Effective as of January 1, 2005, for the purpose of continued simplification of the Group’s corporate structure, Benetton Holding International N.V. S.A. subscribed to an increase in the capital of Benetton International S.A. through a contribution in kind of assets and liabilities, including investments.
In May, Benetton International S.A. purchased 50% of a Turkish company from third parties, with the company then being named Benetton Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. This company performs the manufacturing and distribution activities previously performed under license by the Turkish partner.
At the end of June, given that previous operational requirements no longer exist, Benetton Finance S.A. was absorbed by Benetton International S.A.
In October, a commercial company was set up under the name of Benetton Denmark A.p.S. The company is located in Denmark and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Benetton International S.A.
The subsidiary Benetton Manufacturing Holding N.V. has established the following companies:- in April, Benetton Istria D.O.O., located in Rijeka, Croatia. This company is to begin operations in 2006 as a decentralized production unit;
- in October, the company Benrom S.r.l., located in Romania and also responsible for production-related activities;
- Benetton Beograd D.O.O., located in Serbia and Montenegro.
In December, Benetton Manufacturing Holding N.V. also received the shares in Benetton Retail (1988) Ltd., Benetton Retail Spain S.L., Benetton Retail Deutschland GmbH, Benetton Trading Ungheria Kft., and Benetton 2 Retail Comércio de Produtos Têxteis S.A. from Benetton International S.A.
In the first half of the year, the process of setting up Shanghai Benetton Trading Company Ltd., a retail company located in Shanghai, was completed. In October, the remaining 15% stake in the company was acquired, thereby becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary.
In the area of trade development, at the end of October in Tunisia, a trading company was established under the name Benetton Commerciale Tunisie S.à r.l., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Benetton Manufacturing Tunisia S.à r.l.
Also in October, the subsidiary Olimpias S.p.A. decided to terminate its operations at the production site in Cassano Magnago (Varese). The reason behind this decision was to bring production capacity into line with the Group’s projected lower needs.
With reference to the transfer of tax credits by Edizione Holding S.p.A. to other companies under its control, Edizione Holding S.p.A. granted the Benetton Group’s Italian companies their share of these tax credits. Payment was made in November for a total of roughly 17 million euro.
On December 1, the merger of Colors Magazine S.r.l., the publisher of “Colors” magazine, into its parent Fabrica S.p.A. took effect. This transaction is a part of the ongoing process of streamlining the Benetton Group’s organizational and operational structure. It will also lead to a more direct and effective integrated management of publishing activities, which will continue to be performed by the surviving company.
In December, Bencom S.r.l. established its own stable operations in Sweden in order to manage directly a number of stores.
In December, Benetton Real Estate International S.A. established the Dutch firm Benetton Realty Netherlands N.V. and sold its stake in Benetton Realty Russia O.O.O. to S.I.G.I. S.r.l., which then increased share capital in the Russian firm through the transfer in kind of a number of properties in Russia.
During the year, the British companies Denware Ltd. and Opal Link Ltd. and the Tunisian company Benetton Trading S.à r.l. were also liquidated.