An interview with Aldo Palmeri of Benetton: The early growth years

Abstract

As CEO of Benetton from 1983 to 1990, Aldo Palmeri transformed a successful Italian apparel retailer into an international player with a legendary growth record. Building on Benetton's distinctive partnership network with self-employed agents, Palmeri set about reorganising the company, introducing legal changes, recruiting high-quality Italian managers, participating in external companies and founding new businesses. In particular, Palmeri began globalising Benetton's sales and finance, and set up product companies in financial services such as insurance, leasing, factoring and corporate finance. Aldo Palmeri talked to Werner Ketelhöhn of IMD about his strategy for the company in a series of interviews in 1990 prior to and just after his departure from the company, giving unusual insight into his ideas and methods. In a later interview in a forthcoming issue of EMJ, Palmeri talks to Werner Ketelhöhn about his plans to globally redistribute Benetton's manufacturing following his return to the company as CEO and chief strategist in 1992.