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| Children walk the ramp at a Benetton fashion show |
Benetton is 40 and the 1.8 billion Euro-turnover group with a “strong Italian character” is gearing up to celebrate its 40th anniversary at the Centre Pompidou in Paris with the “passion, verve and attention to the future of a company that retains its identity, inspired by life”.
Luciano Benetton, chairman of the group, had launched Benetton in 1965 in Ponzano Veneto near Treviso in north-east Italy with siblings Giuliana, Gilberto and Carlo.
Today, it’s an iconic name in the fashion world with its brands — the casual United Colours of Benetton, fashion-oriented Sisley, Playlife leisurewear and Killer Loop streetwear — and produces around 115 million garments every year.
During his Calcutta visit last November, the 70-plus Benetton group chairman had referred to the city as “bubbling with innate energy” and rolled out an aggressive retail roadmap, predicting a 40 per cent growth in 2006 alone.
Luciano saw Calcutta on an “equal footing with any other Asian metro” in terms of retail potential. He had said the group wanted to be present in every new mall coming up in the city. The Italian major has plans to set up 20 Benetton outlets in the east by 2008, hoping to notch up a century of stores nationally.
Benetton, looking more at “natural markets like India rather than emerging economies”, is for now focusing all its attention on Paris.
In the French capital, in the prestigious spaces of the Parisian contemporary art institution, Benetton will present a fashion show telling the story of a brand that “represents freedom, democracy of taste and a simultaneously international and Italian lifestyle”.
At the same time, the Centre Pompidou will present an exhibition entitled Fabrica: les yeux ouverts, conceived together with Fabrica, the communication research centre created from the business philosophy of Benetton.
“We chose Paris as the location for our celebrations because it represents, now more than ever, the capital of international fashion,” said the Benetton Group chairman. The brand opened its first outlet outside Italy on Boulevard St. Germain, Paris.
The October 10 fashion show at the Forum of Centre Pompidou (in support of the initiative of the world food programme in the fight against hunger in the world) will mark the first occasion when Benetton creations would appear on the catwalk.
The dominant theme will be wool, the essence, together with colour, of the innovative spirit of Benetton that, since the mid-60s, has revolutionised style for everyday living and leisure. Items created specially for the occasion will be exhibited, a collection without time or season, multiethnic and global.
Fabrica, Benetton’s communication research centre, created in 1994 from the group’s cultural heritage, will also have a strong presence in Paris.
From October 6 to November 6, the Centre Pompidou will showcase Fabrica’s research projects, developed through various forms of expression — design, photography, cinema, music, publishing projects and new media.
A parallel cinema and music festival will also be held throughout the period of the exhibition. Co-produced by Fabrica Cinema, this will feature 2002 Academy Award winner No Man’s Land by Danis Tanovic, besides Blackboards by young Iranian director Samira Makmahlbaf and Seventeen Years by China’s Zhang Yuan.
Back home in Calcutta, a 5,000-sq ft lifestyle flagship store is in the offing, likely to be laid out on Shakespeare Sarani by Benetton’s sole city franchisee Marda Collections, which has outlets in Forum and City Centre.
Q: Your group celebrates its 40th anniversary at the Pompidou Centre in Paris on October 10. What gives you most pleasure today and what has been Benetton’s true strength?
A: What gives me most pleasure is thinking about the future, looking ahead to the next 40 years, to the new markets that are opening up, such as India for example, where we want to establish an increasing presence, enabling us to respond to consumers’ requests. I think this is exactly Benetton’s strength, the fact that it looks ahead and doesn’t rest on its laurels, working with people — first and foremost our partners — to continue to improve each day as though it were the first.
Q: Benetton’s first shop outside Italy was opened in Paris. How special is the city for the group?
A: Four years after founding the Benetton Group, we opened our first store in Paris, which was and still is the capital of world fashion. It was a decision that brought us luck and today we go back there to celebrate our 40th anniversary.
Q: What’s the secret behind Benetton’s edge in terms of innovation and design?
A: Curiosity. Being constantly on the lookout for new sources of inspiration and imbuing our products with the outlook and ideas of the young designers — over 200 — who create our clothes collections. Exploring the communication world through Fabrica, maintaining a continuous dialogue with the over 2,000 partners who work with us in the 120 nations in which we operate. Curiosity and an urge to look to the future are the only ways we can keep the brand young and in tune with customers.
Q: You were the first global brand to enter the Indian market. How important is India? And do the colours of India inspire your creative team?
A: India is one of the pillars of Benetton’s future development. We’ve been in the Indian market for over 15 years and today we’re capitalising on the experience we’ve acquired, not the least thanks to the passion and professional competence of our retailers. I have always admired the ability to combine the colours of traditional culture with Indian clothing. Yes, of course, this tradition was one of our sources of inspiration for enriching the colour palette that has always distinguished our products.
Q: When you visited Calcutta last year, you told us there would be about 20 Benetton stores in eastern India by 2008. You had also forecast a 40 per cent growth for the brand in Calcutta...
A: I confirm last year’s forecast. Our business plans are heading precisely in that direction. I think these numbers are satisfactory. They could get even better but for the time being I’d prefer to stick to the forecast.
Q: When will Benetton’s fashions arrive on the shelves in India at the same time as in Milan or Paris?
A: Would you be surprised, if I told you that they already do? The styles and models Benetton stocks in India are exactly the same as those in the Paris, Milan or New York stores. Each shop manager makes his or her personal choices, so each store has its own characteristics and personality, but the same can be said for the rest of the world.
