Perhaps if we tell you the slogan “all the colors of the world” your mind will go straight to a shop window, some colours, a brand colour, right? There are brands that go beyond fashion and become authentic symbols that reflect social values, they go far beyond clothing. Benetton is one of them, of course. Throughout its history, its bright colours have always offered a message of diversity and inclusion. Why are we talking about Benetton now if we already know it well? Because life is unfair sometimes and Benetton is facing the darkest stain in its history. 400 stores of this Italian brand will be forced to close around the world as a result of a serious economic crisis that the company is going through. How did they get to this point? We will tell you below.
The fashion revolution.
Treviso (Italy) was the birthplace of this clothing brand in 1965. Its slogan, which quickly became very well-known (the one we mentioned before All the Colors of the World) reflected a clear and novel philosophy for the time: here, diversity was the priority in all areas. And Benetton never remained silent and used its advertising to launch messages that no one else dared to talk about: racism, the different wars that have taken place or even AIDS, which made it a unique company in its sector. But staying afloat is a tough task for fashion companies, and that is where Benetton has weakened.
What is the reason for this decline?
During the 80s and 90s, Benetton was positioned as one of the leading brands in the fashion market, but from 2000 onwards, everything began to change. The arrival of “fast fashion” and companies like Zara, H&M and Primark completely changed the game board. Fashion became much cheaper (and accessible to all budgets) even though it was of lower quality, and Benetton could not change its focus as quickly or compete with the immediacy offered by other companies. On the other hand, its expansion model was not the most successful either, as Benetton grew rapidly thanks to a franchise model that ended up becoming a burden that now accumulates debts of 30 million euros (only in the south of Italy!!). Obviously, this problem came from poor management from the base, but by the time they realized it, it was too late.
Internal conflicts and their restructuring plan.
Luciano Benetton and Massimo Rendon, co-founder of the brand and CEO respectively, had disagreements over the poor management of the brand, and the dispute only served to further weaken Benetton’s future.
But hope is never lost and they will try to save the brand against all odds. The management team has launched a restructuring plan that, unfortunately, involves the closure of 420 stores worldwide. So far, 180 establishments have already closed… but… will this be enough?
Who will be affected by this closure?
It is still unknown which countries will see the colourful windows of these stores close forever. For now, we also don’t know if they will also close their stores in the United States because the company has not given details yet.
For now, you can still buy products from this brand through its website, where they also have a store locator in case you want to go see the clothes in person.
Whether they will be able to ride the wave or not, only time and restructuring will tell. For now, it is believed that they could follow digital strategies and collaborations with influencers to achieve a phoenix-like resurgence.
The Italian firm has not yet given details of what changes it will take (beyond the closure plan), but it is clear that it will be an uphill road in which they will have to leave behind many things for which we now recognize this brand. A challenge? Of course. But we do not even doubt that it will be worth it.