Benetton-Jonathan_Mantle.rtf

8/20/2019 Benetton-Jonathan_Mantle.rtf

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CHAPTER ONE

Birth of a Salesclerk

Ten thousand meters above the United States of

America, 1998

Luciano Benetton was on an airplane, reading a letter.In the ew !inutes he too" to read it, he tra#eled ro!

Ne#ada to Caliornia. In the pri#ate $et, there were !ediarelations people and people ro! the co!!ercialdepart!ent. %ost o the! were asleep. &o!e o the! werenot e#en 'orn when the 'usiness 'egan.

Eight thousand stores. Eight 'illion dollars. The ne(t

!o#e. The ne(t !eeting with the press. The i!ages... The)nited Nations... Toscani... the green hair. The *uestions, theanswers. How !uch longer could he "eep going+

Eight thousand stores. Eight 'illion dollars. This wasthe realit. There was another ti!e, though, when all thiswas $ust a drea!.

Luciano rarel loo"ed 'ac". He could re!e!'er !ostthings as the reall happened, 'ut he hardl e#er spo"e o the!. He spent !ost o his ti!e in the air. %a'e, 'eneaththe successul 'usiness!an, there was still a s!all 'o araido staing in one place or too long.


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Badoere, northern Italy, April 7, 19

The A!ericans and British were !o#ing up ro! thesouth and their planes were destroing #illages, towns, andcities.

-hen the 'o!'s threatened their ho!e town o Tre#iso, the Benettons sheltered in the #illage o Badoereand shared a house with a ar!ing a!il. Each da, thetried to carr on lie as nor!al.

This !orning, Leone had alread gone into town towor" at his 'iccle rental 'usiness. Now Luciano, his eightearold son, was getting read to ccle to school. It was athirt"ilo!eter round trip, 'ut school was i!portant. Hisather wanted hi! to stud and 'eco!e a doctor.

/Eh, Luciano,/ the ar!er0s wie was calling. /-ait,don0t go./

He ignored her and started to ride awa.

/Luciano1/

This ti!e the #oice was his sister0s. Although she wasounger than hi!, he could ne#er ignore 2iuliana.

/3ou can0t go toda,/ she was saing. /The 'o!'ersare co!ing./

/The alwas sa that. &o what0s new+ The0ll ne#er touch the school./


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But he was thin"ing a'out his ather, who was alreadin the town. At that !o!ent, in the distance, the alar!s'egan to sound.

%uch later, the door opened and Leone Benettonappeared. He told the! what had happened. He had ta"enshelter and so!ehow escaped the 'o!'s. Aterward, thedead and ding were e#erwhere. The ri#er was red with'lood. O#er 4,555 people had died.

Later the ound out that the A!ericans or the Britishhad 'o!'ed the wrong town. The !istoo" Tre#iso or atown urther north, where %ussolini was hiding. Tre#iso had$ust 'eco!e the !ost hea#il 'o!'ed town in the countr,ater Naples.

That winter, the te!perature ell to 446C and therewas little ood. Leone0s health was ailing and he spent !osto his ti!e in hospital. His wie, Rosa, had a heart condition.But Luciano went on ccling to school.

!ia""a San #rancesco, Treviso, $uly 1%, 19&

Luciano was 'us loo"ing ater what re!ained o the'iccle 'usiness. At the other end o the roo!, 2iuliana was"nitting a soc" or Carlo, the oungest child. 2iuliana was

happiest when she was "nitting.There was a "noc" at the door and their cousin

appeared. Her ace told the! the terri'le news.


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Leone Benetton died at least "nowing that the war waso#er. He let a widow, our oung children, a couple o s!allrental properties, a ew s!all pieces o land, and a car,hidden awa ro! the 2er!ans. At the age o ten, Luciano0s

childhood was o#er.

The ollowing ear, the Benettons !o#ed to &antaBona on the outs"irts o Tre#iso. Rosa0s heart condition hadreturned and she oten had to rest in 'ed. Luciano and hissister were araid that she too would die, lea#ing the! in

charge o the a!il. &o Luciano got up earl 'eore schooland ccled with a hea# load o newspapers to Tre#isostation, where he sold the!. He wal"ed the streets ater school, deli#ering 'read and selling soap door to door. Hestood in line waiting or 'read, ish, and salt. And at thesa!e ti!e 2iuliana !ade the a!il0s clothes, wor"ed a

"nitting !achine in her spare ti!e in the tin wor"shop o aneigh'or, and drea!ed o lea#ing school as soon as possi'le,so she could wor" there ull ti!e.

Santa Bona, Treviso, 199

The Benettons were in a desperate inancial situation.One ' one, Rosa had sold all the little pieces o land.2iuliana had let school at the age o ele#en and was"nitting all da. Luciano was still at school, 'ut he was also

doing the wor" o a !an. This was still not enough.


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He !ade up his !ind. /I0! not going 'ac" to schoolne(t ear,/ he told Rosa. /2iuliana wor"s and she0s ounger than !e. I0! going to tr to ind a ullti!e $o'./

His !other said nothing and put her ar!s around hi!.Then he 'urst into tears.

Luciano was alread wor"ing ater school in a clothand clothing store called Alia Ca!pana. He went to wor" there ull ti!e. He swept loors, carried 'o(es, and learneda'out the retail 'usiness. Li"e his ather, he lo#ed niceclothes. He sa#ed enough !one to order a suit o his owndesign. It too" hi! a ear to sa#e the !one, 'ut when hewore the suit the girls turned and laughed at hi! in thestreet. Luciano reali7ed he still had a lot to learn a'out theashion 'usiness.

Ater a ew ears, he changed $o's. The 8ellasiega'rothers hired hi! as a sales assistant in their clothes store intown. The taught hi! e#erthing the "new a'out clothing,and a'out stle. The encouraged hi! to de#elop his talentsas a salescler", and Luciano rewarded the! ' 'eing a good

wor"er. He was ne#er late and alwas polite to custo!ers.But he "new that he did not want to spend his lie 'ehind thecounter.

One o his riends was 8o!enico /Nico/ Luciani. Heand Luciano lo#ed A!erican culture in the or! o 'oo"s,

!o#ies, and newspaper stories. The were also 'usinesspartners. The sold ruit and sandwiches at local airs. The


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'uilt a 'as"et'all court. The were 'est riends, althoughso!eti!es Nico could not understand Luciano.

/How can ou wor" in an oldashioned place li"ethis+/ he as"ed one da in the 8ellasiegas0 store.

/Because I ha#e to,/ Luciano replied. /% a!il needthe !one. Anwa, I li"e what I0! doing. It gi#es !e ti!eto thin"./

/A'out what+/

/A'out getting rich./

/How are ou going to do that, then+/

/I don0t "now, 'ut I0! wor"ing on it./

%an ears later, Luciano said9 /The traditional storeswere going to die... and we "illed the!./


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CHAPTER T-O

A Woman of Substance

Santa Bona, Treviso, 19&&

Clothing stores in Europe were #er dierent thenro! toda. A long wooden counter separated the custo!ers

ro! the salescler"s, and the clothes were hidden awa,e(cept or a ew things in the window. The custo!er descri'ed what the wanted to the salescler", who then wentawa and pic"ed out so!e clothes that !ight 'e suita'le.E#en i the custo!er 'ought so!ething, the oten did notget what the were reall loo"ing or.

Luciano was twent ears old and had 'een 'ehind thecounter or a ear when he reali7ed what he wanted to do.The "ind o store and the "ind o clothes he drea!ed o didnot e(ist. In his drea!s, the store did not ha#e a counter, theclothes were eas to loo" at, stlish, and reasona'l priced.3oung people ca!e into this store without their parents andwithout "nowing what the wanted. The ca!e out withco!orta'le, colorul clothes. There were thousands o oung people, !illions o the!, out there, 'ut the did notha#e anwhere to shop.

Ater wor", Luciano did not go straight ho!e, 'utinstead went to the little wor"shop where his sister wor"ed.In her spare ti!e, his sister designed and !ade 'rightl


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colored sweaters or the a!il. In a countr where peopleall wore gra, 'lue, and dar" red sweaters, this wasso!ething dierent.

-hen he arri#ed, 2iuliana was still wor"ing at her !achine. He waited until she had inished, then the wal"edout o the wor"shop. On the wa, he turned to her and said,/2iuliana+ -h are we wor"ing or other people+ -h don0twe start our own 'usiness+/

/Because we0re too oung,/ she replied.

/3ou !a"e the! and I0ll sell the!. -h not+/

/That0s $ust li"e ou,/ she said. &he was tired ater thelong da.

/3ou alwas sa, 0i ou could !a"e !ore.0/ &he was*uiet or a long ti!e. As the reached ho!e, she said, /-e0regoing to ha#e to 'u a "nitting!achine./

That night, o#er dinner, the announced the news tothe rest o the a!il. Rosa thought the had gone !ad. 8id

the want to send the whole a!il 'ac" into po#ert+

/8on0t worr,/ 2iuliana said, /we won0t gi#e up our da $o's. -e0ll wor" at night and in our spare ti!e. 3ou"now we can do it./

/-here0s the !one going to co!e ro! to 'u this!achine+/ as"ed 2il'erto.


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Although he was onl ourteen, 2il'erto was theinancial 'rain o the a!il. The oungest 'rother, Carlo,who was 'eginning to show the sa!e a'ilities, agreed withhi!.

/3eah, where0s the !one going to co!e ro!+/ heas"ed.

Luciano tried to sta cal!. /-e0ll rent a !achine,/ hesaid. /The i!portant thing is that we all agree. 3es or no+/

The loo"ed at each other. /3es./

Luciano sold his possessions. 2il'erto was persuadedto sell his 'iccle. The 'orrowed ro! a!il and riends,and slowl the raised the !one. &e#eral wee"s later, the!achine arri#ed. The threw a part in its honor, and calledit /the new !e!'er o the a!il./ -ithin a ew wee"s, thereali7ed that this was no $o"e, and that the new !achine hadchanged their li#es.

E#er da ater the inished school and their #arious$o's, Luciano and 2il'erto prepared the wool or the!achine. Each night, ater a da0s wor", 2iuliana wor"edthe !achine ro! si( o0cloc" until ele#en: so!eti!es past!idnight. Rosa was her assistant, putting together andironing the "nitted sweaters, wor"ing until two or threeo0cloc" in the !orning.

