verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message benetton group type societ a responsabilit limitata industry fashion founded ponzano veneto italy 1965 ; 51 years ago 1965 founder luciano benetton headquarters ponzano veneto tv italy area served worldwide key people luciano benetton founder francesco gori non executive chairman of the board of directors marco airoldi ceo & managing director marco airoldi director tommaso barracco director alessandro benetton director christian benetton director franca bertagnin benetton director sabrina benetton director fabio buttignon director christian coco director francesco gori director alfredo malguzzi director francesco panfilo director products clothing shoes bags accessories revenue 1 529 million euro 2015 number of employees 7 714 2015 website www.benettongroup.com benetton group s.r.l. correct italian pronunciation benet ton ; 1 often mispronounced b netton or benet t n is a global fashion brand based in ponzano veneto italy . the name comes from the benetton family who founded the company in 1965 . benetton has a network of about 5 000 stores in the main international markets . 2 contents 1 early years 1.1 brands 2 marketing 2.1 2011 marketing campaign 3 sport and sponsorship 4 criticisms 4.1 building collapse at savar 5 see also 6 notes and references 7 external links early years edit united colors of benetton in prague czech republic united colors of benetton in belgrade serbia in 1963 luciano benetton the oldest of four children was a 30 year old salesman in treviso . he saw a market for colourful clothes and sold a younger brother s bicycle in order to buy his first second hand knitting machine . his initial small collection of sweaters received a positive response in local stores in the veneto region and soon after he asked his sister and two younger brothers gilberto and carlo to join him . in 1965 the entity known as the benetton group was formed . 3 in 1966 the benettons opened their first store in belluno and three years after in paris with luciano as chairman his brother gilberto in charge of administration their younger brother carlo running production and giuliana as a chief designer . brands edit the company s core business remains their clothing lines united colors of benetton 4 and sisley . 5 the group has a network of about 5 000 stores around the world . 2 marketing edit the company is known for sponsorship of a number of sports and for the provocative and original united colors publicity campaign . the latter originated when photographer oliviero toscani was given carte blanche by the benetton management . under toscani s direction ads were created that contained striking images unrelated to any actual products being sold by the company . these graphic billboard sized ads included depictions of a variety of shocking subjects one of which featured a deathbed scene of a man aids activist david kirby dying from aids . 6 others included a bloodied unwashed newborn baby with umbilical cord still attached which was highly controversial . this 1991 advert prompted more than 800 complaints to the british advertising standards authority during 1991 and was featured in the reference book guinness world records 2000 as most controversial campaign . others included a black stallion covering a white mare 7 close up pictures of tattoos reading hiv positive on the bodies of men and women a cemetery of many cross like tombstones a collage consisting of genitals of persons of various races a priest and nun about to engage in a romantic kiss pictures of inmates on death row an electric chair an advert showing a boy with hair shaped into the devil s horns three different hearts with black white and yellow written onto them from march 1996 and a picture of a bloodied t shirt and pants riddled with bullet holes from a soldier killed in the bosnian war this one appeared in february 1994 . 8 most of the advertisements although not all had a plain white background and in most the company s logo served as the only text accompanying the image . united colors of benetton signage and logo at its store at delhi airport . 2011 marketing campaign edit in autumn 2011 benetton launched its new worldwide communication campaign an invitation to the leaders and citizens of the world to combat the culture of hatred and created the unhate foundation . 9 this campaign was created as the group s corporate social responsibility strategy and not as a cosmetic exercise . 10 the benetton group seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture against hate . 10 benetton s fabrica research centre partnered up with 72andsunny to create the unhate poster series . 11 according to benetton these are symbolic images of reconciliation with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation to stimulate reflection on how politics faith and ideas even when they are divergent and mutually opposed must still lead to dialogue and mediation . 12 72andsunny adds united colors of benetton returns to the cultural conversation with a simple and powerful message of tolerance unhate . hate and love are often in a delicate and unstable balance . this campaign promotes a shift in the balance . 13 however these posters of the lip locking political and religious figures have sparked controversy . in addition benetton released an advertisement that displayed president barack obama of the united states and president hugo ch vez of venezuela kissing . 