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Fashion Houses
Benetton
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Benetton
Villa Minelli 1, Ponzano Veneto (Treviso), Italy.
Tel: +39-422-4491
Fax: +39-422-449397
Press Office: Laura Pollini
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Luciano Benetton Talks to Foreign Press in Rome
Rome, March, 1995
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Luciano Benetton, his curly grey hair covering the collar of his jacket, chatted amiably with the reporters of the foreign press he had invited for tea in the meeting room of the Stampa Estera in Rome. Although he usually dresses more casually, Benetton wore his city clothes: a light grey wool jacket with dark grey pants, white shirt, silk patterned tie in shades of blue and grey, the ubiquitious granny glasses, and polished moccasins, a favorite of young Italian yuppies. Taking his tea with milk, he first made some remarks, evidently getting some things off his chest.
"I don't agree with what some of the newspapers are printing about the miracle of the businesses in the Veneto-Treviso area, I think it's more a matter of practicing good business principles. If you don't and the wind changes there's no genius, there's just tragedy. Right now Benetton is doing everything it can to reduce costs. We try to get the best possible prices on the prime materials we buy, mostly cotton and wool. We also produce wool and cotton which helps us, and this experience is useful for buying elsewhere."
"We are also developing better industrial techniques which permits higher productivity. We sell five months before delivery and the exchange rate is decided at that time, unfortunately the difference to our advantage or disadvantage can be as much as 15% which creates great problems. This situation cannot go on much longer. There's no prospect right now for the revalutation of the lira and the situation scares us. It's a magic moment for the small producers who had foreign contracts, but it will vanish when they have to pay higher prices for prime materials on their next orders."
"We try to follow the Japanese policy of medium and long-term investments. In the last three years we have invested 150 million dollars in plants and technology. The number of jobs has remained the same. Our prices for export are competitive and we let our savings reflect in our prices which have stayed stable for the last several years. Recently I was chatting with a client from South America and he told me he has to grab as much profits as he can right away. That's not our policy. We believe in the country. We have tried in the past to produce locally (in the countries where the product is sold, ndr) but our customers who travel a lot noticed the difference so we cut down. But we still manufacture locally in India, for example, so that our products are reasonably priced."
Asked by a journalist about Benetton's foray into the banking business he said he was just as happy to be out although Benetton still owns 2% of the Banca Commerciale d'Italia. "Our hobby and passion is this work and it's better to stick to it. We should be able to work side by side and have a dialog with the bank, sometimes they should have more understanding of our problems, but it's not always the case. Unfortunately I have a pretty bad opinion of how things function in Italy, but fortunately 'Made-in-Italy' works. Right now Italians are consuming less, and there's less demand in the clothing market."
Benetton served as Senator in the last government and asked about his experience he replied: "It was an interesting experience but I consider it closed. Running for office was a form of protest, I had hoped that everybody would roll up their sleeves and get to work but it wasn't like that. I travel a lot for my work and I would have had to give it up, and I had no doubts about my choice. Those who are not born politicians cannot understand Italian politics. When a foreign friend protested that he didn't understand Italian politics I told him - neither do we! I was hoping there might be more maturity after the last elections but I don't have much hope. If you sit four Italians around a table you're going to get four ideas, and it's hard to get them to pull together. It's easier to put together a team in other countries, you choose one idea and go with that."
The advertising campaigns for Benetton seen around the world, conceived by photographer Oliviero Toscani, have provoked controversy in many countries. Benetton's comments: "We are present in 120 countries and it would not be possible to have a different advertising campaign in each country. So the shopwindows serve as the advertising for our product, and the company communicates messages which in the past have been about birth, death, war, AIDS, race, and other subjects. They won't always be the same. Even in Italy there have been different interpretations about the message. Toscani proposes his ideas and there are six or seven of us to discuss them.
Having polemics about our campaigns did not displease us, as long as they were within reason. When we did one of our first campaigns showing young people of all races together we received letters of protest in the United States. Unfortunately you can't please everybody. When we make some decisions we know some poeple may not like them, but we would rather people reflect than be indifferent. The dead Bosnian soldier's father gave us his shirt and pants, there was a big controversy, but now after a year and a half the city of Sarajevo has asked us to open a store. And the ad took first prize for creativity in 1994 in Japan where they had never before given the prize to a foreign country. We are happy to work with Toscani and plan to continue - the base is the same, the projects will change."
Reflecting about Italy Benetton said: "I wish that Italy were not a country of Class C. In the European community we are the last to issue our passports according to the new rules. We're growing even farther apart from the others. These are real problems for some countries who sell to Italy, the market has become closed. Having our money worth 30% less is like having customs of 30%."
Benetton proudly announced the creation of a special school in Ponzano Veneto, Benetton's home, for fifty young people with talent from different countries. Applicants must submit projects they want to realize regarding communications and mass media. The school will start in May with about 20 students and the project will be promoted in Benetton ads.
Benetton said they spend 4% of their operating budget on advertising. "We are very happy about our sponsorship of the basketball and Formula One team. Ninety percent of the expenses of the Formula One team is paid for by the sponsors." The Benetton Formula One team lost their World Champion for 1995 Michael Schumaker to the siren lure of the Ferrari team, but Luciano Benetton has high hopes for the 1996 season.
Logan Bentley Lessona
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