SPANISH REVOLUTIONThe UCB brand expansion in Spain shows no sign of slowing down. After Granada, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, it is now time for Madrid, the capital, where the Benetton flagship re-opened in the very central Gran Vía.

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ONE MILLION AND COUNTING Thanks to the Benetton Family Card and the Sisley Black Card, in February we reached one million registered loyalty program customers. And the future will increasingly be marked by digitization.

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TURNING THIRTY AND STILL GOING STRONG

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Fondazione Benetton celebrates its 30th anniversary. An important mark that will be celebrated with a year-long calendar of events.

LEADING THIS TRANSFORMATION PHASE, THE NEW MANAGER INVITES THE TEAM TO REMAIN UNITED WITH COURAGE AND TRUST.

LUCIO GOMIERO

THIS IS HOW WE CHANGE

VOICES

INDIA, A HAPPY WINNING STREAK

PEOPLE

The Asian Country team wins two important awards as an employer. Meanwhile, the HR team inaugurates an exclusive club.

NUMBER 12 • MARCH 2017

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N işantaşı is Istanbul's fashion district par excellence, where everyone goes (tourists

and locals alike) when they feel like some “designer” entertainment. Here, on the European side of the Turkish city, one finds City’s Nişantaşı Mall, where, on February 10, a new Benetton On Canvas store opened its doors. This confirms Benetton's increasingly close link with a metropolis, and

in general with a market that our company has always believed in.

A new destination for fashionOur 170-square meter store in the mall greets customers with its innovative On Canvas format. The official opening of the new location was held on February 21 in the presence of important figures from the world of fashion and entertainment. The guest of honor was the well known DJ and

celebrity Oben Budak, who not only worked as a model and a VJ for the music channel Kral TV but also collaborates with the daily Istanbul newspaper Sabah and

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with the Adam in Town portal, which is dedicated to male style.

Turkish SpringOver the past few weeks Benetton also presented its Spring 2017 collection in the Turkish city. The theater for the launch event, Soho House, is an elegant and trendy venue located in the Beyoğlu District that for one day was transformed into a sort of “Benetton House.” Important representatives of the fashion world – including several journalists and bloggers who were impressed by the collection and have shared it through their social media channels – attended the inauguration event.

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Everyone knows its cultural heritage, but the Turkish metropolis has also an unexpectedly trendy side. And Benetton's presence, with a just-opened On Canvas, proves this

GREEN ISTANBUL

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On Saturday February 18, visitors at Le Gru shopping centre in Grugliasco (a town near Turin) found a pleasant surprise: a new 012 store where to shop. The new location is the result of the renovation of the previous store.

Benetton Turkey team during the Spring 17 collection presentation

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SPRING IS IN THE AIR

PREMIUM WINDOWS

The warm season is approaching and the main United Colors of Benetton store windows are changing for the

occasion. The star of the new Premium Windows is obviously

the Spring 2017 collection, an explosion of freshness and color. From Milan to London, from Prague to Lisbon, from Paris to Berlin, worldwide our stores are already dressed for spring.

Non-Spaniards perhaps don’t recognize the significance of the Carrión building (or

Capitol Building, as it is often called). But if its name is unknown to most, its image is hard to forget, especially for those who have visited Madrid. With its particular shape – reminiscent, in many ways, of the famous Flatiron Building in Manhattan – the Carrión is becoming one of the most recognisable symbols of the Spanish capital. Indeed, it is increasingly immortalised on the big screen. For this reason, the fact that Benetton’s flagship is located inside the Carrion – the store, renovated according to the On Canvas format, re-opened its doors February 10 – is all the more significant.

Benetton speaks SpanishOf course, the flagship’s location on the Gran Vía contributes to its prestige: the Gran Vía is becoming

the most sought after location in the city for leading international brands, thanks to its constant flow of tourists. Here – in 1,000 square meters distributed over three floors – Benetton showcases its Men’s, Women’s, Children’s and Undercolors collections. To promote the re-opening of the store, two events dedicated to the media and consumers are planned for mid-March, but we'll have the chance to tell you more about this in the upcoming Knit issues.The expansion plan in Spain is one of the Group's most ambitious and capillary plans: last semester, UCB racked up several openings in strategic shopping centres in Granada, Cordoba, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Murcia, Valladolid and many other cities, and new stores will be coming soon to Barcelona, Salamanca and again in Madrid.