-ithin a ew wee"s, 2iuliana Benetton produced her irst collection. The sweaters were in traditional stles, 'utthe dierence was in the colors. 3ellows, greens, and pale


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'lues: no'od had seen colors li"e these in sweaters 'eore.The ga#e the collection the ;rench na!e /Tres ?, the 'ought a second !achine and 2iuliana hired their irst e!ploees. The 'ought a third !achine, and the ho!eturned into a clothing actor. The were wor"ing nearltwentour hours a da and were running out o space. Howcould the increase the si7e o the 'usiness without ris"inge#erthing the had wor"ed or+

In the 'eginning, the 8ellasiegas were not interestedwhen Luciano as"ed the! to sell Tres


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In the sa!e ear, 4=>@, the 'rothers !ade Luciano anoer that he thought he would ne#er hear. /Luciano,/ thesaid, /we0d li"e to, ah... place an order./

The order was or ?55 sweaters. 2iuliana hired another girl and the deli#ered the order on ti!e. Later, the loo"ed'ac" on this as their irst /lash,/ or additional unscheduledcollection. This a'ilit to react to a sudden change incusto!er de!and would one da !a"e the! a!ous.

The Benettons had crossed a line. The were now aa!il o proessional !anuacturers.

The ollowing ear, in 4=>, when Luciano inallga#e up wor"ing or the 8ellasiegas, the store had a ullshel o Tres


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'ome, Italy, 19()

Luciano had ne#er 'een to Ro!e 'eore. He wanted to"now what the stores loo"ed li"e in a 'ig cit, and near thePia77a di &pagna, he ound a store o a "ind he had ne#er seen 'eore, e(cept in his drea!s.

The store sold onl woolen clothes. It was ull o the!,and o custo!ers wanting to 'u. These custo!ers were not$ust Ro!ans, or e#en Italians. A!erican air crew, British'usiness!en, and ;rench !odels were standing in line at thecounter. The sweaters were well !ade and in a wide range o colors'ut the were not as good as Tres


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and independent, Calderoni was oering his ser#ices as asalescler". ;ro! the !o!ent the !et, the oung !an ro!outotown and the cit 'o li"ed each other. Calderoni'eca!e the irst agent, outside the a!il, or the Benettons

and Tres


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Luciano listened to the Tagliaco77o 'rothers and went'ac" to Pon7ano. The idea o a glo'al chain o stores e(citedhi!, 'ut as a supplier and not as a retailer.

!on"ano, the *eneto, 19(%

The actor could not deal with the increased nu!'er o orders. The Benettons needed new e*uip!ent and a newactor. ;or this, the needed the ser#ices o a 'an".

The ourth 'an"er he #isited was onl a'out two earsolder than Luciano.

/3ou oung people are all the sa!e,/ the 'an"er said./3ou want to run 'eore ou can wal"./

Luciano went angril ho!e to Teresa.

/8on0t worr,/ she said. /-e0#e alread co!e a longwa, and we0ll go e#en urther./

A short ti!e later, Luciano was grateul to the 'an" !anager.

/8id ou hear what the 'an"s ha#e done+/ his 'rother 2il'erto as"ed. 2il'erto was now wor"ing ull ti!e as their inancial controller. /The0#e called in all the !one the

lent to 'usinesses without good enough guarantees./


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The Benettons were not aected 'ecause the 'an"s hadreused to lend the! !one.

/% 2od,/ said Luciano, /the0re all in a !ess, and wedon0t owe a cent. -e0re going to 'e rich1/

Builders and !aterials suppliers were a!ong the worstaected 'usinesses. Traditionall, the 'orrowed a lot o !one and !o#ed ro! one short contract to the ne(t.%a'e, $ust !a'e, the Benettons could arrange a deal witha 'uilding co!pan to 'uild their own actor without helpro! outside.

A ew das later, 2il'erto called his 'rother.

/I0#e ound two 'an"s which will lend us so!e o the!one,/ he said in dis'elie.

The hired an architect called Cristiano 2asparetto.2asparetto needed help, so Luciano0s ne(t call was to his oldriend, Nico Luciani.

Nico was now studing architecture with the a!ous

architect Carlo &carpa. His repl shoc"ed Luciano.

/No,/ he told hi!. /I0! not in the 'usiness o puttingup actories or the !iddle class to !a"e !one ro! 'adlpaid wor"ers./

Nico, it see!ed, had !o#ed to the political ar let. Itwas the last ti!e he and Luciano spo"e or a *uarter o acentur.


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Luciano then tried To'ia &carpa. He had not et put upa single 'uilding, 'ut he was the son o Carlo &carpa and heunderstood what Luciano wanted to do. He and his wie,Ara, were e!ploed ' two 'ig co!panies, designing new

and e(citing tpes o urniture and lighting. 2asparetto and&carpa co!pleted the actor pro$ect, 'ut the &carpas0relationship with the Benettons continued. This was the irste(a!ple o Luciano0s a'ilit to recogni7e what people coulddo, e#en i the were unsure o the!sel#es. It was the'eginning o a great creati#e riendship.

In onl eight ears, the a!il had ta"en Tres


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CHAPTER THREE

Success Across Europe

+ondon Airport, n-land, 19(%

/E(cuse !e, sir,/ the British police!an said, loo"ingdou'tull at the oung oreigner tra#eling alone, who was

not wearing a $ac"et and tie. /Can ou tell !e how !uch!one ou ha#e with ou+/

Luciano, who later 'eca!e one o the richest !en inthe world, showed hi! the contents o his thin wallet. Thepolice!an let hi! pass.

/-elco!e to 2reat Britain,/ thought Luciano, /ho!eo racis!, sheep, and the inest wool and !anuacturing inthe world./

Luciano0s tour o Britain lasted ten das and too" hi!

to i!portant !anuacturers o woolen clothes in Englandand &cotland. He learned a lot a'out their !ethods,particularl how to !a"e woolen clothes eel soter. At theend o his trip, he ordered a nu!'er o British!ade!achines or coloring, "nitting, ironing, and dring wool.

Nearl twent ears later, Luciano returned and 'oughta &cottish co!pan.


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Belluno, northern Italy, 19(

Piero %archiorello wor"ed or his ather in a little

clothing store in the hill town o Belluno, se#enti#e"ilo!eters north o Tre#iso. He had co!e to Ro!e or a!eeting o s!all retailers. One da, he was loo"ing in thewindow o the Tagliaco77o 'rothers0 store. He went inside.

/-ho !a"es this stu+/ he as"ed.

The assistant told hi! it was a co!pan called Tres


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Ater tal"ing to 2il'erto, the ound a wa.%archiorello would 'orrow so!e !one ro! a 'an", andthe Benettons would lend hi! the rest. The deal was si!pleand 'ased on trust, with no written contract. %archiorello

would 'u clothes onl ro! the Benettons, sell the!, and"eep the proits. He could not return an clothes that werenot sold.

%archiorello also had to ind a site or the store. A ewwee"s later, he and Luciano were standing in the *uietest

part o town.

/Piero,/ Luciano said, /this is the worst site I0#e e#er seen in ! lie./

%archiorello s!iled. /Loo" on the 'right side,/ he

said. /I it wor"s here, it0ll wor" anwhere./

At the sa!e ti!e, in Pon7ano, the actor was near co!pletion. It was a 'eautiul, white 'uilding surrounded 'gardens. Natural light entered through the roo and loodedthe wor"space. Luciano wanted !ore than $ust a place where

people earned !one. He wanted to create a place wherethe would 'e happ to wor".

The cost o the new actor had dou'led in si( !onths,'ut the were sa#ed ' an increase in 'usiness. The werenow !a"ing 455,555 sweaters a !onth.

The new actor opened on a spring !orning withcele'rations that went on into the night. ;i#e hundred


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in#itations had gone out, including in#itations to all thee!ploees and the #illagers.

;our !onths later, Luciano and Teresa dro#e north in atruc" ull o "nitted clothes. The were going to Belluno,where %archiorello was waiting.

%archiorello had designed a si!ple, 'rightl lit, whitewalled store. There were lots o open shel#es onto whichLuciano and Teresa piled red, 'lue, ellow, orange, andgreen sweaters. Li"e the sweaters, the had gi#en the store aoreign na!e. This ti!e, howe#er, it was English. Londonwas the height o ashion in clothes and !usic. The calledthe store /% %ar"et./

The word soon went around the oung people o the

town that % %ar"et was the place to 'e. %archiorello wasselling twent sweaters a da. &i( !onths ater the storeopened, he went to see Luciano again.

/It0s li"e I said. I we can do it in a place li"e this,i!agine what we can do so!ewhere else, where there are

lots o people./

This ti!e, he did not need to persuade Luciano. Thesoon ound a perect site or a second store in theashiona'le s"i town o Cortina d0A!pe77o, in the8olo!ites.

The a!il had changed the na!e o the 'usiness ro!Tres


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2iuliana0s designers designed a pattern o a "not o wool or their la'els. This logo was placed with the word /Benetton/in white on a 'ac"ground o green, 2iuliana0s a#orite color.

Cortina d0A!pe77o, northern Ital, 4=??

The new store opened on a snow !orning at theheight o the s"i season. This ti!e there were shel#es o sweaters around the walls, and no counter. There was 'rightlighting and loud !usic.

The sweaters on sale were in the widest range o colors, 'ut onl in the two s!allest si7es. This store wasonl ai!ed at oung people.

Two das later, %archiorello called Luciano inPon7ano.

/The0re standing in line around the 'loc"1/ he toldhi!. /-e0#e sold a third o the stu alread. Co!e and see,and 'ring so!e !ore stoc"1/

Luciano dro#e north up the ic roads with his ounger

'rother Carlo. Outside % %ar"et, oung people stood inline, waiting to get in. Inside the store, people were pullingsweaters o all colors and stles o the shel#es and handingthe! to the salescler", i#e or si( at a ti!e.

The i!!ediate success o the store in Cortina sentclothes with the Benetton na!e ho!e with #acationers allo#er Ital and across the 'orders into Austria, ;rance, and&wit7erland.


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Across the countr, people were wa"ing up to the actthat these clothes were not onl un to wear 'ut also a goodco!!ercial idea. Calls 'egan pouring into Luciano0s oicero! people who wanted to open new stores. %archiorello

could onl open and !anage a li!ited nu!'er, so Luciano'egan to loo" or new store owners a!ong his riends. -hilethe telephone continued to ring, he also 'egan to search or asite or the ne(t store. %archiorello, howe#er, had alreaddecided where this should 'e.

!adua, northern Italy, 19(7

Padua is one o the oldest uni#ersit cities in the world.In 4=?@, there were do7ens o caes, !o#ie houses, theaters,

and 'oo"stores, 'ut still ew stores or oung people withli!ited !one. The traditional shop"eepers were notinterested in this oung !ar"et, 'ut when the heard thatLuciano and %archiorello were planning to open a %%ar"et in Padua, the tried to "eep the! out o the central'usiness district. Two shop"eepers who alread sold

Benetton, a!ong other 'rands, ca!e to see Luciano.

