Luciano Benetton Quits As Chairman Of Family-Run Brand

Luciano Benetton, a co-founder of the apparel brand, said he was stepping down as chairman in an interview published with Milan daily Corriere della Sera.

The co-founder of the apparel brand blamed current management for losses of 100 million euros ($108.5 million) that he discovered last year. I Photo: Paul Katzenberger Wikimedia Commons 

He blamed current management for losses of 100 million euros ($108.5 million) that he discovered last year, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Benetton, 89, returned to the apparel brand as chairman in 2018, after having stepped down in 2012. He blamed a CEO hired in 2020 and his new management team for the losses.

“In short, I trusted them, and I made a mistake,” Benetton said, adding that he first became aware that losses were compounding last September.

The apparel brand based in the northern Veneto region — known as much for its colorful knitwear as for its once splashy advertising campaigns — has struggled against competition from fast-fashion brands, with unions estimating losses at the group since 2013 at 1 billion euros.

Benetton has undergone numerous creative and managerial relaunches in a bid to regain its footing. Benetton’s term expires in June, coinciding with the board of the Benetton family holding company, Edizione SpA, which is expected to appoint new management.