ON THE ROAD IN SPAINThe Madrid flagship, on the central Gran Vía, is just the latest step in a major expansion plan in the Iberian Peninsula

BERLIN MILAN CORTINA

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In February, the company reached a significant (not just symbolic) milestone, having reached over one million registered Loyalty customers (Italy,

Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Poland). This success was achieved thanks to Benetton Family Card and Sisley Black Card, both indispensable tools to create a direct relationship with customers.

A direct line with customers«It is an essential milestone in building a more lasting connection with the end consumer, in addition to being a tool capable of generating value for the company and its partners – states Luca Collesei, head of strategy, consumer insight & licensing of Benetton –. My personal thanks for having reached this milestone go to colleagues at headquarters and in local countries, as well as to colleagues who work directly in stores and in franchising, who have vigorously supported the Loyalty Project».

Many new features for 2017After having hit one million registered customers, the

OVER ONE MILLION LOYAL CUSTOMERSIn February, Benetton Family Card and Sisley Black Card reached an important milestone. In the near future, the focus will be increased digitization

Left and above: the UCB and Sisley store teams in Treviso.

program does not, however, intend to rest on its laurels. On the contrary, 2017 has already seen the introduction of important new features. January saw the debut of the Family Gold Card, whose goal is to create a loyalty program dedicated to the most devoted Benetton brand customers, offering them an even more personalized

service. Meanwhile, in March the curtains will be raised on the new Family Card website, completely redesigned with a mobile first rationale. It will be accessible as an application on all smartphones and allow consumers to be up-to-date on the program and to consult their data and points balance. A convenient – and digital way – to always have the Family Card on hand. Finally, we want to remind our readers that we are reaching for a new frontier: “customer journey integration”. The aim is to make our most loyal clients feel increasingly looked after. We'll talk more about this in a few months.

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The “made in Treviso” sweater is ready to hit stores in a spring version: an explosion of fresh and catchy colors

Advertising photo shoots – as those in the business know – tend to be long and demanding

operations. But looking around the Castrette studios during the shooting dedicated to the spring edition of the TV-31100 sweater, you would have been surprised by the liveliness of the scene and the good humor of the models posing with the new Benetton creation. It was as if the freshness of the comfortable, elegant and perfectly fitting sweaters had somehow been transferred to the wearers themselves.

A truly unique sweaterAfter the launch of the limited edition Fall/Winter TV-31100

TV-31100: SPRING EDITION

last October – which attracted considerable media attention as it is the first product made entirely in the Castrette factories in many years, the culmination of the Group's reshoring project – it is now time for an updated version, which will reach stores in early March. The color palette and texture have changed, but nothing else: TV-31100 is the same masterpiece of innovation that our customers have come to know, produced with the distinctive seamless technology which creates the final product from a single cotton thread, eliminating all seams (and, consequently, any skin chafing). On this occasion, the launch will be supported by an advertising campaign.

The start of the campaignFrom the middle of March and for two weeks customers in Benetton's main markets will get to know the faces of the young models participating in the advertising shoots. In addition to the planned press and billboard advertising schedule, the campaign will be on air internationally also on the web: a space devoted to TV-31100 on the UCB website, in a special editorial area, and on the company's social pages. All this without forgetting the shops of course: a number of panels that tell the product's story, intended for the stores, have already been prepared, as have some balloons – in the same colors as the new sweater – that will decorate store windows, "depicting" the freshness of TV-31100.

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The manager called to handle this initial phase of our company's reorganization assures us: «Sooner or later, transformations end, they have to end. The important thing is to renew how we think and work». And he encourages the Benetton team to join in a “three-way wall”...

For most Benetton employees, the first time they met Lucio Gomiero was the Christmas

party held December 21. On that occasion the chief business transformation officer made a small gesture that was immediately perceived as a statement of intent: he joined all the company departments represented by Christmas trees with a red thread. We asked him the meaning of that gesture and of his presence in Benetton.

To begin with, Lucio, since many company employees have not had the chance to meet you directly, tell us a little about yourself.«I was born and went to high school – Pio X high school – here in Treviso, where my mother worked as a tailor, so in a sense, after moving about a lot, this is a homecoming for

me. During my professional career I have worked for international management consulting firms – Roland Berger and Arthur D. Little, where I was also in charge of projects in the Fashion, Luxury and Retail sectors – and have dealt with business development and transformation in groups such as SME and Ferrero. Family businesses are a bit of a common thread of my career. At Ferrero, in particular, I worked in three successive steps to reorganize the global group, support the development of international business and, lastly – and in close contact with the company owners – follow acquisitions, particularly raw materials. And after nine years at Ferrero in Luxembourg, this new challenge in Benetton presented itself».

