Benetton family injects 300 million euros into clothing chain as loss grows

MILAN (Reuters) - Benetton Srl, the holding company which controls Italian clothing retailer Benetton Group and its production assets, saw its net loss quadruple last year to 361 million euros ($440 million), pushing its founding family to inject fresh cash.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit hard fashion retailers globally, keeping clients away from shops because of lockdowns and fear of infection.

Edizione, the Benetton family holding which controls Benetton srl, injected 200 million euros into the company last year and would provide another 100 million euros by the end of 2022, according to a financial document filed with its local chamber of commerce.

Benetton srl said in the document that it is aiming to achieve an operating profit in 2023, which will grow to over 6% of the revenues in 2026, helped by a transformation of the group's operating and production model and by cost reduction.

($1 = 0.8206 euros)

(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; Editing by Keith Weir)