Benetton Group rejigs corporate structure to kick off label’s relaunch

Italian fashion group Benetton continues its corporate reorganisation process designed to optimise its relaunch, having completed a first restructuring phase. According to Italian financial daily MF-Milano Finanza, which was able to glean some of Benetton’s internal documents, the group based in Ponzano Veneto “has created seven newcos (all based at Benetton’s corporate hub in Castrette) among which, following a complex partial double demerger and spin-off operation, various assets and corporate functions have been divided up.”

Seven new companies, which will become operational next January, have been created following the group’s internal reorganisation. Benetton Group has become the coordinating holding company and will always have the final say on financial, legal and auditing decisions. In July, Benetton indicated that the group’s corporate structure would be revised, with some units turning into separate companies, though they would still remain under the group’s direct control.
 
The current reorganisation has brought to an end the first phase of Benetton’s relaunch plan under new CEO Claudio Sforza, who replaced Massimo Renon in June 2024. Sforza has jettisoned a vertically integrated business model, deciding to close the production sites Benetton had in Tunisia, Serbia and Croatia, while in Italy, the workers formerly based at the Ponzano Veneto headquarters were moved to the nearby Castrette di Villorba factory. At the same time, several hundred employees voluntarily left the group, encouraged also by the incentives offered. By the end of 2025, the group expects to have approximately 700 employees, as opposed to 1,100 in summer 2024. Benetton is also ditching unprofitable stores around the world. Approximately 500 of them are being closed down, bringing the number of stores operated by the group to nearly 3,000.

Benetton’s goal is to further reduce its losses, which in 2024 amounted to €100 million (more than 57% lower than in 2023) and to become profitable again some time in 2026 or 2027. The group doesn’t have much to be cheerful about in 2025, coincidentally the year in which it celebrates its 60th anniversary, having been founded in 1965 by Luciano, Gilberto, Giuliana and Carlo Benetton.
 
MF-Milano Finanza reported that Benetton is open to the use of third-party suppliers, and is willing to consider both corporate spin-offs and industrial collaborations with select entities.

A partial demerger from Benetton Group resulted in the creation of the Retail Omnia Network (RON) and Property 347 companies. RON incorporates all of Benetton’s directly owned Italian stores (currently part of Retail Italia Network) and the stores run by the group’s foreign subsidiaries. Benetton Group still retains direct control of its retail business in Turkey, India, Korea, and Japan.
 
Property 347 will take over Villa Minelli, the group’s former headquarters, Benetton Fabrica, and other properties and land between Ponzano Veneto and Villorba, regarded as heritage assets to be preserved rather than destined to operational use. As a result of the partial demerger, RON and Property 347 will remain, as Benetton Group, under the direct control of Schema Eta, formerly Benetton S.r.l., whose board comprised, until April 2024, several members of the Benetton family, including founder Luciano Benetton.
 
As a result of the demerger and spin-off operation, Benetton Group now controls five other new companies: Green 347, Benetton Operations, Benetton Distribution, Benetton Logistics and Benetton E-commerce. 
 
Benetton Operations, under CEO Vincenzo Meles, will take charge of the group’s operational activities, including design, product development, marketing and communications. Benetton Distribution, under CEO Nicola Capone, will oversee the retail distribution business, including Benetton’s franchised stores, while Benetton E-commerce and Benetton Logistics (the latter led by Matteo Miele) will take care of e-tail and warehousing and logistics respectively.

CEO Sforza has ambitious plans for Benetton E-commerce, since he reportedly regards the group’s online sales as too low at 13% of total revenue, compared to a global benchmark that is close to 35%. Benetton is keen to accelerate e-tail growth, and is aiming for online sales to account for 20%-25% of total revenue, as the group stated last April in a communiqué gleaned by FashionNetwork.com.
 
Finally, the Green 347 company, named after the colour and corresponding Pantone code of the group’s original logo, directly overseen by Sforza like Benetton E-commerce and Benetton Logistics, will manage the group’s trademarks, Benetton, Sisley, Playlife and Killer Loop.