Since you've introduced the topic, tell us more about

what the chief business transformation officer does.I ask because many employees are asking themselves the same question, for it is a position that has never existed in Benetton up till now...«You're right, it is a position that never existed before. It was custom created and it is tightly linked to the phase that the company is going through. It does not refer to a specific department but rather concerns the strategy as a whole: my task is to coordinate the reorganization process, which calls for profound changes in all business departments. The key concepts characterizing my activity and that of my team are consistency and synchrony: all projects must be integrated, consistent with each other and implemented with that speed Marco Airoldi mentioned in the last issue of Knit».

THE CHANGE MAKER

LUCIO GOMIERO

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in the stores, and the stores have to adapt faster to the collections. You can say that all processes will be reconsidered in this light: assortment, garment turnover in the stores, logistics, information flows, pricing, etc. It is the so-called "concept to shelf" corporate process: knowing how to quickly and readily grasp the suggestions sent by stores and customers and act accordingly, for example, on design, sourcing, e-commerce. Then there is the great cost issue, being attentively analyzed by various managers. This analysis will allow us to evaluate current returns on our investments and expenses and understand if, and what, we can rationalize. Without, of course, forgetting to monitor developments in our most promising markets – such as India, Russia and recently-integrated Korea – and evaluate the opportunities for the Sisley brand. In short, the picture is very large. The important thing is knowing how to harmonize all these activities, like a jazz ensemble that is able to flexibly reconcile the soloists».

Talking about knowing how to harmonize: the gesture you made at the Christmas party was immediately perceived as very symbolic. Is there anything in particular you'd like to say to those who work in Benetton?«What I want to convey is a sense of genuine trust, not so much in me but in the brand, in its powerful heritage, in the strength of a still global presence. We need resilience and empowerment – I like to call it “possibilitation” (the ability to open oneself to positive change, ndr) – and for this the People Management

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When you say that your job is to guide this stage, do you mean that at the end of the transformation process, your position will disappear?«Transformations cannot last forever; at some point they must end. To put it humorously, the real goal is to become "useless", but obviously leaving a healthy company with a renewed ability to improve itself. The transformation is, in this sense, something different from innovation and improvement, which are continuous. Thus, the business transformation officer is, and must be, a "temporary" position, so to speak. Since the process is already under way, I think we can be finished with this phase by the end of 2018, as long as we speed up and work together».

Let's try to get down to the nitty gritty: what changes can we expect?«The driver of tomorrow's Benetton will have to be the combination of product and store: these two pillars must find a new unity and talk to each other; they are two sides of a coin. It doesn't matter if a collection looks beautiful on paper: the collections will be judged

department support will be crucial. A change process like this succeeds only if everyone – people and departments, designers and sales assistants, logistics associates and controllers – feels like they're working towards a common goal, helping each other while increasingly relying on a sense of personal and collective accountability. This is why I, rather we, wanted to "stage" this harmonization during the Christmas party using a thread. Another sports metaphor comes to mind...».

Which one?«The three-way wall in volleyball, an athletic gesture that always astonishes me. I have only ever been an amateur soccer player; many other colleagues could explain it better than I. Essentially the three-way wall is that tactic where three players make the same exact movement at the same time: it all happens in a split second, as if the three were thinking with the same brain, simultaneously guessing their opponent's intentions and raising their six hands, often creating an impassable barrier. And they score. This seems to be another good metaphor for the company: let's start making some three-way walls. Let us be brave and start smiling again; let us be happy that we belong to the team called to revive a brand like Benetton, of which Italians are proud, and let us still be able to express some of the values "of" and "for" the world today. We have inherited an important legacy that, at times, can also strike fear: let's transform it into a drive to always aim high, well past the 100 million beautiful colored garments produced mark».

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O nce again, Country India has every reason to celebrate the great work of its team, which

despite the competition from many competitors, won two important employer quality awards.Thanks to our HR team's efforts in business growth and employee-oriented initiatives we were voted one of the ten best retail companies to work in India in 2017. What's more: our many engagement and motivational activities were also recognized by Dun & Bradstreet as among the HR best practices for the year 2016-2017. The study conducted by the American firm considered more than 171 companies in India. Of the five finalists Benetton took home the employee engagement award. The publication presented by Dun & Bradstreet identified recent development trends, acknowledging that HR practices are the key to long-term business growth.

