Benetton's Company Background

Benetton was founded as a single shop in Italy in 1965. Three years later the company expanded into France. Eventually, Benetton spread throughout Europe and by 1979 it was established in the United States. Benetton Group S.p.A is a unique global group that is a part of a larger organization known as the Edizione Holding Group. This is the holding company through which the Benetton family has ownership in many different businesses including hotels, publishing, and real estate. The Edizione Holding Group as well as the Benetton Group was founded by the Benetton family, which is made up of four siblings: Luciano, Chairman; Gilberto, Deputy Chairman and Joint Managing Director; Carlo, Director; and Giuliana, Director, who own and run the company.

This global Benetton Group specializes in designing and manufacturing of clothing within the textile-apparel sector of industries, and combines this know-how with the strong identity and image of world-leading sports brands that have been incorporated through the acquisition of the Benetton Sportsystem business. These sports brand names are encompassed under the Playlife label and include Rollerblade, Killer Loop, Prince, and Nordica. The clothing sector includes casual and sportswear, consisting of the Sisley, United Colors of Benetton (UCB), and Undercolors of Benetton brands, which are mainly produced and distributed by the Automated Distribution Center in Castrette, Italy, the factory which produces over 90 million items of clothing each year. There are production facilities in France and Spain as well. These finished and packaged products are the dominant production category for the company and are distributed directly to the Benetton Group's 7,000 retail stores located in 120 countries, of which only 55 stores are owned by the company, with the remaining stores independently owned and operated. The second production category for Benetton comprises the sports equipment and performance-wear item and a third