According to the group's Milan-based head office, the company said it would build brand awareness in the region with an Asia-specific strategy, focusing on Greater China with the opening of new stores.
Benetton said it would also introduce specific mini-collections for Asia and would attempt to increase perception of the brand through cultural activities.
The mid-range clothing retailer currently has one mega-store in Shanghai and opened another in Hong Kong last September. The company distributes its products through numerous smaller high street retail outlets throughout the Greater China region and Asia.
"As far as our strategy is concerned, we want to keep firm in our pricing policy to build the confidence of our customers in our brands and in the perceived value of our products," a company spokesman said. "In other words, we do not want to start with high prices to attract people later on with high discounts, but we want our customers to appreciate every time of the year that there is the right ratio between quality and retail prices."
The group's comments come after the release of its 2004-2007 guidelines, which forecast a growth in revenue of 25 per cent. The year got off to a bad start when Benetton was forced to confirm press reports that sales in December had actually declined.
In March last year, chairman Luciano Benetton announced he would begin to take a back seat in the day-to-day running of the company with the arrival of chief executive officer Silvano Cassano. He replaced Luigi de Puppi who had, according to the company, "reached his objectives".
The following May it was announced that Massimo Ibarra would become the new marketing director.
The company said the changes in senior management would not affect its philosophy or message.