AWARDS AND MEDALS

In order to raise the profile of our stores the HR team is launching many initiatives. First

Benetton on the podium thanks to the many people-oriented initiatives organized in India

among them is the Store CEO Club, whose membership is reserved to a group of store

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Store CEO Club launch

Benetton Retail Great Place to Work in 2017

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“WE HIRED MORE!” WITH ALMALAUREATWO GOLD MEDALS FOR BENETTON

managers who have stood out for their performance in retail (following stringent assessments)

and intends to reward their commitment and help them further their careers.

The initiative was launched during the fashion show dedicated to sales held February 7.

Dun & Bradstreet award for employee

engagement.

Once again this year Benetton confirmed its position as a leading employer winning two significant awards from Almalaurea, the inter-university consortium that boasts 74 Italian universities and the Ministry of

Education, University and Research (MIUR) and acts as a bridge between universities and the job market.After the tour, which saw record participation with about 30,000 graduates and hundreds of companies, Almalaurea decided to reward the considerable efforts of companies that best transformed these numbers into new hires during a celebration event that took place on January 31. Among the various awards, we won the "We hired more!" award twice (both in the international category and in our reference industry), thanks to the number of new hires we made following the April and November events we attended last year. The two awards are proof of our substantial commitment, also given the attendance of companies much larger than our own: a recognition that demonstrates the will to constantly bolster our corporate recruitment with the best young talents on the market.

Milena Nardi and Francesca Chicaro - Recruiting & TA Team

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2017 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Group's cultural institution, which will be celebrated with a rich calendar of events

It was the early Eighties when the Benetton siblings, Luciano, Giuliana, Gilberto and Carlo, decided

to establish a foundation in their name. What they had in mind was an institution able to pass on the historical, cultural and scenic heritage of the Veneto region, observed from multiple points of view (above all, the way in which people have lived there over the centuries). In short, a project designed to endure through time and reason about the future while keeping the past alive. It was not until 1987 that the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche, finally established under the guidance of architects Domenico Luciani and Tobia Scarpa and historian Gaetano Cozzi, took on a shape similar to how it is today.

A vision of the worldOver time, the Fondazione has grown, has changed location (moving to via Cornarotta in Treviso), and has become a prominent institution that works with internationally renowned scholars and experts. Over the years it has focused its attention on three major areas of study: landscape, game

and cultural heritage, three worlds investigated through conferences, publications and various initiatives. Some of these events and publications have become fixed appointments in their respective worlds, as is the case for the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens, the International Study Days on landscape, the publication of the scientific journal Ludica. Annali di storia e civiltà del gioco and the series of the same name, as well as the concert program Musica antica in casa Cozzi and the film festival Paesaggi che cambiano, to name a few.

A birthday to celebrateThe already ample, regular calendar of events is further enriched to mark this year's thirty year milestone. «The year about to begin – explained foundation director Marco Tamaro – is an excellent opportunity to ask ourselves what has been done so far and to relaunch our challenge to keep a foundation like ours – one rooted in the region but open to the world – alive and current». The festivities start in October with a conference on the state of the art of landscape studies. In

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UNITED “FOR GIRLS”

On February 18, the Benetton green became... pink. On that date the Milan store on Corso Vittorio Emanuele hosted the "Because I am a girl" event, an initiative of the NGO Plan International Italy that promotes projects in favor of young girls and young women. It was a day of awareness characterized by

a recurring use of the color pink, representing the potential that every girl has inside, if free to express it. During the afternoon, which saw the participation of the association's president, Isabella Bossi Fedrigotti, and blogger Alessandra Airò, the ambassadors of "Because I am a girl" discussed with store customers the NGO's commitment to facilitate the education and professional training of girls around the world.

PLAN INTERNATIONAL ITALY

November there will be an exhibition dedicated to the game of Lotto (Italian lottery) and a discussion on the issue of gambling. In December the special events will end with a roundtable discussion between institutions working in the field of protection and promotion of cultural heritage.

