct companies: one directly focused on various brands (Benetton Group), one on manufacturing (named Olimpias) and one on real estate management (Schematrentanove).

Now, with the return of Luciano, the company will continue to be administered by managers, but under the watchful eye of the still enthusiastic 82-year-old, who cares too much about his own creation to leave it in the hands of people who are unable to imbue it with the right colors.