Benetton pioneered the use of multiracial models and was known for its signature bright primary colors. It undoubtedly had an outsized influence on competing brands Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo.
Oh, that's rather sad; but, looking at Uniqlo, it seems that there is no market in Japan for colorful clothing, only drab, lifeless shades of nothing. Blah!
Fascinating article, Mark. I completely missed this development.
I remember their large stores in Osaka and Tokyo well. My main office in Osaka was in Shinsaibashi in the 1980s, and I photographed street fashion on the streets of Harajuku in the first decade and a half of this century.
Their ads did indeed leave a big impact at the time and were discussed in detail by the news media, often branded “controversial.”
How times have changed, I doubt they would be considered controversial today…
Thank you for the positive feedback and sharing your experience of photographing street fashion in Osaka back in the day.
Thanks in large part to Benetton's spirit of promoting DEI in advertising, today's clothing manufacturers are able to use the same techniques on a daily basis without causing controversy.
Given how flush their parent company is with cash, it is still somewhat of a mystery why Benetton has suffered from one corporate misstep after another. The decision to pull out of the Japanese market altogether seems rather extreme. However, perhaps they will be able to make a grand re-entry after going back to the basics to restructure their business.
Sorry to see Benetton leave Japan, though it must be pointed out that for the last ten years of so, you could only buy their products online.
Actually no, I'm not so sorry. I mean, I don't care. The 80s, when everybody talked about Benetton's colorful clothes, was my "dark" period, and I mostly wore black - but with white socks, of course. So Benetton has never been close to my heart. Also, being a natural born sceptic and contrarian of the "advertisement is evil" school of thought, I mainly saw Oliviero Toscani's exploits as exploitation.
"It is a structurally loss-making company," explains a Benetton spokesman, but according to the 2023 financial statements of the Benetton Japan sweater group - which also controls 50% of Benetton Korea - it closed with a profit of more than two million euros.
The move took us by surprise given that no later than two weeks ago the president of Edizione Alessandro Benetton cited "international orientation" as one of the three levers to "overcome once and for all the historical difficulties of the company".
Evidently at this stage their spending review is taking over.
Thank you for reading the post, researching the same topic in the Italian media, and adding your comments.
Regarding the financials, I share your skepticism. Perhaps the rapid depreciation of the yen against the euro and the dollar has affected the Japanese subsidiary. Nevertheless, a complete withdrawal from a market the size of Japan is a rather dramatic step.
I hear you about the "in your face" style and bright colors. It was never for everyone, but it certainly embodied some of the excesses of the 1980s.
Anyway, I was intrigued by how such a strong brand could fall so far in Japan.
I vividly remember their ad campaigns all these years later! You're right about the company's trendsetting influence during its heyday. Same for The Body Shop, which also pushed a similar agenda during that time period until the founder left the company. I still have a Body Shop sticker on an old suitcase: dein Auto ein Japaner, deine Pizza italienisch, deine Demokratie griechisch,
dein Kaffee brasilianisch, dein Urlaub türkisch, deine Zahlen arabisch, deine Schrift lateinisch, und dein Nachbar nur ein Ausländer? (Your car is Japanese, your pizza is Italian, your vacation is Turkish, your numbers Arabic, your alphabet is Latin, and your neighbour is only a foreigner?) This was at a time when foreigners only made up a small percentage of the population in Germany. (My mother is German and German is actually my native language, having spent a significant amount of time in Germany during my childhood even after we came to Canada.)
Thank you for reading and leaving such an interesting comment. I see that The Body Shop has now been consumed by private equity, but it certainly started with a pioneering approach to DEI. That's a great sticker that must have generated a lot of conversation. It seems like Germany could use a heavy dose of that more open approach again!
As for Benetton, I didn't really think too much about their advertising style at the time, or what went into the deliberate use of models from different backgrounds. Shame on me! Looking back on their work and the company as a whole, it is hard to overestimate their outsized influence on Zara, H&M and Uniqlo.