The tribute by the QuirinaleAn exhibition curated by the Fondazione, entitled Does geography make a difference in wars? – which is devoted to the communicative and persuasive force of maps and is running until March 12 – has earned particular honor. In fact, the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella paid homage to the initiative in person by sending Luciano Benetton a presidential medal, a tangible sign of appreciation garnered from these special outreach initiatives.

FONDAZIONE BENETTON TURNS 30

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I n just seven months, on October 3 and 4, the CSR and Social Innovation Exhibition – which promises to become an

annual event for the business world – will be held at Bocconi University in Milan. In the meantime companies are not just waiting around: the countdown to the most important Italian event dedicated to this theme - this year entitled "The Art of Sustainability" - officially began on February 4 at the Portogruaro university campus.

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT IS AN ARTTHE TOUR LEADING UP TO THE 2017 EDITION OF THE CSR EXHIBITION HAS BEGUN. AND BENETTON WAS THERE

During the conference, which saw broad public participation, the newly named "10 cubed" formula was put to the test: ten companies were asked to describe their commitment to protecting the environment in at most ten slides and in no more than ten minutes. Benetton Group recounted its commitment to the elimination of any potentially toxic substances from its production chain following its signature of the Detox campaign launched by Greenpeace.

For a campaign celebrating love, equality and the emancipation of women, the choice of Valentine's Day for

the official launch was not a random coincidence.We are talking about #UnitedByHalf, the latest initiative to become part of Benetton's Women Empowerment Program. Developed and realized by Benetton India, the campaign aims to raise awareness among men about the obstacles that women still have to face today in order to assert their equality, which is still threatened by social taboos.

Mission possibleLending her face – or rather half of her face, in line with the core

concept of the campaign – is one of the brightest stars of Bollywood, the young actress Kalki Koechlin, winner of a Filmfare Award (the Indian Oscar) and at the forefront in the struggle for women's rights. She explained the significance of her participation during the launch press conference held on February 10 in Mumbai: «This initiative fully reflects my own line of thought: violence and

discrimination are evils that still exist in our society, and it is time for the entire nation to mobilize and provide women with the means to realize their rights to education, safety and equality».#UnitedByHalf confirms Benetton India's commitment to this issue, a commitment also reaffirmed through Benetton's collaboration in the Nanhi Kali project to support the education of over 115,000 girls from lower economic segments of society, for which the company has committed to providing all manner of school supplies.

THE OTHER HALF OF INDIABenetton is celebrating women through a campaign designed to reaffirm sexual equality, with the help of a testimonial from the big screen

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MORE UNITED THAN EVER

A talk with two storemanagers: fromFrance to Japan,

the voice ofour colleagues

How long have youbeen workingfor Benetton?

Tell us what you seeout of your store now

Which is your favouriteitem of clothing?

And the best sellerin this period?

What is your secretwhen you talkto a customer?

What would you liketo tell to your colleague

in this page?

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YUMA SASAKIStore manager - Kyoto

MAKREM BENDLALAStore manager - Paris

1 Our shop is opposite the magnificent Opéra Garnier and not far from the Place Vendôme. We are fortunate to have ten windows along three sides, which gives us great visibility.

2 For eleven years, starting from the management of stock. It's an evolution that provides a motivational example to my team.

3 My favorite Dress Up pieces are the blue men's jacket and the structured cardigan for women, a beautiful example of our savoir-faire with tricot. It is a casually elegant style that is well suited to the Parisian life.

4 A smile, first of all, openness and listening. And the desire to provide service that makes all the difference.

5 The whole team is proud of the values of our brand, and we make sure that you see this every day in our shop. I hope you will be more united than ever, like us!

1 We are in Shijo, in the heart of Kyoto, where the modern and the old come together, with luxury shops, department stores and the temples nearby. It's a popular location both for tourists and locals.

2 Ten years: I went from being a sales assistant to the store manager. The team and the customers have helped me grow a lot on this journey.

3 I like the perforated sweater: you can wear it frontwards or backwards and it's trendy. Customers love it because it is good value for money: it has been very successful, it's our best seller.

4 I usually approach customers in a relaxed and friendly way. I'm pleased to extend a beautiful experience to each of them, allowing them to enjoy the store.

5 We record our best performances when we combine personality, vitality, and passion. Let's have fun together with the customers!

RHAPSODY IN BLUE

We are in 2017 and this cotton blue men's sweater once again uses a play of stitches that creates a vintage feel.

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This men's collection sweater seems like a classic blue crew neck, but the play of stitches makes it unique and precious.