14 on november 17 2011 the vatican announced that it would take legal action against benetton after the company used a photo purportedly showing pope benedict xvi kissing ahmed mohamed el tayeb the imam of the al azhar mosque in egypt . benetton responded we reiterate that the meaning of this campaign is exclusively to combat the culture of hatred in all its forms said a benetton group spokesman . we are therefore sorry that the use of the image of the pope and the imam has so offended the sentiments of the faithful . in corroboration of our intentions we have decided with immediate effect to withdraw this image from every publication . 15 sport and sponsorship edit main articles benetton formula benetton rugby treviso treviso basket and sisley volley benetton group entered formula one as a sponsor of tyrrell in 1983 then alfa romeo in 1984 ; this arrangement was extended to both alfa and toleman in 1985 . benetton formula ltd. was formed at the end of 1985 when the toleman and spirit teams were sold to the benetton family . the team saw its greatest success under flavio briatore who managed the team from 1990 to 1997 . michael schumacher won his first drivers championships with the team in 1994 and 1995 and the team won their only constructors title in 1995 . from 1996 the team raced under an italian licence although it continued to be based like toleman in oxfordshire in england . the team was bought by renault for us 120m in 2000 and was rebranded renault f1 in 2002 . in 1979 benetton first sponsored their then amateur local rugby team a.s. rugby treviso . benetton rugby has since become a major force in italian rugby with 11 league titles and supplying many players to the national team . 16 benetton group has also sponsored treviso basket 1982 2012 and sisley volley 1987 2012 . the 1983 season tyrrell 011 showing the company s logo at the time . schumacher s b194 of the 1994 season . benetton basket logo . criticisms edit benetton has faced criticism from mapuche organizations over its purchase of traditional mapuche lands in patagonia . 17 the curi anco nahuelquir family was evicted from their land in 2002 following benetton s claim to it but the land was restored in 2007 . 18 the company have published a position statement regarding the mapuche in patagonia . 19 benetton aroused suspicion when they considered using rfid tracking chips on clothes to monitor inventory . a boycott site alleges the tracking chips can be read from a distance and used to monitor the people wearing them . 20 issues of consumer privacy were raised and the plan was shelved . benetton s position on rfid technology is also available on their website . 21 peta launched a boycott campaign against benetton for buying wool from farmers who practiced mulesing . benetton has since agreed to buy nonmulesed wool and has further urged the wool industry to adopt the peta and australian wool growers association agreement to end mulesing . 22 benetton s position statement on the mulesing controversy is available on their website . 23 building collapse at savar edit main article 2013 savar building collapse on april 24 2013 the eight story rana plaza commercial building collapsed outside dhaka that housed one of the factories where benetton makes its clothing . 24 at least 1 130 people died . 25 benetton first denied reports linking production of their clothing at the factory but clothes and documents linked to benetton were discovered at the disaster site . 26 27 28 of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the rana plaza factories only 9 attended meetings held in november 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims . several companies refused to sign including walmart carrefour bonmarch mango auchan and kik . the agreement was signed by primark loblaw bonmarche and el corte ingles . 29 a year after the collapse benetton faced international protests after failing to pay any compensation to the rana plaza donors trust fund . 30 31 32 protests included shutting down benetton s flagship oxford street store in london . 30 on april 2015 benetton group announced that it has doubled compensation for rana plaza victims recommended by independent assessors pwc and wrap and applied the principles of the accord on fire and building safety to global suppliers . benetton s engagement for bangladesh is available on their website . 33 see also edit italy portal companies portal fashion portal benetton family colors magazine notes and references edit dop . dizionario.rai.it . retrieved june 28 2012 . a b at a glance . benetton group 2010 . retrieved may 5 2010 . timeline of the benetton group benetton group official webpage united colors of benetton . retrieved 10 june 2015 . sisley . sisley . 2012 02 21 . retrieved 2012 06 28 . the photo that brought aids home . retrieved 2010 07 22 . el caso de benetton . periodismo de marca . retrieved 10 june 2015 . benetton bosnian soldier home . retrieved 2010 07 22 . unhate foundation . unhate foundation . retrieved 2012 06 28 . a b the foundation unhate foundation . unhate.benetton.com . 2012 06 20 . retrieved 2012 06 28 . 2011 . creative review . retrieved 2012 06 28 . mail foreign service 2011 11 17 . benetton unhate advert of pope kissing imam withdrawn after vatican calls it disrespectful mail online . london dailymail.co.uk . retrieved 2012 06 28 . 72andsunny . 72andsunny . 2011 04 07 . retrieved 2012 06 28 . http www.cnbc.com id 45326469 why is president obama kissing hugo chavez benetton press note . benettongroup.com . retrieved 2012 06 28 . benetton rugby storia in italian . retrieved 2008 04 07 . the invisible colours of benetton campaign . retrieved 2008 04 07 . recovered mapuche territory in patagonia benetton vs. mapuche . mapu association . retrieved 2008 04 07 . benetton s position regarding the mapuche in patagonia . boycott benetton . retrieved 2008 04 07 . benetton s position on rfid technology . campaign ends . peta save the sheep campaign . retrieved 2008 04 07 . benetton s position regarding the controversy on mulesing between the australian wool industry