Competing now with those stores is Benetton's offspring, Sisley, with higher-priced versions of its Benetton apparel.
A painting that had garnered headlines in 1988 for selling at the world-record price for an Alfred Sisley, $3.6 million, went back on the block and failed to sell.
Spending on advertising and sponsorship amounted to L108.2bn last year. Sales of its Sisley brand rose particularly strongly, with a 34 per cent increase.
Works by blue-chip Impressionists Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley and Pierre-Auguste Renoir had extreme difficulty selling.
'Sisley'. As Sisley lay dying, Monet could write of him: 'He is a truly great artist and I believe he is as great a master as any who has ever lived.
'Sisley'. As Sisley lay dying, Monet could write of him: 'He is a truly great artist and I believe he is as great a master as any who has ever lived.
The magazine rejected Benetton's request to repeat the upside-down back-cover placement, although it meant the loss of the five ad pages that usually make up the inverted Sisley spread.