In the midst of reorganisation to improve competitiveness, Benetton group has decided to take back its distribution arm in South Korea. Both Benetton brands and Sisley have for a long time been represented in the country via a 50/50 joint venture with a local distributor. The Italian group announced this week it now owns 100% of this structure with the latter becoming one of its subsidiaries.
South Korea is a very important country to the group, since it is the second export market for Benetton after India and the top export country for Sisley. The group’s annual brand sales are estimated at 150 millions euros in the region across 300 points of sale.
It’s a strategic market too, influential in the Asian region as whole, becoming a sort of base camp for the Italian group.
Benetton wants to continue in the right direction after taking back the distribution reigns. It revealed it has appointed the country manager of the former structure, Hyung Rae Cho, to the role of CEO of the newly created Korean subsidiary.