/I ou open in Padua, we0ll stop selling Benetton,/ oneo the! told hi!. /3ou0ll 'e our direct co!petitor. 3ou0llruin us./

/I don0t thin" so,/ Luciano replied. /In act, I thin" itwill !a"e things 'etter or ou./


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In the spring o that ear, % %ar"et opened in Padua.This latest opening led to lines o students and other oungpeople inside the store and around the 'loc". The two !enwhose stores were nearest the new store saw their sales o

Benetton dou'le.

Pri#atel, Luciano had eared that the shop"eeperswere right, 'ut the co!petition see!ed to 'e i!pro#ing saleso Benetton clothes in 'oth the old and new "inds o store.But how long would this last+ How long would it 'e 'eore

so!eone else ca!e along and 'egan to co!pete withBenetton+ I this happened, the !ar"et would 'e 'ro"en up' 'usinesses that Luciano could not control. I there wasgoing to 'e co!petition, it would 'e 'etter or the! toco!pete with the!sel#es than with others. There wereplent o people who wanted to 'eco!e store owners in

cities, towns and #illages around the countr. And, i Benetton could co!pete with the!sel#es, could the notalso co!pete with traditional shop"eepers and oer a #arieto stores and clothes or a wider range o custo!ers+

Luciano tal"ed a'out this with 2iuliana and &carpa.

&oon, &carpa ca!e 'ac" with a series o drawings. Each o these showed a store that would sell Benetton sweaters, 'uteach one was dierent. /%erceria/ was or the !others o their e(isting custo!ers. The store had soter lighting andgentler !usic, with !ore traditional colors in clothes./To!ato/ was #er !odern, or teenagers, with 'right lightsand a lot o !etal and glass. /;anto!a(/ had !ood !usicand soter, /lowerchild/ clothes. Li"e % %ar"et, all these


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stores carried onl the Benetton range, and none o the!carried the Benetton na!e.

-hile Luciano and &carpa wor"ed on the details, thenu!'er o % %ar"et stores increased #er *uic"l. Allthese new stores were started ' riends, and riends o riends. The included oung !en and wo!en 'ored withtheir $o's in law and other proessions. All the new ownersagreed to 'u onl ro! Benetton. All o the! opened their stores, designed ' &carpa, on sites agreed ' Luciano. The

agreed that Luciano could ta"e action i he thought thewere running the store in a wa that would har! the na!e o Benetton.

At irst, the new store owners split the opening costswith Benetton. As their nu!'ers !ultiplied, howe#er,

2il'erto decided that it was not necessar or the a!il toput !one into so !an new stores: new store owners had toind the !one the!sel#es. 8uring this period, Benettonalso ended its relationships with independent retailers thathad 'egun with the 8ellasiega 'rothers.

!on"ano, the *eneto, 19(9

Ital was e(periencing political and econo!icpro'le!s. There were 'o!'ings and shootings in the cities.

But in the #illage o Pon7ano, the trou'le see!ed ar awa.The actor was #er 'us suppling the growing nu!'er o stores, and the irst non woolen range o shirts, pants, and


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s"irts was sent out. Relations were good within the actor.Benetton was the !ain local e!ploer, run ' a a!il whohad grown up in the area and who had a strong relationshipwith their direct e!ploees.

All our !e!'ers o the a!il were, ' this ti!e,!arried with children. The li#ed *uietl. 2iuliana0s !aininterests were her a!il and wor". 2il'erto, with his lo#eo sport and with his !o#ie star good loo"s, thought hard'eore he 'ought hi!sel a Porsche, although he could

aord !an e(pensi#e cars. Carlo spent !uch o his reeti!e s"iing and wandering in the !ountains.

Luciano and Teresa, and their three children, %auro,Alessandro, and Rossella, !o#ed to a new house close to theactor. Their ourth and last child, Rocco, was 'orn in 4=@4.

Luciano had gi#en &carpa co!plete control o#er the designo the house. &carpa descri'ed the result as /a house it or a!odern... prince./

The retail e(plosion was not slowing down. There were>55 stores across the countr, and in all o the! the na!e o

Benetton was now used instead o Tres


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/There are thousands o "ids out there desperate or so!ething ashiona'le to wear with 'lue $eans,/ she toldthe!. /English sweaters are too e(pensi#e and the ;renchones are ugl. I tell ou, the !ar"et is $ust sitting there,

waiting or ou./

In 4=?=, in the Latin Duarter on the Boule#ard &aint2er!ain, the latest % %ar"et opened or 'usiness. It wasthe irst in Paris and the irst outside Ital. This ti!e therewere no oung people standing in line around the 'loc", 'ut

there was a stead strea! o students. There was also awelco!e or Benetton ro! the !e!'ers o the ashion!edia. One o these was &and O'er#it7, an A!ericanriend o Lison. &he told Luciano that he should ta"e theclothes to the )nited &tates.

.e/ 0or 2ity, United States of America, 191)

Luciano had #isited New 3or" Cit or the irst ti!ewith Teresa. The went there on #acation a ew ears ater

the were !arried, when their irst three children were still#er oung, and the actor and store were newl opened.The wal"ed up ;ith A#enue and stared at the 'uildings, atthe tall stores9 Bergdor 2ood!an, Bloo!ingdale0s, %ac0s,&a"s. Luciano was part tourist, part 'usiness!an, and hetried to understand as !uch as possi'le on this irst, short

#isit. Now he was 'ac" again, 'ut he soon ound out that itwould not 'e eas to 'rea" into the A!erican !ar"et.


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Benetton did not ha#e a recogni7ed European na!e thatcould attract the attention o A!erican custo!ers.

Luciano re!e!'ered later that his irst e(perience o the )nited &tates was a shoc". He reali7ed that the worldwas not the sa!e e#erwhere, and that the rules weredierent in the )nited &tates.

One o his irst calls when he got ho!e was to LisonBonils.

/Tell our riend than"s,/ he said, /'ut we0re not readto attac" the )nited &tates et. -e need another si( or se#enears at least!a'e ten./

In act, another nine ears passed 'eore the triedagain, and thirteen ears passed 'eore Benetton reallsucceeded in the )nited &tates.

!on"ano, the *eneto, 191%

The actor was not a'le to !eet the rising de!and or clothes. 2il'erto, howe#er, said that the should not !a"ethe !ista"e o 'uilding a 'ig industrial plant. Across thecountr, wor"ers in large ;iat and Pirelli actories wereincreasingl unhapp, and industrial discontent wasgrowing. Instead, Luciano and 2il'erto 'ought and reittedtwo s!all actories in #illages near Pon7ano.


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Between the!, the our Benetton children now hadtwel#e children. 2iuliana, at thirtour, co!'ined !arriageand her three children with her $o' creating new clothingranges and leading her growing tea! o designers. &he

created the irst range o Benetton clothes or 'a'ies andoung children, ro! 'irth to the age o twel#e, to wear atho!e, at school, and at pla. It was called /54./ The clotheswere sold through % %ar"et, ;anto!a(, To!ato, and%erceria, and e#entuall through 54 stores.

B this ti!e, the co!pan was secretl on the wa to'eco!ing the largest single custo!er o wool in the world.The also 'ought increasing a!ounts o cotton. The worldwas wearing !ore and !ore 'lue $eans and Tshirts. Lucianohi!sel wore $eans !uch o the ti!e and had o'ser#ed thatthe were popular with oung people in A!erica. He

thought o the na!e /


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B 4=@, there were 55 stores across Ital and ahundred !ore in ;rance, 2er!an, and Belgiu!. Althoughin e#er case Benetton supplied the goods, not a single storehad the Benetton na!e. Luciano preerred to "eep the a!il

out o the !edia, particularl as political discontent in Italcontinued, and cri!e and "idnapping increased. The a!ildid not gi#e out inancial inor!ation, and Luciano stoppedgi#ing inter#iews. The result was that the co!pan grew*uic"l, while appearing not to do so.

Luciano and Teresa had irst !et ' chance when hewas wor"ing in the 8ellasiegas0 store. Now a chance!eeting in another store led to the end o their !arriage. In%ilan, at a sta lunch, Luciano !et %arina &alo!on, whowor"ed in a


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The ollowing wee", he worried in a wa that he hadne#er done 'eore. This was cra7: she was a twentearold student and he was a ortearold 'usiness!an,!arried or ourteen ears, with our children. This was

!adness: this was dangerous.

He lew to London. At the airport, she 'urst ro! thewaiting crowd and ran into his ar!s. The spent thewee"end together. He ca!e ho!e in lo#e and in shoc". Awee" later, she wrote hi! a letter saing that she lo#ed hi!

'ut that she did not want to 'rea" up his !arriage and hisa!il. He agreed with her. The tried not to thin" a'outwhat would happen when she ca!e ho!e or a #acation.


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CHAPTER ;O)R

The King of Knitwear

!on"ano, the *eneto, 191(

The irst #acation ca!e, and Luciano and %arina0sworst ears ca!e true. The !o!ent she returned ro!

London and the !et again, the "new the could not staawa ro! each other. All through the winter and into thespring, Luciano li#ed a dou'le lie.

Luciano "new that he could not end his !arriage, 'uthis relationship with Teresa had changed ore#er. He had too

!uch respect or his wie to let her ind out the truth ro!so!eone else. Ater !onths o deceit, he told her a'out theaair with %arina. Her reaction was 'itter and angr. Hecould not sta now.

Luciano !o#ed out o the a!il ho!e and 'ought a

house ort !inutes awa in enice, into which he !o#edwith %arina. Ater diicult tal"s, he and Teresa agreed thathe would eat lunch with the children each da in the a!ilho!e.

Teresa had 'een a !e!'er o the Benetton a!il sincethe earliest das. &he was part o the a!il and the'usiness, and her relationship with the Benettons re!ained


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close. But others close to the a!il 'usiness, li"e To'ia&carpa, could not orgi#e Luciano or what he had done.

Luciano wanted to ta"e his 'usiness ideas to the world.At ho!e, his ideas had seen a single store de#elop into anetwor" o hundreds o stores. In ;rance, howe#er, it hadnot. Luciano e(a!ined the ;rench !ar"et with the help o Lison Bonils.

The tal"ed with 2iuliana and decided that one o their !ista"es was in the colors. The were clean andinternational, 'ut the also had to 'e ;rench to the ;rench,and A!erican to the A!ericans. 2iuliana redesigned the;rench range o clothes to include soter colors li"e palepurple and chocolate 'rown. As a result, the clothes nolonger loo"ed /oreign/ and there was suddenl an increased

de!and. B 4=@, there were 55 Benetton stores in ;rance.

