Benetton Group is a global fashion brand, based in Treviso, Italy. The name comes from the Benetton family who founded the company in 1965. Benetton Group is listed in Milan. Benetton has a network of around 6,200 stores in 120 countries. The stores are managed by independent partners and generate a revenue of over €2 billion per year.
In 1955, Luciano Benetton, the eldest of four children, was a 30-year-old salesman in Treviso. He saw a market for colourful clothes, and sold a younger brother's bicycle in order to buy his first second-hand knitting machine. His initial small collection of sweaters received a positive response in local stores in the Veneto region, and soon after he asked his sister and two younger brothers, Gilberto and Carlo, to join him. In 1965, the entity known as the "Benetton Group" is formed.
In 1966, the Benettons opened their first store in Belluno and three years after in Paris, with Luciano as chairman, his brother Gilberto in charge of administration, their younger brother Carlo running production, and Giuliana as a chief designer.
The company's core business remains their clothing lines. Casual clothing is marketed as the "United Colors of Benetton"; there are also a fashion-oriented "Sisley" division, "Playlife" leisurewear. Their products include womenswear, menswear, childrenswear and underwear and they have expanded into toiletries, perfumes, and items for the home such as kitchen accessories and baby products.
The company is known for sponsorship of a number of sports, and for the provocative and original "United Colors" publicity campaign