A FRENCH shopkeeper is suing Italian fashion giant Benetton claiming its advertising campaigns ruined his business as a franchise holder.

Mr Eric Glucksman, 36, said he was forced to close down two Benetton franchise outlets because of the campaigns, often featuring provocative images and statements.

"Since 1991 these ad campaigns have had disastrous consequences," his lawyer, Mr Serge Meresse, told a Paris court yesterday saying his client's turnover fell from four million francs (£500,000) in 1990 to 2.8 million francs in 1994.

Mr Gluckman opened one shop in 1983 and another in 1985. The first stopped trading last year, while the second will be closed in June. He is claiming 1.4 million francs in damages from the company.

"These adverts led to a complete collapse of the Benetton distribution network," he said, stating that 350 of the 650 Benetton shops in France had closed in the last three years.

For Benetton, lawyer Mr Martine Karsenty Ricard argued that it could not be proved that sales were lost due to the ad campaign. "There may have been an artistic mistake," she said.

"But it is impossible to measure the effect of an advertising campaign on sales."