The site and na!e o the irst store in London were asi!portant as the had 'een in Paris. &outh %olton &treet isin a wealth area near O(ord &treet, where custo!erswould accept Italian clothes. The irst store opened in 4=@@

and was called si!pl /Benetton./

&o the rapid growth continued 'eond Ital into 2reatBritain and other European countries. B 4=@=, there were4,@55 stores across Europe. &ales had risen ' F5 percent onthe pre#ious ear. The co!pan still reused to gi#e out

inor!ation a'out the si7e o its proits, and the a!ilcontinued to a#oid the !edia. In the sa!e ear, howe#er, thescale o Benetton 'eca!e o'#ious when the Australian -ool


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Corporation stated that Benetton used !ore raw wool thanan other co!pan in the world.

Luciano decided to !a"e his irst real attac" on the)nited &tates o A!erica.

.e/ 0or 2ity, United States of America, 1919

The a!il spent !onths deciding where to open the

irst A!erican store. Their e#entual choice was %anhattan,right in the heart o New 3or" Cit. This was a good area,pac"ed with tourists and #isitors, !an o who! would"now the store ro! their tra#els in Europe. As the haddone in London and 8usseldor, the decided to call the irstA!erican store /Benetton./

The New 3or" opening was not li"e the opening o theirst stores in Ital. There were no oung people standing inine around the 'loc". The irst custo!ers were European#isitors and their children, who wanted a!iliar ashions tothe stles 'ac" ho!e. &uccess ca!e with the irst sale in


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/Benetton dresses 'oth *ueens and housewi#es,/ onenewspaper wrote. )nortunatel, this was an Italiannewspaper read ' cri!inals and "idnappers.

!on"ano, the *eneto, 198)

At ho!e, the tradition o "idnapping or !one, whichhad in the past onl 'een connected with the &icilian %aia,spread across the countr. In richer areas, people tried to

"eep their wealth secret. This was easier to achie#e in so!ecases than in others. Luciano and his 'rothers and sister were now pu'licl connected ' na!e to a a!ous 'usinesssuccess.

The oreign press wrote !uch !ore a'out the rangeand proits o the 'usiness than the !edia at ho!e. ;ewItalians "new that Benetton now had si( actories in andaround Pon7ano, directl e!ploing a'out 4,?55 people. Tenthousand !ore were e!ploed in 'usinesses connected toBenetton. People did not "now that the actories "ept in

dail contact with 4,>55 stores across the countr. Twohundred o these were owned co!pletel ' Benetton andthe rest were owned and !anaged ' Benetton0s specialranchise sste!. People did not "now, either, how !uchproit ro! all these operations went into a a!il co!panthat was 455 percent owned ' Luciano, 2iuliana, 2il'erto,

and Carlo.


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To 'e nearer to his a!il, Luciano and %arina !o#edro! enice to a house near Pon7ano. The elt sae in thecountr and usuall let the house unloc"ed when the wereat ho!e. %arina had inished her studies and decided to go

into 'usiness. &he 'ought part o a co!pan that!anuactured shirts. &oon, she was !a"ing a!'itious plansor the uture.

Luciano was also !a"ing plans or the a!il 'usiness.In %a 4=, he and 2il'erto !et Aldo Pal!eri, a F?ear

old director o the Ban" o Ital and the !an the 'elie#edcould help Benetton de#elop ro! a a!il co!pan into aglo'al organi7ation. The three !en i!!ediatel or!ed astrong relationship.

The ollowing !onth, Benetton 'ought a large share in

a shoe !anuacturer, their irst !o#e 'eond the clothing'usiness. The 'egan the process o opening up theco!pan0s 'usiness ' in#ol#ing new !anagers, led 'Pal!eri, and !a"ing pu'lic the irst Benetton annual report.This showed that sales had !ultiplied ' ?55 percent in thelast i#e ears: that these sales totaled )&GF !illion

through ,555 stores, and that the co!pan was !a"ingannual proits o )&G4= !illion. ;or the irst ti!e, the actswere in 'lac" and white or e#er'od to see.

3uarto d4Altino, the *eneto, Au-ust 1), 198%


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It was a &aturda night ater dinner, and Luciano and%arina were reading and watching tele#ision. The windowswere open and the sounds o the hot su!!er night wereco!ing into the roo!. &e#en ears had passed since the

irst !et, 'ut each da Luciano was a!a7ed ' their closerelationship.

%arina awned and turned the page o her 'oo".Luciano started to spea" and then ro7e. A glo#ed handclosed o#er his !outh and he could eel the cold steel o a

gun against his nec".

There were i#e o the!, and their aces were co#ered.Beore he and %arina could react, Luciano was on his "nees'eing tied up and she was 'eing led ro! the roo!. Lucianosaid, /Ta"e what ou want, 'ut don0t hurt anone./

Things happened at rightening speed. The i#e !entoo" %arina out o the roo!. &he told the !en, she saidlater, that the house had a silent alar! which was alreadringing at the police station. %a'e this rightened thethie#es. The too" !one and all her $ewelr, let her tied up

in the 'edroo!, and ran awa. There was no alar!, 'ut 'this ti!e the hus'and o a wo!an who wor"ed in the househad reed hi!sel and called the police.

8uring the ne(t ew das, the newspapers were ull o the stor o how the /"ing o "nitwear/ had 'een ro''ed.

Luciano 'ought an alar! sste! and put in electronic gates.He and %arina tried to continue lie nor!all, 'ut theloc"ed the doors e#en when the were at ho!e. Nearl two


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!onths later, the had al!ost reco#ered: the toldthe!sel#es that the attac" was $ust 'ad luc".

3uarto d4Altino, the *eneto, 5ctober 8, 198%

This ti!e it was a Tuesda night, and Luciano and%arina were dri#ing 'ac" to their house ro! Tre#iso. It wasdar" and the road was lined with 'ushes. The wereapproaching the gates when, suddenl, two !en $u!ped

ro! the 'ushes and started to 'rea" the side windows o thecar. Luciano, who had slowed down, sped orward again asthe gates opened.

/Call the police1/ he shouted to %arina, who reachedor the car telephone.

The car shot orward through the gates and or a!o!ent it see!ed that the had escaped. Then the loo"ed'ac" and saw that the two !en had orced the gates openand were approaching or a second attac".

/% 2od, the0re going to get in through thewindows1/ %arina cried. /2o 'ac", go 'ac"1/

Luciano0s car shot 'ac"ward at high speed through thegates, past the two !en, and 'ac" up the road. Lucianodro#e at speed or iteen "ilo!eters and !ore, while %arinahung onto his ar! and cried. E#entuall, when the werenear enice, he slowed down.


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Bac" at the house, the police were waiting or the!.The attac"ers had escaped.

Luciano !ade up his !ind. /That0s it,/ he said to%arina. /-e0re going to li#e in town, near lots o other houses, in a house where we can 'e sae./

&o!e ti!e later, the police told all the !e!'ers o thea!il that the had unco#ered !ore plots, this ti!e to"idnap 2iuliana, and Luciano0s son Alessandro.

&hortl aterwards, Luciano had another !eeting thatchanged his lie and the lie o the co!pan. Once again, aswith Teresa, then with %arina, the 'usiness 'rought twopeople together in a relationship that deepl aected 'oth o the!.

6ilan, northern Italy, 198%

Benetton had recentl 'ought a >5 percent interest inthe ashion co!pan ;iorucci, and or a long ti!e Elio

;iorucci had wanted to introduce Luciano to thephotographer Oli#iero Toscani.

/He0s done so!e a!a7ing pictures or us,/ he toldLuciano. /3ou ha#e to !eet hi!./

Luciano had ne#er heard o hi! 'eore. At the sa!eti!e, ;iorucci was telling Toscani a'out Benetton.


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/3ou reall should wor" or the!,/ he said. /The0rean e(traordinar co!pan./

/E(traordinar.../ Toscani li"ed the sound o this. Hehad heard o Benetton and told ;iorucci what he thought o the co!pan. He 'elie#ed that Benetton should 'e !orea!'itious in its pu'lic i!age.

/The should get the !essage to the world that a'o#eand 'eond the clothes, the represent a whole new wa o li#ing and thin"ing./

Toscani had co!e a long wa ro! the poor area o %ilan where he was 'orn. He had oices in New 3or" andParis, and a ar! in Tuscan where he raised horses. He shotpictures or top A!erican, British, and Italian !aga7ines. As

well as ;iorucci, he wor"ed or alentino, Clu' %ed, Batashoes, and Esprit, the Caliornian ashion retailer. He was#er ashiona'le, and underneath, #er, #er serious. /I oulo#e !e, ollow !e,/ read the words 'eneath his girlriend0s'ac"side in the picture he too" or


40/120

in hard wor", the a!il, and *ualit in e#erthing he did.The 'egan to tal" a'out wor"ing together.

Luciano returned to the hotel near Pon7ano where hewas staing with %arina. Another eighteen !onths passed'eore he called Toscani and as"ed hi! to produce a glo'alpicture strateg.


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CHAPTER ;IE

The Fifth Avenue Franchise

.e/ 0or 2ity, United States of America, 198%

Although the !ar"et was enor!ous, Benetton was stillonl a tin presence in the )nited &tates. No a!ount o

ad#ertising in the present stle would help the! gain the!ar"et share the wanted. This onl ca!e with the successa!ong A!erican college students o a oot'all sweater.

It was a si!ple sweater, in 'lue and white, with longslee#es and the Benetton na!e and logo on the ront.

&tudents shopping in New 3or" Cit irst 'ought it and too" it 'ac" to their colleges in the all. That winter and theollowing spring, all these oung custo!ers and utureopinion!a"ers wanted to 'e seen in Benetton.

The success o this single product introduced the

Benetton range and the Benetton na!e to the A!erican!ar"et. B 4=F, !ore stores had opened in %anhattan andthen in other cities across the countr. The all had theBenetton na!e. The stores were opening asterour a wee"than in an other countr, and their a#erage si7e o'etween>5 and F55 s*uare !eters was larger than the stores inEurope. This increase in sales and stores changed theBenetton !anage!ent in New 3or" into a national operationwith 'igger oices in the 2eneral %otors 'uilding. Here,


42/120

store owners and people who wanted to own stores ca!ero! all o#er the countr to tal" 'usiness and see the twiceearl collections.

Tra#eling enor!ous distances, Luciano #isited e#ernew site and store owner. He see!ed to hold the whole'usiness in his head. The oreign !edia reported hisacti#ities. The Benetton na!e was "nown ro! coast tocoast, and urther west. In


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ear o greater success in !otor racing and to seeing theBenetton na!e on tele#ision screens around the world.

