Benetton Final 1g5241

HISTORORY OF BENETTON GROUP: Benetton Group is a global luxury fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan. Benetton has a network of over 6,400 stores in 120 countries. The stores are managed by independent partners and generate a total turnover of over 2 billion euro. In 1965, Luciano Benetton, the eldest of four children, was a 30-year-old salesman in Treviso. He saw a market for colourful clothes, and sold a younger brother's bicycle in order to buy his first second-hand knitting machine. His initial small collection of sweaters received a positive response in local stores in the Veneto region, and soon after he asked his sister and two younger brothers, Gilberto and Carlo, to him. In 1965, the entity known as the "Benetton Group" is formed. In 1966, the Benettons opened their first store in Belluno and three years after in Paris, with Luciano as chairman, his brother Gilberto in charge of istration, their younger brother Carlo running production, and Giuliana as a chief designer. The company's core business remains their clothing lines: United Colors of Benetton, Undercolors of Benetton, Sisley and Playlife. Their products include womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and underwear and they have expanded into perfumes, stationery, eyewear and travel bags.

Benetton Group’s corporate headquarters is located at Villa Minelli in Ponzano, about 30km from Venice. From the mid 1980s Villa Minelli became the head quarters of the Group. Today, Benetton is 40 and as part of its anniversary celebrations the multinational with 5000 stores around the world. Benetton group is present in 120 countries around the world. The group produces over 130 million garments every year. Its retail network of 5,000 contemporary stores around the world, offers high quality customer services and generates a total turnover of over 1.9 billion euro. The group provides employment to 7,987 people around the world. Benetton group is listed on Borsa taliana, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New Year Stock Exchange.

TIMELINE OF BENETTON GROUP: 1965196919741978198019821983 198519861989199119942006 1965: Creation of Benetton group. 1969: First Benetton group outside Italy. (Paris) 1974: Sisley enters the group brand portfolio. 1978: Group exports 60% of production. 1980: Opening of the first in New York store. 1982: Opening of the first in Tokyo. Collaboration with Oliviero Toscani begins. 1983: The Group enters Formula one as sponsor of the Tyrrel team. 1985: Benetton advertising wins the “Grand Prix de la Publicite” in . 1986: The group is listed in Milan, Frankfurt and New York stock exchange. 1989: Entry into East Europe.

1991: Creation of Colors Magazine, on sale in 40 countries and published in 4 languages. 1994: “Fabrica” Benetton Group Communication Research centre created. 2005: Benetton is present in 120 countries and 5000 stores.

BRAND STRATEGIES FOLLOWED BY BENETTON: 1.SHOCK ADVERTISING: Shock advertising or Shock Advertising is a type of advertising generally regarded as one that “deliberately, rather than inadvertently, startles and offends its audience by violating norms for social values and personal ideals.” Benetton has come under particular scrutiny for the use of shock ments in its campaigns, leading to public outrage and consumer complaints. However, several of Benetton’s ments have also been the subject of much praise for heightening awareness of significant social issues and for “taking a stand” against infringements on human rights, civil liberties, and environmental rights. Benetton’s ments have featured images of portions of men’s and women’s bodies with tattoos that reveal HIV Positive”, a Black woman breastfeeding a White infant (which could be celebrated as a championing image of racial diversity or raising awareness of racial issues yet was also denounced for its historical connotations when Black women, during slavery, were often required to become caretakers for White children), a priest and a nun leaning to kiss each other, as well as a group of real death row inmates (alluding to issues concerning capital punishment). Other shocking ments released by Benetton include an image of a duck

covered in oil (addressing issues of oil spillage and the cleanliness of oceans), a man dying of aids a soldier holding a human bone, as well as a newborn infant still attached to its umbilical cord, which "was intended as an anthem to life, but was one of the most censured visuals in the history of Benetton ads. In 1993, clothing company Benetton launched a campaign for their new range featuring images such as a ‘branded’ HIV victim, a newborn, a guy on death row, a dying seagull bathed in black oil, soldier’s graves – basically anything you and I may consider boarder line fascinating / scandalous / tasteless.

Benetton have continued over the years to use their brand to raise awareness of social and environmental issues. They are doing it again now with their ‘UNHATE‘ campaign featuring politicians kissing. Somewhat easier to digest than those older campaigns, they still use shock to create attention for their brand.

