The long-standing Italian business heritage continues with Benji’s expansion of U$35 million.

In 1999, a renowned Italian business firm entered Sri Lanka and invested in the garment sector. Calzedonia first invested in the Omega Line. The firm first focused on the European market, followed by Sirio Limited and Alpha Apparel investments. Benji Limited began making bra cups, briefs, and bras for women in 2006. Calzedonia eventually changed its name to Oniverse, but the group’s operations continue to grow and spread worldwide.

 
Benji Limited and the BOI inked an expansion agreement for US$35 million. The company’s parent company, Oniverse, opted to invest more investment in Sri Lanka, citing its extensive understanding of the local business ecosystem and renewed confidence in the normalization of business in the country.

Giorgio Montresor, CEO and Managing Director of Benji underlined the importance of Sri Lanka’s human resources in attracting new investment. He also remarked that young Sri Lankans are very capable of learning new technologies, and their work ethic is among the greatest in the world. All of the group’s companies currently employ about 15,000 people.

Currently, Benji manufactures 30 million bra cups. This fresh capital injection will bring in new technology-driven machines with increased capacity and improved quality. We expect a 35% increase in production. All group firms source bra cups from Benji, reducing imports of bra cups from China to nil. As a result, this investment will not only increase foreign exchange inflows but also reduce dollar outflows. 

Oniverse began operations in Verona, Italy, in 1986. Over the last thirty years, Oniverse has had constant development in its streams and expansion activities, developing profitable goods and brands and strengthening its position in worldwide fashion retail marketplaces. Oniverse manages the whole product life cycle, from design to manufacturing in proprietary facilities to global distribution. Today, the Group sells its products entirely through its single-brand 5600 stores, which are either directly owned or franchised in 57 countries and employ over 45,000 people.
Universe is the industry’s dominant player in Europe and one of the top globally. The firm operates 66% of its stores outside of Italy, with locations in Milan, Rome, Paris, London, Moscow, Barcelona, Dubai, Hong Kong, New York, São Paulo, Shanghai, Tokyo, and other global cities.
Oniverse distinguishes out for its power, adaptability, and dynamism. These characteristics enable us to provide a diverse range of professional development chances to individuals in whom we genuinely believe, ensuring that our talent is given the best possibilities available. We invest in young people, giving them responsibility from day one and providing incentives for internal growth through meritocratic, agile careers with an international perspective.
These pledges gained a new boost in 2019 with the Group’s signing of the Fashion Pact, which aims to achieve common objectives like as halting global warming, restoring biodiversity, and protecting the seas.

In this situation, the organization has said that it is attempting to lessen the environmental impact of its products by taking several actions at each stage of its life cycle, from planning and designing them to manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and eventually utilizing them. 

The company’s concept is to adhere to the ESG framework of the work ethics ecosystem. Paying more attention to the environment around us is a clear goal that has always been part of our culture and progress. We examined and admired the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda and its 17 goals.

We have identified quantitative and qualitative indicators that will allow us to measure progress toward the SDGs while also taking into consideration ideas from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). This group benchmark on the ESG framework consistently drives Sri Lankan enterprises’ initiatives for gaining a competitive edge in business.