!on"ano, the *eneto, 198

The Benettons !ade Pal!eri a director o Benetton2roup &pa, the !ain operating co!pan. Pal!eri was oungand a!'itious: he too" ris"s and accepted responsi'ilit or his actions. He was also co!!itted to using the latest

A!erican 'usiness !ethods. The Benettons ga#e hi! a loto control, 'ut at the top this was, and alwas would 'e, aa!il co!pan.

The na!e o this a!il co!pan, howe#er, was notand ne#er would 'e Benetton. At the top o the Benetton!ountain were In#ep and Ol!pias, two co!panies whichwere owned 455 percent ' the three 'rothers and their sister, who were the our directors. The na!es and nu!'er o these a!ilowned co!panies changed o#er ti!e, 'ut theprinciple o 455 percent a!il control re!ained the sa!e.

At e#er le#el, Pal!eri 'egan to introduce the sste!sthat would help the co!pan achie#e greater and greater growth. Pal!eri put in place new Benetton 2roup directorsand a !anage!ent tea! to support the!. He hired !anagerswith international e(perience and ad#isors ro! outside the

co!pan.

/-hen I $oined Benetton,/ he said later, /the weredoing ine, 'ut the a!il "new that growth was necessar.


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-e needed to !o#e urther into oreign !ar"ets. But thisalso !eant 'ringing in a tea! o top !anagers./

O#er the ne(t two or three ears, he e!ploed anu!'er o e(perienced proessionals, including Brunouccaro as head o inor!ation sste!s. uccaro0s $o' wasto de#elop the inor!ation technolog that connected thestores around the world to the actories in Ital. I one o the;ith A#enue Benetton stores wanted a /lash/ collection o >55 pale 'lue sweaters, the could ha#e the! in a short ti!e

and at no greater cost than the usual collections.

Pal!eri also saw the need to i!pro#e the international!ar"ets. Benetton, with its special ranchise sste!, couldincrease its nu!'er o stores at al!ost no cost to itsel. Thetelephones rang twentour hours a da in the oices o

nearl a hundred Benetton agents around the world, withcalls ro! people who wanted to run stores and 'eco!e rich.These people were all prepared to put 'etween )&G45,555and )&GF55,555 into a 'usiness.

The speed at which the 'usiness was growing was

a!a7ing. A new store was opening nearl e#er da. Thiswas in addition to the ,@55 stores alread selling the thirt!illion pieces o clothing that were co!ing out o eightactories in northern Ital, and now ;rance and &cotland.

The second season o ;or!ula 4 sponsorship was as

e(pensi#e as the irst and did not produce 'etter results. InA!erica, co!petitors li"e Esprit and


45/120

'ut at a lower cost, Benetton ad#ertising started toconcentrate on the international success o the 'rand9/Benettoncotton in all the colors o su!!er,/ read thead#ertise!ents in New 3or" !aga7ine. Below a picture o a

couple on a 'each, in large letters, were the na!es o ashiona'le cities around the world that A!ericans #isitedand that had stores selling Benetton.0

In New 3or" Cit, one o Luciano0s drea!s ca!e truewhen the store %ac0s opened a Benetton section in its

sportswear depart!ent. But, placed 'etween Cal#in leinand Adrienne itadini, the Benetton section was a ailureand did onl a third o the 'usiness o the nearest Benettonstore. Ater si( !onths, the %ac0s operation was closed.Luciano and the people he wor"ed with in New 3or" reali7ed that the needed to de#elop the networ" in its

e(isting or!.

Luciano put ;rancesco della Bar'a, an e(perienced'usiness!an who also ca!e ro! Tre#iso, in charge o thegrowth o the Benetton 'usiness and 'rand in the )nited&tates. He was the ees and ears o Luciano, and in !an

cases he ga#e ranchises to A!ericans whose a!iliesoriginall ca!e ro! Ital. This led to the idea that there wasan /Italian %aia/ in Benetton. Although a large nu!'er o Benetton agents across the )nited &tates and around theworld were either Italian or ro! Italian a!ilies, an e*ualllarge nu!'er o A!erican store owners were nonItalian.

Luciano "new that i Benetton wanted to !atch itsco!petitors in the )&, its ad#ertising had to !a"e a strong


46/120

i!pression. The *uestion was how to achie#e thisi!pression without spending too !uch !one.

One night, ater dinner with %arina, Luciano ound theanswer. He rang Toscani.

/Oli#iero, when ou ha#e a !o!ent, we need a glo'ali!age,/ he said.


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CHAPTER &IJ

United olors of Benetton


Toscani arri#ed in Luciano0s oice three das later.

/Can ou do it+/ Luciano as"ed hi!.

Toscani replied that he could. He had co!e with asingle, si!ple idea, as Luciano hoped he would. He calledthis idea /All the Colors in the -orld./

The i!age was as si!ple as it was new. 3oung childrenand teenagers ro! dierent countries and racial groupswere laughing and s!iling together, united in all the colorso Benetton.

Toscani was creating the glo'al i!age that Luciano

wanted or his co!pan. The result was 'right and 'eautiul.Toscani disli"ed using proessional !odels as !uch as hedisli"ed 'ig ad#ertising co!panies. The pictures used /realchildren./

Benetton increased the !one it spent on ad#ertising to

)& G4 !illion, and started the /All the Colors/ ca!paign inthe spring o 4=. The pictures are still as resh toda.Luciano saw the! or the irst ti!e in %ilan.


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/I elt a lu!p in ! throat,/ he re!e!'ered later, /and! heart started to 'eat aster. It was 'oth strange andwonderul suddenl to ha#e an i!age that itted us li"e aglo#e./

/All the Colors/ won a !aga7ine pri7e in theNetherlands There were hundreds o letters to the co!panro! people who li"ed the !essage, and so!e ro! peoplewho did not. In &outh Arica, the ad#ertise!ents were'anned, e(cept in a ew !aga7ines or 'lac" people.

/&ha!e on ou1/ wrote one person ro! %anchester,in the north o England. /3ou ha#e !i(ed races that 2odwants to "eep apart./

The success o /All the Colors in the -orld/

encouraged Toscani. Again, he shot pictures with a group o /real children aged ro! our to ourteen and ro! countriesas dierent as


49/120

%itterand o ;rance. -atched ' hundreds o !illions o people on tele#ision around the world, halwa along theroute 2or'ache# loo"ed up and said so!ething to one o hisassistants. This was a !agic !o!ent and a rare piece o

luc".

It was the idea o Bruno &uter o the Eldoradoad#ertising agenc to line the Cha!ps Elsees with'ill'oards showing the two s!all 'lac" children, oneholding the A!erican lag and the other the lag o the

&o#iet )nion, preparing to "iss each other. A'o#e the twochildren were the words, /)nited Colors o Benetton./

&uter was sure that 2or'ache# noticed the i!ages.Others closer to the President later agreed that he as"ed hisassistant, /-ho is this Benetton, anwa+/

;i#e ears later, 2or'ache# was gone and Luciano wasin %oscow, where he planned to open the irst )nited Colorso Benetton store in the Russian capital.

.e/ 0or 2ity, United States of America, 198&

The success o /)nited Colors/ in Europe i!!ediatelencouraged Luciano to test the ca!paign in the &tates. Thepictures, at a cost o )&GF !illion, had an i!!ediate eect

across the countr. Pictures o the A!erican lag were'anned in ad#ertising, 'ut the secret o success or Benettonon the 'ill'oards o A!erica was in cleancolored clothesand i!ages o 'right, s!iling children.


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Toscani could do no wrong. He e(plored i!portantsocial topics in new was, using /real/ !odels, and theresults !ade hi! rich and a!ous.

Aldo Pal!eri was pleased with the wa /)nitedColors/ was helping Benetton0s A!erican strateg. In 4=>,the nu!'er o stores in A!erica rose ro! 55 to >55, andthe sales or the ear were e(pected to 'e a'out )&G4>5!illion Pal!eri wanted to ta"e the co!pan 'eond theashion !ar"et into inancial ser#ices. He was loo"ing or a

)& partner to oer inancial pac"ages to the networ"s o stores there.

The !ain pro'le!, howe#er, as Pal!eri saw it, was thea!il control o the Benetton 2roup. This li!ited thea!ount o !one it could raise and the inancial reedo! o

its directors. The solution was to end this 455 percent a!ilcontrol o the !ain 'usiness ' selling > percent o Benetton 2roup on the %ilan stoc" e(change. The could dothis without wea"ening the a!il control 'ecause Benetton2roup itsel was part o In#ep. In#ep, which was soonrena!ed Edi7ione, was owned 455 percent ' the a!il.

At this ti!e, Luciano was ling 'ac"ward and orwardacross the )nited &tates and Europe. In Budapest, heattended the opening o the irst Benetton store in EasternEurope. Later in the sa!e ear, a store opened in Prague,C7echoslo#a"ia.


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'io de $aneiro, Bra"il, 198&

The success on the !ain streets o the )nited &tatesand Eastern Europe was not et !atched ' success or theBenetton racing tea!. The third season o ;or!ula 4 was!ore e(pensi#e and less successul than the irst.

/This is no good,/ Luciano said. /I we0re going to stain ;or!ula 4, I want to ha#e !ore control./

The British'ased Tole!anHart tea! was or sale.

Benetton International N, part o the Benetton 2roup 'asedin A!sterda!, paid )&G !illion to 'eco!e the new owner.

The changed the na!e o the tea! to Benetton;or!ula, and the Austrian dri#er 2erhard Berger $oinedthe!. Benetton was the onl sponsor to own a tea!, and thetea! showed its roots in the loud roc" !usic that plaed inthe pits, the 'right clothes worn ' the pit crew, and thecolored paintwor" o the cars.

;inall, in %e(ico Cit, 2erhard Berger won a race or Benetton. This let hi! se#enth in the world co!petition atthe end o the season.

Luciano was so happ that he threw his ar!s aroundBerger and then went 'ac" to his own car, lea#ing the othersto cele'rate.

/I was so e(cited,/ he said later, /'ut at that !o!ent, Iwanted !ore than anthing to 'e on ! own./


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This was a state that Luciano was e(periencing !oreand !ore. %arina rarel attended the races these das.

6ilan, northern Italy, 198(

Pal!eri oered 5 percent o Benetton 2roup, whichhad 'een 455 percent owned ' Edi7ione, or sale to thepu'lic. This irst e#er Benetton stoc" oer raised !ore than)&G@5 !illion in less than iteen !inutes on the %ilan

and enice stoc" e(changes. The success o the sale showedthat the !ar"ets were conident that Benetton would peror!well.

