Benetton strengthens management team with three new hires
Benetton Group has made three new hires within its management team as part of a strategic refocusing on key brands and retail development.
In the first appointment, Marco Messini has been appointed as chief distribution and sales officer of United Colors of Benetton. Messini previously worked at VF Corporation where he was vice president of EMEA franchising for all of the group’s brands including Timberland, The North Face, Vans, Napapijri, Wrangler, Lee and Kipling. He is also the former general manager EMEA for Timberland and has previously been a sales director for Diadora and Invicta.
Meanwhile, John Mollanger has been named as chief product and marketing officer of United Colors of Benetton. His previous role was head of product and marketing for Asics in Japan and he has also held similar positions at Nike and Puma in the US and Europe.
In a final appointment, Piero Maldini has become the new retail director for United Colors of Benetton. Most recently, Maldini served as the chief operating officer of Holding dei Giochi, the retail arm of Giochi Preziosi Group, where he strengthened the group’s leadership in Europe. Prior to that, he oversaw the retail and franchise networks of Autogrill, Gruppo Coin and UPIM.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Marco Airoldi, chief executive of the Benetton Group, said: “I am delighted to welcome our new managers. We are in the process of carrying out a complex restructuring which will help our business face a challenging market situation. We believe that we have enriched our team with outstanding individuals on both a personal and professional level, with significant experience in the world of top brands and wholesale. Together we are stronger and able to face the challenges that lie ahead.”
The group said the ‘Benetton formula’ will increasingly involve its directly run stores becoming a large development laboratory for best practice to serve wholesale partners. This has already been demonstrated by the development of the new ‘On Canvas’ format, which was tested on the group’s owned stores, and is now being made available to client partners.
