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Best in France – Benetton Group
Alessandro Agostini
Steven Braun
Jean-Christophe Gaudeau
Takuto Kakeya
Dmitry Mariassov
Introduction
The Benetton Group is present in
120 countries around the world.
Core business: clothing
Brands:
United Colors of Benetton
Sisley
The Hip Site
Playlife
Killer Loop.
Key Figures
Production: 100 mln garments p.y.
Over 90% of them produced in Europe
Network: 5,000 stores around the
world
Turnover: 2.0 billion euros
Core Values
UCB - Products
United Colors of Benetton UCB
A global brand, and one of the most well known in
the world, has an international style that combines
color, energy and practicality.
The womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and
collections offer a total look for everyday, for work
and for leisure, in the city and outdoors.
Undercolors is an extension of the Benetton brand,
featuring underwear, beachwear and sleepwear
collections, as well as accessories for women, men and
children.
Licences
United Colors of Benetton is broadening
its horizons, expanding the brand into
new
areas of merchandise. Benetton's latest
creations
range from Home Collection, kitchen
accessories, terrycloth line, to baby
products, new toiletries line, perfumes
and watches.
UCB - Products
Design
A staff of 300 designers from all over the world based in
Treviso creates the collections for the casual brands
United Colors of Benetton, Undercolors, The Hip Site,
Sisley and for the sportswear brands Playlife and Killer
Loop.
Production
The Benetton production system, coordinated by a hightech facility at Castrette (Treviso, Italy) is capable of
turning out over 100 million casual and sportswear
garments every year. Over 90% of production is carried
out in Europe and 50% of this is in Italy.
France
After the shut down of a production plant 5 years ago
and the layoff of several hundred workers no more
production facilities in France.
UCB - Clients
2 different client types
Final clients buying in proprietary
shops
Franchisers buying for reselling in
their shops
France
Present since the early 80s
35 Benetton Proprietary Stores
Need for flagship megastores to compete in the
current market
Enormous acquisition and maintenance costs
200 Franchise Stores
130 ca. Mln Eur Sales
10 ca. Mln Eur Profits
Constraints
No major constraints were
identified at the beginning of the
French adventure.
France and Italy are fairly similar
markets and follow similar rules.
Major constraint nowdays are
communication issues between
headquarters and subsidiary.
Benetton is still a family business. Family and
management sometimes have different vision and
objectives
Adaptation
Benetton follows a common HR
policy in the world.
It is likely that positions of
responsibility will be held by Italian
expatriates to ensure a common
identity.
Frequent training are held in
Benetton’s home town of Treviso.
Fabrica I
Fabrica is Benetton's communication
research centre, created in 1994 from
Benetton's cultural heritage.
Fabrica is housed in a stunning building
by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and is
situated outside Treviso.
In its role as an applied creative
laboratory, Fabrica experiments new
forms of communication, following two
parallel guidelines: a hands-on approach
to training and interactivity. In terms of
both the projects and cultural identity,
whose plurality is guaranteed by the mix
of people from countries with different
languages, cultures and attitudes.
Fabrica II
Guided by an international team, which
also supervises its strategic, cultural and
communication policies, Fabrica supports
as well the creative development of
young artists/researchers from all over
the world.
Following a careful selection process,
they are invited to develop concrete
communication projects in sectors
ranging from cinema to graphics, from
industrial design to music, from
publishing (Colors Magazine and other
publications) to new media and
photography, under the direction of some
of the main players in these areas.
Key Costs/Benefits
France is one of the biggest European
markets.
The presence of Benetton is merely
commercial.
No major differences in the cost
structure between France Germany or
Spain.
The structures are fairly small, with 30
people on site and up to 200
salespersons.
We thank
Alberto Bartalozzi (Admin and
Finance Manager, France)
alberto_bartalozzi@benetton.it