The co!pan continued to grow, and Luciano wasrapidl 'eing recogni7ed as one o Ital0s top 'usiness!en.He "new the alwas needed to go orward, 'ut he wasuncertain a'out selling shares in the co!pan. At the end o the da, he went 'ac" to the design center at the actor.

2iuliana was still there, wor"ing late, long ater !osto the others had gone.

/-ell, we did it,/ she said, reerring to the e#ents o theda. /-e did it,/ she said. /&o, let0s get on with it./

!on"ano, the *eneto, 198(


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B this ti!e, Benetton e!ploed !ore co!puter operators than people !a"ing clothes. uccaro0s co!puter sste!s pro#ided !ore sales inor!ation than in pro'a'lan other co!pan in the world. The sste!s lin"ed the

whole 'usiness. E#er da, hundreds o stores across Europesent inor!ation ' co!puter to Pon7ano with data a'outsales, stles, and colors. /;irst we sell the clothes, then we!a"e the!,/ was a Benetton $o"e.

This !eant that !uch o the selling power o Toscani0s

i!ages was calculated 'eore he too" the pictures. Hisi!ages did not need to sell the clothes. The !ar"et wasalread there.

Toscani0s spring and su!!er ca!paign or 4=? 'uilton the /)nited Colors/ idea o racial riendship. The pictures

included a white teenager dressed as a Hasidic


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;irst, the co!pan co#ered up the 'an"notes, then thereplaced the oending i!age with one showing a Palestinianand a


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%ar"et had disappeared co!pletel and there were onl aew e(a!ples let o %erceria, ;anto!a(, and To!ato.

%ost o the stores that continued to open al!ost dailwere now Benetton, &isle Kunder the control o %auroBenetton, /Benetton )o!o/ KBenetton %an, and 54.

%auro Benetton was Luciano and Teresa0s son. Hestarted his career olding sweaters during his school#acations, then went to wor" in the Benetton store in Paris.He was a!'itious and 'elie#ed in hard wor". -hen he wasgi#en the $o' o turning around the &isle 'rand and shops,he created a stronger, se(ier i!age. He re'uilt the 'usinessin the )nited &tates and Europe, and in the process, earned alot o respect. Later he told a $ournalist that he wanted toachie#e so!ething or hi!sel, not $ust 'eco!e part o

so!ething that was alread there.

*enice, northern Italy, 1981

Nico Luciani had tra#eled a long wa ro! the town o his childhood and his outhul riendship with Luciano.Ater 'eco!ing an architect, he wor"ed on town planningand political !atters. Although he had not spo"en to Lucianoor nearl twent i#e ears, he wrote to hi! a'out se#eralcultural pro$ects, as"ing i Luciano could help. One da the

telephone rang at his ho!e.

/Hello, this is Benetton 2roup in Pon7ano. I ha#e %r.Luciano Benetton on the line or ou./


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Luciani was a!a7ed when Luciano said, /Nico, howare ou+ I want to tal" to ou./

Luciani agreed to !eet hi! that wee"end in Pon7ano.

He dro#e out there on &unda !orning. The tal"eda'out their old riendship and, o#er lunch, Luciano told Nicoa'out his plans or a Benetton ;oundation.

/I understand i ou critici7e so!e o the things I ha#edone,/ he said, /'ut do ou thin" i I ga#e so!e !one or a

research center, ou could help+/

Instead o oering to help with his cultural pro$ects,Luciano was oering his old riend a $o'.

Nico said he would thin" a'out it. Ater twenti#e

ears o silence 'etween the!, Luciano was as"ing hi! tochange his lie. A ew das later, he agreed to 'eco!edirector o the Benetton ;oundation.

Benetton continued to grow. The irst Benetton storesopened in Cairo. The irst Benetton superstore, housing

Benetton, &isle, 54, and Benetton )o!o under one roo,opened at ho!e. The new /erotondo/ range wasintroduced, with clothes or 'a'ies and #er oung childrenro! 'irth to two ears old.

The 4= ;or!ula 4 season progressed satisactoril.In Tre#iso, the a!il0s lo#e o sport, their sense o duttoward local people, and the good i!age it ga#e the! inpu'lic, encouraged the! to set up erde &port. This


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organi7ation !anaged the Benettonsponsored tea!s,training progra!s, and sport centers.

#ifth Avenue, .e/ 0or 2ity, 1988

There were now ?55 stores across the )nited &tates.Edi7ione 'ought the historic &cri'ner Building on ;ithA#enue. This was still the site o a a!ous 'oo"store andwas once ho!e to the pu'lishers o Ernest He!ingwa, E

&cott ;it7gerald, and Tho!as -ole. The co!pan spent)&G !illion on i!pro#e!ents to the 'uilding.

But there was trou'le in the A!erican networ". &o!estore owners 'elie#ed the /no written contract/ agree!entthe had with Benetton did not gi#e the! enough legalprotection. Alread hit ' a all in the #alue o the dollar,the 'egan to co!plain that Benetton was allowing newstores to open onl a ew 'loc"s awa ro! e(isting ones.

/The0re selling the na!e too oten, too easil,/co!plained one New 3or" store !anager, /and not ris"ing acent o their own./

Benetton replied ' opening the irst A!ericansuperstores in %anhattan and &an ;rancisco. These oered agreater selling area in a single place. E(isting store owners

co!plained that the co!pan was tring to orce the! out o 'usiness.


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Co!petitors such as 2ap changed their collectionse#er our to si( wee"s. Benetton, with two collections aear and /lash/ reorders 'etween those ti!es, had orgottenthe rapidl changing tastes o the A!erican teenager. The

lo#e aair was o#er.

In the all o 4=, Luciano !et and listened to storeowners and agents across the )nited &tates. At the sa!eti!e, in other parts o the countr, there was news he did notwant to hear.

Protesters wor"ing or ani!al rights had collectedinor!ation that ani!als were 'eing tested cruell to pro#ethat a new range o 'eaut products, Colors de Benetton,were sae to use.

The tests were descri'ed on the pages o the !edia ingreat detail. Bod crea! had 'een put into the ees o ra''its. Rats had 'een ed 'ath and shower products. All theani!als had died.

At irst, Benetton said that the had not "nown what

was happening and were shoc"ed. Two !onths ater the irststories appeared, the stated pu'licl9 /-e ha#e stopped alltesting on ani!als. Our co!pan is !a"ing a seriousco!!it!ent to ind other !ethods o testing. -e will notintroduce products that need ani!al testing./

Then ca!e !ore alls in the dollar, higher costs, and!ore alls in sales. Retailers across the )nited &tates elt thedeepening recession and tal"ed to their lawers. &o!e store


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owners critici7ed the ad#ertising or Benetton, 'ut thecould not pro#e that Toscani0s /glo'e/ ca!paign hadda!aged sales.

Although growth slowed, the )nited &tates stillpro#ided 4.> percent o Benetton0s 'usiness around theworld. I stores closed, it could hurt sales 'ut it did notseriousl hurt Benetton 'ecause the stores were owned andoperated ' independent store owners.

It was 'eco!ing clear that the uture la in ewer s!allstores and greater nu!'ers o single, large superstores on theright sites. The Benetton clothes the!sel#es would ha#e to!eet se#eral dierent areas o taste. These includedtraditional colors or custo!ers in New England, !oreashiona'le shades in New 3or", and light colors or the

sunniest states in the countr.


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CHAPTER &EEN

Black and White

.e/ 0or 2ity, the United States of America, 1989

Aldo Pal!eri had a si!ple solution or raising cash or Benetton 2roup in the New 3or" inancial !ar"ets. He

oered shares in Benetton directl to people in the )nited&tates, Canada,


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2il'erto Benetton was ta"ing Edi7ione/the strong'o(,/ as he called iturther awa ro! clothing and theBenetton 2roup. The a!il were in#ol#ed in new inancialser#ice acti#ities, and started to 'u ranches, propert, and

'usinesses in the )nited &tates. In %a 4==, Edi7ione also'ought a @5 percent share in Nordica o Ital, the world0sleading !a"er o s"i 'oots.

Nordica and the other sports co!panies were pri#atelowned ' Edi7ione and run ' 2il'erto co!pletel

separatel ro! Benetton 2roup. The independent nature o these co!panies !eant that Benetton 2roup ad#ertising didnot co#er their acti#ities.

-ithin Benetton 2roup itsel, a new co!!unicationssste! had placed total power or !anaging the i!age

!a"ing o the 'usiness and 'rand in the hands o ewer thanten people. )nited Colors Co!!unication 'eca!eresponsi'le or Toscani0s pictures and or showing the! toLuciano or his inal agree!ent. The Benetton "not logo alsodisappeared, and a s!all green s*uare was put in its placewith the words /)nited Colors o Benetton/ sta!ped on it.

The clothes the!sel#es were ta"en out o thead#ertise!ents. This helped the co!pan to de#elop asingle, glo'al 'rand rather than show a #ariet o productsor dierent countries and !ar"ets. The 4== ca!paigndeli#ered an openl political !essage a'out racial e*ualit.

One i!age showed two !en, one 'lac" and one white,chained together. A second i!age showed a oung 'lac" !an and a oung white !an in 'a"er0s clothes, 'a"ing a loa


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o 'read. The third i!age showed a 'lac" wo!an 'reasteeding a white 'a'.

This last i!age won pri7es in Europe, 'ut it was ta"endown ro! the ad#ertising 'ill'oards in the )nited &tates'ecause it re!inded people o the das o sla#er. The 'lac" wo!an0s 'reasts were too shoc"ing or 'ill'oards on theLondon su'wa, and the picture with the chained !en wasre!o#ed 'ecause 'lac" Britons thought it showed a whitepolice!an with a 'lac" prisoner.

Toscani ignored the co!plaints. As part o his hunt or glo'al i!ages, he #isited his local hospital. Here, in thedeli#er roo!, he ound a perect e(a!ple o the "ind o i!age that he was loo"ing or.

Changes were ta"ing place in the Benetton ;or!ularacing tea!. Luciano 'elie#ed that ;la#io Briatore, aBenetton clothing de#elop!ent !anager ro! the )nited&tates, could do a 'etter $o' o !anaging the tea!.

Briatore ad!itted that he "new nothing a'out car

racing, and he encouraged his i!age as a !ster !an wholi"ed the co!pan o 'eautiul wo!en. This did not !a"ehi! popular with the 2rand Pri( racing crowd, 'ut Lucianotrusted hi! to i!pro#e the tea!0s peror!ance. In the sa!ewa that he had ta"en an i!!ediate li"ing to Toscani, he eltthat Briatore was the right !an or the $o'.

