Benetton could split business in three

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Nov 25, 2013

The Benetton Group could be sectioning off its various activities in a move to refocus on its product offering at its labels United Colors of Benetton, Undercolors of Benetton, Sisley and Playlife.

According to Italian newspaper Repubblica, Benetton has reportedly solicited the Boston Consulting Group to lead the reorganization of the company, which would see it split into three separate divisions, one dedicated to design, branding and communications, a second for supply chain and, finally, a third to oversee retail and real estate. Each entity would have its own CEO and balance sheet.

Faced with the recession in its major markets of Italy and Spain, the group announced a transformation plan earlier this year, with trade unions anticipating close to 200 redundancies as a result of the project.

"In order to remain competitive in the long term, we have begun an important transformative project that will affect certain operational functions at the group worldwide. We could not hold off on the project any longer - driving a company back to growth requires tough choices to be made and responsibilities to be taken,’ declared chief executive officer Biagio Chiarolanza in Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore in February.

Chaired by Alessandro Benetton, the group claims to have completed the first step of its transformation and is studying its next move, with that of Boston Consulting being just one of many options.