He left school at the age of 14 and started selling shirts: Who is Luciano Benetton?

Benetton, North was born on May 13, 1935, in Treviso, Italy. When his father died for his country in the last days of the war, Luciano, the eldest of four brothers, had to contribute to the family's income by working in the warehouse of a clothing wholesaler.

Benetton left school at the age of 14 and started working in the shirt sales department of a clothing store. His sister Guiliana was sewing sweaters for a local textile manufacturer at the same time. This led Benetton to consider offering knitwear products in trendy pastel shades.

Luciano Benetton (born 13 May 1935) is an Italian billionaire businessman and one of the co-founders of Benetton Group, an Italian fashion brand. He served as the chairman of Benetton from 1978 to 2012. In May 2015, Forbes estimated the net worth of Luciano Benetton and each of his three siblings at US$2.9 billion. 

The pieces produced under the “Tres Jolie” label sold very well. In the following time, the Benetton house gradually turned into a clothing factory. Benetton resigned from sales in 1958. He devoted himself entirely to his family's production and tried new painting techniques.

Together with Montana, Adalgerico developed a method that allows clothes to be dyed after sewing, thus being flexible and able to respond to fashion trends in a short time. This would later become Benetton's recipe for success.

Benetton married the daughter of a civil engineer in 1961 and had four children with her. In less than two years, he was able to sell 20,000 parts produced in his own company and achieve a turnover of 600 million Lire.

After a short time, when their production capacity became insufficient, it became inevitable to build a factory of their own. As soon as the construction of the factory was completed, four brothers (Carlo, Gilberto, Giuliana, and Luciano) founded the clothing company called Benetton in Ponzano Veneto/Treviso. The first Benetton store opened its doors in Belluna in the same year. Their target audience was young buyers.

At the end of the 60s, there were approximately 500 Benetton stores in Italy; Their turnover exceeded 10 billion Lire. Benetton operated on the so-called Franchise principle, meaning that interested retailers could purchase a license to open stores. The interior decoration of the sales stores was done as prescribed by Benetton. Benetton directly supplied goods to the stores opened through the franchise method, but as a rule, it did not make any financial contribution to the stores.

Under Luciano's management, Benetton became a worldwide organization in the 70s, and its sales increased tenfold. Benetton turned the company into a joint stock company in 1978. In search of new advertising opportunities, Benetton was introduced to Formula 1 racing in 1983. It was first sponsored by Team Tyrell and then by Alfa Romeo Euroracing. In return, he gained the right to write his advertisements on the vehicles.

Two years later, he founded his own racing team with an investment of 4 billion lire. Benetton Formula first started participating in Formula 1 in 1986. Benetton set out to expand its product range in the 80s. While Sisley aimed to satisfy ambitious customers with its line, “Benetton Uomo” was aimed at single men.

Additionally, watches, sunglasses, shoes, cosmetics, and fashion accessories were offered for sale. The advertising campaign with the slogan “Benetton – Alt The Colors of the World”, in which children and young people of all colors presented colorful Benetton clothes, played a huge role in their success.

In the early 90s, Benetton gradually expanded into the sportswear field by joining companies. Thus, it purchased more than 50 percent of the shares of Italian ski boot manufacturer Nordica and American skate manufacturer Rollerblade. Benetton and its photographer Oliveiro Toscani were the target of severe criticism with a new advertising campaign they launched in 1993. Presented under the motto “UnitedColours of Benetton,” the motifs showed snapshots of world events. Benetton suspiciously tried to combine social criticism with sensationalism and effective advertising. This was especially evident in photographs showing a dying AIDS patient and the bloody uniform of a soldier killed in the Yugoslavian civil war.

Negative words in newspaper headlines caused declines in sales figures of Benetton stores in some Western European countries. The company kept the minimum delivery quantities at the same level without decreasing them, which led to the rebellion of the franchise companies. Benetton company announced in 1994 that they would focus on gastronomy (restaurant business) from now on.