Ater thirteen ears, Luciano and %arina were nolonger li#ing together. Luciano0s constant tra#eling around


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the world or the 'usiness had not helped their relationship.He !o#ed out o town to another house. %arina ne#er spo"epu'licl a'out their relationship.

Ater the success o the i!age o the 'lac" wo!an andthe white 'a', Toscani0s 4==5 spring and su!!er ca!paignagain ollowed the idea o racial e*ualit. He showed anu!'er o i!ages, including a 'lac" child sleeping on a'lan"et o little white 'ears, and two s!all 'os, one 'lac",one white, sitting together on 'a'ies0 toilets.

The last i!age led to a strong reaction in %ilan, whereBenetton hired the largest 'ill'oard in the world. The picturewas 'anned ' the cit authorities. At the sa!e ti!e,Toscani won a nu!'er o industr pri7es or his i!ages.

Ater less than three ears in the inancial ser#ices'usiness, 2il'erto decided that Edi7ione should pull out. Bthe end o the ear, he had sold nearl )&GF55 !illion o their shares in inancial ser#ices 'usinesses. It was a goodti!e to sell. As the recession aected personal spending oninancial ser#ices, the #alue o these shares ell sharpl.

/I we had waited si( !onths longer,/ 2il'erto saidlater, /we would ha#e had 'ig pro'le!s./

In 4==5, Pal!eri decided to lea#e Benetton ater se#enears with the co!pan. He $oined Citi'an", 'ut re!ained

riendl with the Benettons.


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Benetton cele'rated its twentith 'irthda at the endo the su!!er with a part in New 3or"0s Central Par", andthree das later in Pon7ano.

As Edi7ione !o#ed out o inancial ser#ices, theco!pan was a'le to shop or new pro$ects. The 'ought ashare in Roller'lade Inc. o %inneapolis, and Prince, theA!erican tennis e*uip!ent !anuacturer. Li"e Nordica andRoller'lade, Prince was !anaged and !ar"eted separatelro! the Benetton 2roup and Toscani.


The ollowing ear, Edi7ione 'ought astle, theAustrian s"i !a"er and one o the great na!es in the sport.The a!il /strong 'o(/ was also 'uing sheep and cattleranches in Argentina and Patagonia.

Edi7ione still owned 4 percent o Benetton 2roup,and its role still conused industr o'ser#ers who watchedthe share price. Proits ro! onl 4= percent o the shareswent into outside shareholders0 poc"ets, and the rest went'ac" to Edi7ione.

Toscani0s latest i!ages were reaching audiences in!ore than a hundred countries. He turned again to social

topics. A picture o 'rightlcolored condo!s swi!!ingacross a white 'ac"ground was intended to !a"e people!ore a!iliar with condo!s ' showing the! in a plaulwa. In New 3or" Cit, the co!pan ga#e !one to a


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progra! that pro#ided condo!s and inor!ation a'outAI8& to pu'lic schools. Benetton e!ploees handed outHI guides in the poor areas o Rio de


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6on"a, Italy, 1991

The 2rand Pri( racing season had 'een satisactor or

Benetton ;or!ula and their two Bra7ilian dri#ers. NelsonPi*uet ca!e third in the A!erican 2rand Pri( and Ro'erto%oreno was placed ourth in Belgiu!. There, a oung2er!an, %ichael &chu!acher, irst appeared or the


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Toscani0s all and winter ca!paign was a'out /lo#e,the reason or all lie./ The irst i!age showed two oung!odels, dressed as a priest and a nun, "issing. The i!agewas i!!ediatel 'anned ' the Italian ad#ertising

authorities and the Pope hi!sel was reported to 'e angr,'ut it was #er successul in !an countries. A 2er!an nunwrote to Benetton, /I eel the photo e(presses greattenderness and peace./

The second i!age was o a little white girl and a 'lac"

girl. The 'lac" girl0s hair stle was unaccepta'le in the)nited &tates and 2reat Britain, where it was thought to 'eoensi#e to 'lac" people. The British Ad#ertising &tandardsAuthorit had warned Benetton that the i!age would causetrou'le, 'ut that was e(actl what Luciano and Toscaniwanted to hear. Luciano clai!ed that he was surprised ' the

negati#e reaction. He said that the children were /two sideso the sa!e coin, 'ut which is good and which is 'ad+/ Thepicture should re!ind people not to $udge others ' their appearance.

Letters or and against these i!ages poured into

Benetton oices at Pon7ano. One person who reactednegati#el was Luciano0s !other, Rosa. Rosa had not seenthe pictures, 'ut she did not li"e what she heard.

/I don0t li"e these things,/ she told an inter#iewer. /%children tell !e that oung people understand these photos

and the cause people to tal" a'out the 'rand... 'ut I eel#er 'adl a'out it. % children ha#e to stop, or I will get#er angr./


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All this, o course, !ade !ore people tal" a'outBenetton.

The third o Toscani0s i!ages started argu!ents thatare still heard toda. Two ears earlier, at his local hospital,he had ta"en a series o photographs o i#e new'orn 'a'ies.Toscani chose one o these i!ages, a 'a' girl called 2ius,co#ered in 'lood, ta"ing her irst 'reaths.

The i!age o 'a' 2ius on thousands o 'ill'oardsacross hundreds o countries oended too !an people,!a'e 'ecause o its si7e. In the )nited &tates, the picturewas 'anned. E#en in


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on British tele#ision news, /-e are #er surprised and sorrthat we ha#e created a pro'le!./

Toscani said pu'licl that he was sad that there wastrou'le a'out the ad#ertise!ent in the ) 'ecause thecountr was usuall #er understanding. %a'e, hecontinued, i the ad#ertise!ent had used a dog or a cat,British people would not ha#e 'een oended. He 'elie#edthat Benetton was #er /generous/ to use /real/ i!ages li"ea 'a'0s 'irth. The cord that $oined the 'a' and her !other

added to Benetton0s /united/ !essage.

Pri#atel, he was #er angr. He did not 'elie#e that hehad to thin" li"e other people: he did not ha#e to ollow therules o nor!al societ.

/&hall I 'e "illed or go to prison+ I a! a photographer,and I ha#e a right to photograph and show whate#er I want./

At the sa!e ti!e, he told Luciano that their ad#ertise!ents should 'eco!e e#en !ore a!'itious.


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CHAPTER EI2HT

!mages of "ealit#


;or the new spring and su!!er ca!paign, Toscanichose se#en i!ages o /realit./ These included a gang

!urder in Paler!o, a lood in Bangladesh, a 'oat ull o people escaping ro! Al'ania, a 'urning car in &icil, and aLi'erian soldier with a gun, holding a 'one ro! a hu!anleg 'ehind his 'ac". The single green and white logo on eachpicture carried the words /)nited Colors o Benetton./

The reaction to these i!ages was i!!ediate. %ost o the! were 'anned to #arious degrees in #arious countries.But the se#enth i!age had a clear eect on the stores or theirst ti!e. This showed an A!erican AI8& suerer, 8a#idir', with his a!il in the !o!ents ater his death. Thea!il had agreed that Benetton could use the i!age. Now,howe#er, Toscani0s ca!paign was going out o control. Itwas threatening to da!age the i!age and e#en the sales o the co!pan.

&aturda was the 'usiest da o the wee" in London. A

group o protesters ro! an international AI8& pressuregroup chose this ti!e to protest against Benetton on thesidewal" outside the O(ord &treet store. Their plan was to


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get the attention o passing crowds, the store itsel, and itscusto!ers.

Together, shouting loudl, the rushed into the storeand 'egan to pull the sweaters ro! the shel#es and throwthe! high into the air. Then, the protesters let as *uic"l asthe had co!e. All the clothes had to 'e pic"ed up, olded,and put 'ac" in the right place.

There was anger a'out the use o the picture a!ongpoliticians and groups concerned a'out AI8&. Benettonstore owners and sta were upset. The co!pan was orcedto deend itsel.

/It is realit,/ Luciano told the !edia. /Our co!panhas to !a"e people thin". 3ou can 'e !ore useul than

selling a product. To i!pro#e the i!age o the co!pan, wethought we could do so!ething !ore. -e wanted to showour care or others, as well as our own product./

One inter#iewer as"ed hi!, /-ould ou stop theca!paign i it didn0t sell sweaters+/

/I would thin" a'out it,/ Luciano said cal!l.

Toscani was angr 'ut tried not to upset the*uestioners. He as"ed wh realit shoc"ed people. Heargued that traditional ad#ertising pictures were lies 'ut

Benetton was showing the truth. Benetton, he continued,was a 'usiness and had to !a"e !one: it did not e(ist $ustto gi#e !one awa.


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/No,/ he and Luciano 'oth replied to another *uestion./-e ha#e no plans to gi#e !one ro! our proits to AI8&groups./

8espite this re!ar", Benetton was alread wor"ingwith AI8& groups. In the )nited &tates, the co!panproduced a guide to sae se(. In &outh Arica, it paid or condo! ad#ertise!ents in ront o i#e hospitals. In2er!an, Benetton raised large a!ounts o !one in thecountr0s hundred largest nightclu's to help ight the spread

o the disease.

In A!erica, where the photograph had 'een ta"en,ogue !aga7ine decided to print the picture. 8a#id ir'0sa!il supported the use o the i!age, saing that it was awa o showing the dangers o AI8& and continuing the

struggle against the disease.

/-e don0t eel used,/ said ir'0s ather. /-e are usingBenetton. 8a#id is spea"ing louder now that he is dead thanwhen he was ali#e./

Toscani0s i!ages or the all and winter ca!paigncontinued the realit idea 'ut were less shoc"ing. Peoplecould not 'ear too !uch realit. %a'e the eects o thisca!paign were growing less powerul.


Pal!eri had returned to his $o' at Benetton 2roup.


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/Our relationship was so good that, ater he0d 'eengone or so!e ti!e, we decided to persuade hi! to co!e'ac",/ 2il'erto said.

His return to the 'usiness helped Luciano to doso!ething he had drea!ed o: he went into politics. He waselected to represent Tre#iso.

At the sa!e ti!e, his relationship with %arina startedagain. Although the were onl together or a short period,she later ga#e 'irth to their child, a son who! she na!edBrando. &he had wanted a child or a long ti!e, 'ut thise#ent inall ended her association with Luciano. This ti!e,he ended his relationship with her ore#er.

Pal!eri loo"ed at the costs o ad#ertising and

sponsorship and ound that the ca!e to nearl percent o the total inco!e o the 'usiness, around )&G?5 !illion.

nstone, 5fordshire, n-land, 199%

The ;or!ula 4 racing season ended well. %ichael&chu!acher won in Belgiu!. He ca!e third in the dri#ers0world co!petition, and %artin Brundle ca!e si(th. Late inthe su!!er o 4==, 55 people !o#ed into the tea!0s newactor in O(ordshire.

