Luciano Benetton relinquishes presidency of family empire

Milan - Luciano Benetton, the 89-year-old co-founder of the eponymous textile empire, announced on Saturday his intention to step down as chairman of the family-owned Italian group, after accusing its chief executive Massimo Renon of wrecking the group's accounts.

"I trusted him and I was wrong. I was betrayed in the truest sense of the word. A few months ago, I realised that something was wrong and that the image of the Group that management was presenting to us at board meetings was not real," he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"Before I leave the Group, I intend to explain what happened with the transparency that characterises me, without shirking my responsibility," he said.

According to Luciano Benetton, Mr Renon left "a 100 million euro hole" after four years at the head of the famous clothing brand.

During a meeting of the board of directors, "the bombshell burst" when "a dramatic budget hole suddenly appeared, a shock that left us speechless", commented Mr Benetton.

"We've lost four years and that makes things more difficult because we don't have a magic wand," he points out. "Unfortunately, sacrifices will have to be made," he warned.

"We will do our utmost to regain the energy of better times and breathe new life into this brand, which means so much to our family and bears our name," he said.

Alessandro Benetton, 60, son of Luciano Benetton, took over the reins of the family holding company Edizione in January 2022.

The image of the wealthy family had been tarnished after the collapse of the Genoa bridge, managed by one of its subsidiaries, which killed 43 people and shone a spotlight on the poor state of Italy's transport infrastructure.

To wipe the slate clean, the Benetton family decided in March 2023 to change the name of its Italian motorway and airport group Atlantia, which is now called Mundys.

Founded in 1965 in north-east Italy by four brothers and a sister, Benetton was initially known for its soft little woollen jumpers in a wide range of colours.

The success of the "United Colors of Benetton" went from strength to strength, reaching global proportions between 1982 and 2000 with the striking advertising campaigns of photographer Oliviero Toscani. But the brand then went through more difficult times.

Luciano Benetton took over as CEO in 2018 in an attempt to turn the company around, but the appointment of Massimo Renon as CEO did not produce the desired results.

"I left the company in 2012 when it was in good health, with sales of €2 billion and profits," recalls Mr Benetton. (AFP)

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and edit by: Rachel Douglass.