2.MULTICULTURAL MARKETING Multicultural Marketing is defined as applying marketing strategies and programs to segments of the market with more than one cultural identity. Multiculturalism is "the preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation". Benetton group practices this strategy very well by depicting a black mother feeding a white child and many more to follow. 3.FAST-FASHION Fast fashion is a term used to describe clothing collections which are based on the most recent fashion trends presented at Fashion Week in both the spring and the autumn of every year. These trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply

to allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower price. Benetton detractors have often labelled its global products as the fast food of fashion--McFashion as it has been called. This is not the barb it may appear to be. Indeed, Luciano Benetton himself distinguishes between the artisan fashion of Italy and , of the likes of Armani or Chanel, and what he refers to as his industrial fashion. It is precisely the ability of Benetton to understand the key success factors underlying the McFashion business which gives it its competitive edge. Benetton's strategy is a truly global one. The same garments are sold throughout the world through the same small boutique-style shops, merchandised within strict corporate guidelines, and ed heavily with print media using identical ments worldwide. The strategy is to brand a "total look"--from the colour co-ordinated garments to the ambience of the small stores --rather than individual products.

BENETTON: EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES (1) Develop a logistics vision, what Benetton describes as a 360 degree vision; that is, a complete understanding of the strategic importance of logistics to the enterprise. The focus should be on customer satisfaction and on how each functional area can be integrated to deliver that satisfaction. The competitive advantage for Benetton lies in its ability to effectively

integrate the components of the value chain. We should aim to acquire Benetton's "wisdom". (2) Evaluate the possibility of using the concept of postponement. This is a cost and risk reducing strategy effectively adopted by Benetton. (3) Increase reaction speed and reduce cycle times. Time management has been highlighted as one of the key competitive strategies for the 1990s. Cycle time management is not simply a case of doing things faster but necessitates redeg operating processes and, if necessary, the organization. Process review can lead to shorter cycle times by changing from sequential to simultaneous operations and by reducing the number of delaying interfaces. (4) Develop a clear understanding of the distribution channels of which the organization is part. Benetton's analysis led to a channel design involving licensed retail stores and the abolition of all the intermediaries typically found in the garment trade. (5) Develop a customer-oriented manufacturing process; one which is flexible and responsive to customer demand. (6) Understand the customers' total need. The Benetton product is clearly more than just the garment. (7) Determine the right blend of in-house competences and outsourcing. (8) Use appropriate technologies to measure customer demand, develop fast response times,

flexibility and responsiveness to the market. Benetton provides us with an example of an organization which has truly grasped the meaning of integrated logistics across national boundaries. Benetton has created for itself a borderless world. It has linked 180 raw material suppliers, 450 manufacturers and 6,000 retailers to deliver 60 million garments a year to satisfied customers in 83 countries. To the consumer the Benetton product may be a fashionable "look" but the real Benetton product is nothing less than integrated logistics.

BRAND HIERARCHY: BENETTON

BENETTON IS A PRODUCT BRAND, in which various products of the Benetton group are sold with different brand names. The following gives the list of the various brand- names and products sold under these brands.

Benetton, the Italian retailer was engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of clothing, undergarments, shoes, cosmetics and accessories. Benetton also licensed its brand name to various manufacturers of sunglasses, stationery, cosmetics, linens, watches, toys, steering wheels, golf equipment, designer condoms and luggage. The group’s important brands included United Colors of Benetton (UCB), Undercolors of Benetton, Sisley, and PlayLife. 1. UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON United Colors of Benetton, the iconic Group's global brand, and one of the most well known in the world, has an international style that combines color, energy and comfort. All these key elements find their expression in the brand's core value: ionfor Quality, with a strong commitment to comfort and style. Each season the womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and underwear collections offer a total look for everyday, for work and for leisure, in the city and outdoors. The Benetton Baby label is a new product line dedicated to the under-fives world. The brand is present in many other sectors, from the elegant accessories to the eyewear lines and perfumes, from the home collection to baby products. The above products are available in selected specialized shops worldwide.UCB woman collection is both for women who work and demand an easy and elegant wardrobe and those who want to create alternative looks with a mix & match style. UCB man collection is a blend of elegance and originality, completely in tune with the mood of the brand.

