The Successful Clothing Shop

The success story started in northern Italy towards the end of the Second World War. Leone Benetton had a bicycle rental (租赁) business in the town of Treviso. He wanted his eldest son Luciano to study and become a doctor. After Leone died, the family was poor and Luciano decided to leave school and get a job. He found work in a clothing store but soon had his won ideas and started a family clothing company producing colorful woolen sweaters for people only used to wearing dull colors. Shops selling only Benetton sweaters opened in many Italian cities and by 1974, there were stores in France, Germany and Belgium.

It was clear that the success of the Benetton business lay in the strength of the family at this stage. In 1975 Luciano married the 20-year-old Marina Salomon who worked in one of his shops. After careful research, Benetton opened his first shop in the USA, in Manhattan, New York, where it attracted some very special customers including Princess Diana and Jackie Onassis. In 1982 Luciano was introduced to Oliviero Toscani, the photographer who was to change the image(形象)of Benetton forever.

Although Benetton was growing very quickly, it needed an international image and for this reason in the early 1980s, it decided to provide money for formula 1 motor racing. This was followed by the advertising campaigns(广告攻势)for which the company became famous.

Luciano Benetton succeeded in turning the company he started in the 1950s into one of the world’s most successful businesses but he paid a high personal price. He spent so much of his life working and traveling that he lost touch with his family and friends.

Luciano Benetton made great success in his business but lost _______.