During the year, the Investor Relations unit sought to strengthen direct communication with institutional investors throughout the world, with the organization of an ongoing series of presentations, conference calls, and meetings with the management.

Communication with the retail investors has also been further strengthened with the enhancement of the web site at www.benettongroup.com/investors, where new sections have been added (Social and Glossary) and content has been expanded. A new means of communicating with analysts has also been introduced, with a "virtual room" that facilitates group discussion on issues of common interest.

Particular emphasis has also been placed on communicating clearly and fully the impact of the adoption of IAS/IFRS.

Finally, at the end of the year, a shareholders identification study was conducted in order to provide a breakdown by geographic area and to define the structure of institutional investors. The study showed that European investors hold roughly 55% of the organization’s free float, with some 40% being held by American investors and the remaining 5% by Japanese investors.