1.1UCB KIDS Collection segments different categories: New born (01 year), targets the smallest consumers, proposing fun and taking inspiration from a the adult wardrobe, all with a constant attention to typical infant characteristic; Toddler (1-5 years), offers a touch of glamour in comfortable, cozy and resilient items for tomorrow’s adults; Kids & Young (6-12 years), proposes ideas for the pre-teenagers, very demanding when it comes to fashion and fit. The collections are completed by mothers-to-be line, with comfortable, soft, easy and unique clothes, meeting future mothers’ requirements throughout the day. Even in the difficult 2009 UCB Children improved its performance by 1.4% and celebrated forty years of business with a major event in Rome. Sales of UCB Children have almost doubled in the past ten years, with the brand exceeding 30% of the Group's turnover in 2009. Thanks to this constant growth the brand is no longer perceived as an extension of UCB Adult, but rather as a specialized brand which has satisfied customer demands and won their loyalty. Year after year, the focus has been on segmenting the offer, knowing that children have different demands according to their age group, and on deg the collections in a consistent fashion. 1.2 UNDERCOLORS OF BENETTON Undercolors of Benetton is an extension of the Benetton brand, featuring underwear, beachwear and sleepwear collections, as well as accessories for women, men and children. A wide selection of

recurring basic colors is enriched every season with the latest trends. Undercolors is available in its own chain of stores which now has more than 500 locations in thirty countries and in selected Benetton Shops. 2. SISLEY The encounter with Benetton occurred in 1974, when the Group, perceiving the potential, bought exclusive rights to use the name, but it was not until 1985 that Sisley took on its own personality within the Group. This is the Group's most fashion forward brand. Sisley presents elegant and seductive collections, with special attention given to the choice of design, fabrics and new shapes. Its creative artists and independent sales teams concentrate their efforts on its image and on strong-impact advertising campaigns. The brand has created the very fashionable Sisley Young line for children from 8 to 12 years old. 2.1SYSLEY YOUNG Is a sophisticated, detailed and rich collection inspired by the looks of up-to-the minute fashions, styled to suit younger crowed. Available for children from 3 to 12, but concentrating on the 8-12 age group, it plays on sensations, emotions and creativity, all of which are reworked, filtered and adjusted to the young age of our very modern little women and men. 4. PLAYLIFE Playlife is the Benetton leisurewear brand that

redefines a style. With its clean and elegant collections Playlife blends an exclusive exploration of styles and allusions and a strong sense of individuality, sporty and relaxed chic styles for both men and women. This applies both to him and her, as both are given the opportunity to use their fantasy and creativity to develop an increasingly more personal style. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Benetton's considerable expertise in the processes and technology has been used to develop a finer, lighter wool thread fully in line with market demands. For example, it has developed a complete range of colored, reasonably priced knitwear in a light cashmere whose lightness and softness allow them to also be worn in the spring and summer. This thread truly encapsulates the company's values of know-how, quality, and teamwork, values that also extend to include collaboration with commercial partners and university institutes. Benetton has gone beyond typical sponsorship achieving a true partnership in high- tech research with companies in its core business: Shima Seiki, a Japanese textile machinery multinational, and Huntsman, Clariant and Dystar, companies specializing in the dyeing of yarns and fabrics.

Collections structure: followed by Benetton

SUPPLY AND PRODUCTION Benetton is one of the largest European garment producers and its core business consists of deg, producing and selling garments for men, women and children in wool and cotton. In the beginning, Benetton was only a small company that was producing sweaters for local independent retailers. The keys to the success consisted in some innovations related to the product and its distribution and to an efficient production organization based on the work of a large network of small local subcontractors specialized in knitting, cutting and sewing garments. The fully fashion knitwear was made on cotton looms and it was strictly in plain color. In this way it is possible to knit plain wool into sweaters and postpone dyeing the entire stock just before going to the market, according to the latest fashions trends. Retailers could order plain sweaters in advance and specify the color during the selling season.

OPERATIONS REVERSAL AT BENETTON: SINGLE

PRODUCT STYLE WITH FOUR COLORS CHOICES

PHYSIQUE E

RELATIONSHIP P

REFLECTION N

PERSONALITY Y

CULTURE

SELF-IMAGE E

INTERNALISATION

EXTERNALISATION

KAPFERER’S S Brand d Iden ty y Prism m

PHYSIQUE: WE WILL ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUES: • WHAT IT IS? Italian retailer was engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of clothing, undergarments, shoes, cosmetics and accessories.

• WHAT IT DOES? it provides everything ranging from casual,formalwear to leisure wear,kidswear, undergarments etc. • WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE? Trendy and promotes fast fashion. RELATIONSHIP: • SOCIAL CONFORMITY AND DISTINCTION

• RESPECTFUL • IRATION REFLECTION: • QUALITY • EXPENSIVE • FAST-FASHION • MULTICULTURAL