Dei Fratelli history

Retail operations were also opened in Eastern Europe--Budapest in March and Prague in September--marking the opening of the first shop by a Western manufacturer since 1948.

The two siblings sold their bicycle and accordion and scraped together enough cash to buy their first second-hand knitting machine in 1955.

Then in 1965, the Benetton company was formed as a partnership, called Maglificio di Ponzano Veneto dei Fratelli Benetton, with Luciano as chairman, his brother Gilberto in charge of administration, their younger brother Carlo running production, and Giuliana as chief designer.

In 1978 Benetton became a limited liability company.

By 1981, Benetton, operating under the name Invep S.p.A., had become the world leader in the field of knitwear, generating three times the sales volume of the next largest manufacturer.

On 29 May, Gian Franco, the grandchild of the founder Giovanni, receives from the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano the title of “Cavaliere al Merito del Lavoro”, or Order of Merit for Labor just like his father Carlo did in 1983.

In 1984, 55 percent of Benetton's $303 million in sales revenues were generated from foreign turnover, outperforming domestic sales for the first time.

By 1986 this informal business grew to $400 million in leasing and factoring.

In early 1987, Palmieri approached the international capital market, focusing on the United States market, and also began to finance acquisitions and joint ventures.

Although Benetton spent three years expanding into financial services, reaching the $300 million mark, in 1988 it sold its merchant banking interests and refocused on its retail line.

Benetton's global advertising campaign succeeded in generating a mix of praise and criticism and, ultimately, a fair amount of free publicity since about 1989.

In December, Benetton signed a joint manufacturing agreement with Alexanian in Egypt in light of plans to open 30 stores in that country, and in 1992, 12 stores were opened in Poland.

In 1994, however, Luciano retreated from politics, believing that the Italian government had met its objective, to pursue his talent for minding the family business.