Agrokor enters Hungary
Hungarian market after buying up ice cream maker Baldauf and
mineral water producer Fonyódi ásványvíz.
According to press reports Croatia's largest food company, Agrokor, has moved into the Hungarian market after buying up ice cream maker Baldauf and mineral water producer Fonyódi ásványvíz. Agrokor spent a total of €20 million on the acquisitions, which the company says are a strong entry onto the Hungarian market and will also provide a good platform for further acquisitions and expansion.
Agrokor said that having bought up Fonyódi ásványvíz it is now aiming to become one of the top three producers of mineral water in Hungary by focusing on a comprehensive marketing strategy. In doing this the company is aiming to invest €35 million into the company over the course of the next two to three years. Further to this the company said that it was also considering buying the rights to a number of spring sources for mineral water throughout Hungary in an effort to push output up to 100 million litres a year.
Compared to Fonyódi ásványvíz, Baldauf is a relatively small operation. It currently produces 7 million litres a year, which makes it the third largest ice cream maker in the country. Agrokor said that it aimed to boost production and up market share.
Croatia, which has a population of 4.4 million, borders Hungary on its northern frontier, making it an ideal market for Agrokor to break in to. Further to that, with a population of 10.3 million and a growing economy, the Hungarian market offers Agrokor a major opportunity to significantly grow its business, outside of the smaller domestic market.
The company is also expanding aggressively on the domestic market and just this month it opened one of the country's largest distribution and shopping centres under the Velpro brand in Boznia and Herzogovinia. The outlet has 8,500 square metres of retail space and is said to contain around 17,000 different food and beverage products.
In Croatia Agrokor owns the Ledo ice cream brands and the Jamnica mineral water brand, which are amongst the best recognised food and beverage brands in the country. The company is also heavily involved in the food retail sector in Croatia and currently has a network of some 400 retail outlets.
The company has been enjoying a period of sustained expansion, backed up by strong financial results. Last week it announced that it had boosted its sales by 37 per cent to approximately €1.2 billion in 2003, which led to an operating profit of €47 million, up 28 per cent on the results for 2002.