Oh, that's rather sad; but, looking at Uniqlo, it seems that there is no market in Japan for colorful clothing, only drab, lifeless shades of nothing. Blah!
We'll, tastes have changed, but black is always in style.
Oh, that's what it is! :)
Fascinating article, Mark. I completely missed this development.
I remember their large stores in Osaka and Tokyo well. My main office in Osaka was in Shinsaibashi in the 1980s, and I photographed street fashion on the streets of Harajuku in the first decade and a half of this century.
Their ads did indeed leave a big impact at the time and were discussed in detail by the news media, often branded “controversial.”
How times have changed, I doubt they would be considered controversial today…
Thank you for the positive feedback and sharing your experience of photographing street fashion in Osaka back in the day.
Thanks in large part to Benetton's spirit of promoting DEI in advertising, today's clothing manufacturers are able to use the same techniques on a daily basis without causing controversy.
Given how flush their parent company is with cash, it is still somewhat of a mystery why Benetton has suffered from one corporate misstep after another. The decision to pull out of the Japanese market altogether seems rather extreme. However, perhaps they will be able to make a grand re-entry after going back to the basics to restructure their business.
Sorry to see Benetton leave Japan, though it must be pointed out that for the last ten years of so, you could only buy their products online.
Actually no, I'm not so sorry. I mean, I don't care. The 80s, when everybody talked about Benetton's colorful clothes, was my "dark" period, and I mostly wore black - but with white socks, of course. So Benetton has never been close to my heart. Also, being a natural born sceptic and contrarian of the "advertisement is evil" school of thought, I mainly saw Oliviero Toscani's exploits as exploitation.
I checked the Italian press on the subject and found contrasting information. I quote from https://www.ripartelitalia.it/benetton-si-ritira-dal-giappone-lo-scenario/:
"It is a structurally loss-making company," explains a Benetton spokesman, but according to the 2023 financial statements of the Benetton Japan sweater group - which also controls 50% of Benetton Korea - it closed with a profit of more than two million euros.
The move took us by surprise given that no later than two weeks ago the president of Edizione Alessandro Benetton cited "international orientation" as one of the three levers to "overcome once and for all the historical difficulties of the company".
Evidently at this stage their spending review is taking over.
Thank you for reading the post, researching the same topic in the Italian media, and adding your comments.
Regarding the financials, I share your skepticism. Perhaps the rapid depreciation of the yen against the euro and the dollar has affected the Japanese subsidiary. Nevertheless, a complete withdrawal from a market the size of Japan is a rather dramatic step.
I hear you about the "in your face" style and bright colors. It was never for everyone, but it certainly embodied some of the excesses of the 1980s.
Anyway, I was intrigued by how such a strong brand could fall so far in Japan.
I vividly remember their ad campaigns all these years later! You're right about the company's trendsetting influence during its heyday. Same for The Body Shop, which also pushed a similar agenda during that time period until the founder left the company. I still have a Body Shop sticker on an old suitcase: dein Auto ein Japaner, deine Pizza italienisch, deine Demokratie griechisch,
dein Kaffee brasilianisch, dein Urlaub türkisch, deine Zahlen arabisch, deine Schrift lateinisch, und dein Nachbar nur ein Ausländer? (Your car is Japanese, your pizza is Italian, your vacation is Turkish, your numbers Arabic, your alphabet is Latin, and your neighbour is only a foreigner?) This was at a time when foreigners only made up a small percentage of the population in Germany. (My mother is German and German is actually my native language, having spent a significant amount of time in Germany during my childhood even after we came to Canada.)
Thank you for reading and leaving such an interesting comment. I see that The Body Shop has now been consumed by private equity, but it certainly started with a pioneering approach to DEI. That's a great sticker that must have generated a lot of conversation. It seems like Germany could use a heavy dose of that more open approach again!
As for Benetton, I didn't really think too much about their advertising style at the time, or what went into the deliberate use of models from different backgrounds. Shame on me! Looking back on their work and the company as a whole, it is hard to overestimate their outsized influence on Zara, H&M and Uniqlo.