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Luciano Benetton speaks to guests after the presentation of the Benetton Fall/Winter 2019-2020 Womenswear Collection in Milan, Italy, February 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
MILAN — Luciano Benetton, co-founder of the clothing brand, announced his resignation as chairman in an interview with Milan daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday.
He blamed the current management for the 100 million euros ($108.5 million) in losses discovered last year.
Benetton, 89, who stepped down as chairman in 2012 and returned to the clothing brand as chairman in 2018, blamed the losses on the CEO hired in 2020 and his new management team.
read: Fashion empire in trouble, Benetton resigns
“In short, I trusted them and I made a mistake,” said Benetton, who said he first realised the losses were piling up last September.
The clothing brand, based in northern Italy’s Veneto region and known for its brightly coloured knitwear and once-flashy advertising campaigns, has struggled to compete with fast-fashion brands, with unions estimating the group’s losses at 1 billion euros since 2013. Benetton has undergone several creative and management reorganisations in an effort to get back on its feet.
Benetton’s term is due to expire in June, and in the meantime the board of directors of Edizione SpA, the Benetton family’s holding company, is expected to appoint new management.
Edizione, whose chairman is Luciano Benetton’s son Alessandro, has diversified assets, with interests in transport and infrastructure through Mundys and in food and beverage retail, including the Autogrill chain, through Dufy.
The family holding company sold its stake in Autostrade per l’Italia SpA after coming under intense political scrutiny following the collapse of a Genoa motorway bridge operated by the company in August 2018, killing 43 people.
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