Luciano0s son, Alessandro, represented the a!il onthe tea!, 'ut it was run ' ;la#io Briatore and To!-al"inshaw.


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Increasingl, success in racing was a result o putting!illions o dollars into technolog. Both Briatore and-al"inshaw were interested in how !uch dierencetechnolog could !a"e to the speed o the cars.


;or the spring and su!!er ad#ertising ca!paign,Toscani photographed Luciano in a wa that shoc"ed other

politicians. He showed Luciano without clothes. Thepictures had words across the! saing, /I -ant % ClothesBac"/ and /E!pt 3our Closets./

This latest Benetton ca!paign in#ited the world to gi#eits old clothes to @,5@ Benetton stores in one hundredcountries. Benetton would then transport the clothes ro!the stores and sort the! so the could 'e gi#en out aroundthe world ' Caritas, the Red Crescent, and the InternationalRed Cross.

;our hundred and se#ent thousand "ilos o clotheswere collected in eightthree countries and sent to Arica,Asia, and the or!er 3ugosla#ia. The pro$ect wasparticularl successul in


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e!ptied their closets, the irst thing !an people did was togo out and ill the! again.

Luciano attended the Italian go#ern!ent oices once awee". Pal!eri guided Benetton 2roup steadil through thisperiod o Luciano0s political career. &ales and proits were'oth rising, and the actor was growing again to satis theincrease in de!and. The latest 'uilding, designed ' the&carpas, handled iteen !illion pieces o clothing in thatear.

Also growing ast and still separate ro! Benetton2roup were the sports and e*uip!ent co!panies 'elongingto Edi7ione.

Toscani0s all and winter )nited Colors o Benetton

ca!paign consisted o three photographs showing parts o a'od. Each i!age was sta!ped with the words /HIpositi#e./ The ai! was to show the three !ain routes or inection.

The reactions this ti!e included anger ro! AI8&

groups in the )nited &tates and other countries. The eltthat the i!ages wrongl suggested that HI positi#e peopleshould so!ehow 'e /la'eled./ In ;rance, a go#ern!entsponsored AI8& group too" legal action against Benetton or using AI8& or co!!ercial proit. In ;e'ruar 4==>, a Pariscourt decided against Benetton and told the! to pa

)&GF,555. ;i#e !onths later, a 2er!an court !ade asi!ilar decision. A ;rench AI8& suerer placed anad#ertise!ent in a !aga7ine showing his ace and the


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words, /8uring the pain, sales continue. ;or the attention o Luciano Benetton./

Luciano was surprised ' these reactions. He andToscani had created the i!ages, 'ut had ailed toco!!unicate the !essage. Benetton store owners incountries with a strong religious tradition li"e ;rance and2er!an were 'eco!ing !ore and !ore ner#ous. 8espiteBenetton0s e(traordinar sales, these were diicult ti!es or !an store owners, and !uch o the -estern world was in

recession. But the store owners had no control o#er thead#ertising o the 'rand. I AI8& protesters could ta"e directaction, so could the.

ni-htsbrid-e, +ondon, 199

Benetton0s ;or!ula 4 tea! was i!pro#ing. %ichael&chu!acher had co!e second in ;rance, Canada, 2reatBritain, 2er!an, and Belgiu!, and had won in Portugal.The tea! !anagers were spending a lot o !one on

electronic and co!puter e*uip!ent to i!pro#e theperor!ance o the cars.

At the end o the season, the ;or!ula 4 authoritiesannounced that so!e o these !ethods would 'e 'anned or the ollowing ear. Briatore and the other tea! !anagers

needed to ind other was o !a"ing their cars go aster.


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6ostar, Bosnia:;er"e-ovina, 199

%arin"o 2agro was a thirtearold Bosnian Croat,"illed in 'attle. He was shot through the head and died inhospital, where his 'lood clothes were 'urned. His ather,#er upset and eeling powerless, heard ro! a Red Crosswor"er that so!eone was starting a ca!paign against war.

%r. 2agro ga#e the Red Cross wor"er all that he hadlet o his son9 so!e photographs. He also ga#e the wor"er aletter9

/I, 2o$"o 2agro, ather o %arin"o 2agro... would li"e! son0s na!e and all that re!ains o hi! to 'e used in thena!e o peace against war./

The Red Cross wor"er than"ed hi! and pro!ised topass on the photographs and the letter.

The photographs o %arin"o 2agro and the letter 'his ather ca!e into the possession o Che! Co., the Trieste'ased co!pan that acted as Benetton0s agent or &ara$e#o.At the sa!e ti!e, a 'lood Tshirt and pants ca!e into their possession through the Red Cross. These three thingsthephotographs, the letter, and the clothesall ound their wa toPon7ano and to Toscani.

His spring and su!!er ca!paign or 4== showed the

'lood clothes o a dead Bosnian soldier, with the letter ro! 2o$"o 2agro across the top o the picture. At the'otto! let o the picture was the )nited Colors o Benetton


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logo. This shoc"ing i!age appeared on 'ill'oards and innewspapers across 445 countries.

Leading newspapers li"e the Los Angeles Ti!es andLe %onde reused to carr it. The atican said that Benettonwas practicing /i!age terroris!./ In ;rance, the ad#ertisingwee"l &trategies said that it would not write a'out Benettonas long as this tpe o ad#ertising continued9 /Besides thedisgust it causes, this ad raises the *uestion o theresponsi'ilit o ad#ertisers. Can one do anthing, use

anthing, to attract attention+/

E#er'od thought that the dead !an0s clothes'elonged to %arin"o 2agro. Benetton called the new i!age/the "nown soldier./ But 2o$"o 2agro saw the i!age in anewspaper and contacted a 2er!an newspaper. He agreed

that he had supplied photographs o his dead son, whichwere not used, and a letter, which was. He did not, he said,suppl the 'lood clothing which appeared in the i!age. Herepeated that his son0s clothing had 'een 'urned at thehospital. He added that his son was shot in the head, not inthe chest, as Benetton0s picture suggested.

Pu'lic opinion a'out this ca!paign was e#en stronger than or the AI8& i!age o 8a#id ir'. In ;rance, se#eralBenetton stores were again attac"ed, and trou'le wasstarting in 2er!an. )nhapp Benetton store ownersdecided that the had at last ound a reason to start a legal

attac" on the co!pan.


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Luciano decided to send his elder son %auro, who was!ar"eting !anager o Benetton 2roup, to the )nited &tatesto continue i!pro#ing the 'usiness there. Luciano hi!sel had decided to lea#e politics. He said that the two roles o

politician and 'usiness!an were so i!portant that he couldnot do 'oth. Luciano had reasons or concentrating hisenergies on the 'usiness: he also had the ti!e. He had'ro"en with politics, and he had 'ro"en with %arina. &he'egan a relationship with another !an, %arco Benatti, withwho! she had two !ore children, 'oth sons. &he 'uilt up

her childrenswear 'usiness and was thin"ing a'out enteringpolitics.

Luciano needed to inish re'uilding Benetton in the)nited &tates and to help the growth o the 'usiness and'rand in Australia and &outh Arica. The sale o !ore

Benetton shares was planned to increase the nu!'er o international shareholders in the 'usiness.

At ho!e, Toscani was arguing !ore #iolentl andpu'licl with Pal!eri, who! he accused o 'eing /oldashioned./ Although their dierences were o#er principles

rather than !anage!ent and !one, at the heart o their argu!ent was the direction o the )&G?5 !illion thatBenetton was spending on ad#ertising.

/&ince ou returned to the co!pan,/ Toscani wrote toPal!eri, /I a! no longer a'le to wor" as 'eore...

E#erthing has slowed down... Ha#e I e#er dared to gi#eou ad#ice on inance or running the co!pan+/


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He said he was lea#ing.

Toscani !ade sure that his pri#ate letter ound its wato the newspapers. This was an i!portant 'attle or Toscani.People thought that he would lose, 'ut as the news 'eca!epu'lic, it was said that the share price o Benetton 2roup ell' nearl percent on the %ilan stoc" e(change. There is noproo that this all too" place, 'ut Toscani staed. -ithin aear, howe#er, Pal!eri had let the co!pan again.


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CHAPTER NINE

The Burning Brand

Silverstone, n-land, 199

Benetton ;or!ula en$oed a good start to the racingseason. &chu!acher was the astest dri#er. As well as the

astest starts, Benetton also had the astest pit stops. No onecould !atch Briatore0s !en or speed.

B the ti!e o the British 2rand Pri( at &il#erstone,&chu!acher and Benetton had si( wins and one secondplace ro! se#en races. 8uring the British race, &chu!acher

was shown the 'lac" lag and ordered to return to the pits.He initiall staed in the race and later clai!ed not to ha#eseen the lag. It appeared at ti!es that the car was dri#ing&chu!acher, rather than &chu!acher dri#ing the car. He was'anned or two races and Benetton paid da!ages or noti!!ediatel handing o#er co!puter e*uip!ent to theinternational !otor sports authorit.

&chu!acher0s ne(t race was in 2er!an. E#ents therestaed in the !inds o !an who witnessed it. &chu!acher was running second when the other Benetton dri#er,


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erstappen and the Benetton crew had an a!a7ingescape. The dri#er and i#e !echanics suered onl s!all'urns. All the e*uip!ent was ta"en awa or inspection, andthe inspectors ound that a piece o the uel pipe was

!issing, which slightl increased the speed o reueling. Thetea! !anagers were ordered to appear in ront o theauthorities, although Briatore continued to protest that thehad done nothing wrong.

At the sa!e ti!e, in 2reat Britain, a co!pan had

inall disco#ered the secret o the Benetton co!puter sste!.

I the sste! was wor"ing, it would allow &chu!acher to !a"e a perect start. As soon as he hit the gas, theco!puter would decide the correct engine speeds. This

would 'e a serious sporting cri!e, as serious as Ol!picrunners using drugs.

The Benetton tea! !anagers said that the 'annedprogra! had not 'een used: it was still on their co!puter ater the 'an 'ecause it was diicult to re!o#e it. The

authorities were not persuaded and !ade their worriespu'lic, 'ut the too" no !ore action against the Benettontea!.

&chu!acher won irst place in the ne(t race inHungar. In Belgiu!, he again too" irst place, 'ut this ti!e

there was trou'le a'out so!e changes to the 'od o the car he was dri#ing. In Paris, the -orld Council o the

Benetton-Jonathan_Mantle.rtf

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