Benetton

Benetton Group S.p.A. () is a global upmarket clothing brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from four members of the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed on the Borsa Italiana, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

The success story began in 1955 when Luciano Benetton, the eldest of four children, was only 20 years old and working as a salesman in Treviso. He realized that people wanted colors in their lives and especially in their clothes. He sold a younger brother's bicycle in order to buy the first second-hand knitting machine, and began to market a small collection of sweaters to local stores in the area of Veneto. The positive reaction to his designs was only the beginning of a solid start. Soon after, he asked his sister and his two younger brothers, Giberto and Carlo, to join him.

In 1965, the Benettons opened their first store in Belluno and the year after in Paris, with Luciano as chairman, his brother Giberto in charge of administration, their younger brother Carlo running production, and Giuliana as a chief designer.....the rest is history.

Its core business is clothing with the casual line marketed as the "United Colors of Benetton", a fashion-oriented "Sisley" division, "Playlife" leisurewear, and "Killer Loop" streetwear brands. Their products include womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and underwear and they have recently expanded into toiletries, perfumes, exclusive watches and items for the home such as kitchen accessories and baby products.

Advertising

Benetton has been known in the United States for producing a long-running series of controversial, sometimes offensive, advertisements that have caused a number of media critics to accuse the company of deliberately creating controversy in order to sell its products. This publicity campaign originated when photographer Oliviero Toscani was given carte blanche by the Benetton management. The advertisements, entitled "United Colors of Benetton", have included images that are apparently unrelated to the clothes sold by the company, including scenes of a man dying of AIDS, panicking crowds jumping off of a sinking ship, a bloody, unwashed newborn baby, and a death row inmate. The only caption included in these pictures is the Benetton logo.

Criticism

PETA is currently running a campaign against Benetton due to their use of Australian wool in their clothing. This is due to the controversy in the process of mulesing sheep.

Benetton has faced criticisms from several Mapuche organizations, including Mapuche International Link, over its purchase of traditional Mapuche lands in southern Argentina. ^*

External links

United Colors of Benetton
FABRICA (Benetton's center for design research)
The Advertising History of Benetton
http://www.regimbald.ca/Benetton/index.html
http://www.oot.it
http://www.21investimenti.it

Italian fashion designers | Clothing and textile companies | Clothing brands

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Advertising

Criticism

See also

External links