(From top) Kids flaunt sporty outfits from Benetton; Luciano Benetton visits the Forum store of the company; models Rusha, Priyanka and Ishika showcase outfits from the label. Pictures by Pabitra Das

He has given the world the cult brands UCB, Sisley, Playlife and Killer Loop, been a senator of the Italian Republic and zipped down the super fast tracks of Formula One with the Benetton-Ford team.

And on Friday, Luciano Benetton liked what he saw in Calcutta, rolling out an aggressive retail roadmap for a city “bubbling with innate energy”.

The chairman of the 1.7 billion Euro-turnover Benetton Group, which he founded 40 years ago in Treviso (Italy) together with siblings Giuliana, Gilberto and Carlo, is extremely bullish on expansion plans in this part of the world.

“We see Calcutta on an equal footing with any other Asian metro in terms of retail potential and we are keen to increase presence here. The advent of so many contemporary malls is encouraging and we want to be present in every new mall coming up here,” said the 70-year-old Benetton on his maiden visit to the city.

He even predicted a 40 per cent growth in 2006 for Calcutta alone.

A 5,000-sq-ft lifestyle flagship store (likely on Shakespeare Sarani) and a 2,000-sq store in the South City mall are the two immediate stops lined up to add to the present three stores in Calcutta, according to local franchisees Lalit Marda and Madhusudan Binani.

The duo runs the two outlets in Forum and one in City Centre.

The east is likely to have 20 Benetton outlets by 2008, even as the Italian major plans to notch up a century of stores, nationally.

“We are looking at doubling our turnover in the next three years and our aim is to put the same styles that are available in Benetton stores in Milan and Paris on the retail racks here with zero time lag,” the head of the Benetton empire promised.

Present in 120 countries around the world, Benetton was the first international apparel brand to enter the Indian market.

While 98 per cent of its manufacturing base is in upcountry, the group is looking at spreading its wings. The chairman’s five-day tour across Delhi, Calcutta, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai is essentially to meet key business partners.

“We are looking for the right strategic partners to transfer our experience and guarantee better fasteners for our colours, the DNA of our brand,” explained Diego Menarin, CEO, Benetton Asia Pacific Ltd.

“This is the chairman’s second visit in a year, which demonstrates the importance of India in the group’s worldwide vision and Benetton India Private Limited’s commitment to retail expansion in the Indian market,” he added.

Not just stylish apparel, the Benetton Group, listed on the stock exchanges of Milan, Frankfurt and New York, is keen to connect with Calcutta on other levels as well.

“We are aware of this grand old metro’s rich cultural heritage and would love to catalyse inter-cultural exchange with Italy,” said Laura Pollini, CEO of Fabrica, the group’s communication research centre.

From soprano operas to wine and cheese festivals, symphony orchestras to cross-cultural designer workshops, everything is possible, felt Pollini, who specialises in “marrying culture with industry” using communication tools like design, music, cinema, photography, publishing and the Internet.

Benetton, also on the board of directors of Edizione Holding, the family-owned financial holding company, is convinced India is rising “at the right pace and with the right attitude”, a trait reflected in Calcutta.

Since 2004, Benetton (now celebrating its 15th anniversary in this country) has gradually repositioned itself in the Indian market with the launch of several large-format stores in strategic zones.

“India clearly plays in the first division now and it’s surprising that there isn’t much media coverage of the progress here going out to the West,” observed the supremo of the group that produces over 110 million garments every year and has a global retail network of 5,000 stores.

Benetton, now looking more at “natural markets like India rather than at emerging economies”, feels the time is ripe to distribute Indian production to other Asian countries.