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7/28/2019 Interview With CEO of Grupo Bimbo
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/interview-with-ceo-of-grupo-bimbo 1/5
MEXICO
G R U P O
BIMBOIt all starts w ithunderstandingtheconsunnerBY ELiDA B USTOS
Daniel Servitje. CEO G rupo Bimbc
7/28/2019 Interview With CEO of Grupo Bimbo
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MEXICO
hagaotra cosa
buena...
An ad from the '50s.
Bimbo S.A. was founded in Mexico in
1945, just as the world was starting to
emerge from W orld War II . Today it
boasts operations in 19 countries (including
China), vidth 153 production plants (42 in
Mexico, 111 abroad), 103 registered trade-
marks, and 127,000 fuU-time employees.
According to Ladn Trades Latin 500 rank-
ings, in 2011 B imbo posted revenue of $9,586
bulion and profits of$382.1 million.
Grupo Bimbo's management sees 2011 as a
year of great transformation, led by three stra-
tegic acquisitions to enhance its intem ational
position: itbought Sara Lee North American
Fresh B akery in the Un ited S tates, and Sara
Lee's businesses in Spain and Portugal, as well
as the traditional Argentine company, Fargo.
Daniel Servitje is CE O of Grupo B imbo
and a m ember of its founding family. In con-
versation with Latin Trade he explains how
the family firm has arrived at the kitchen table
of millions of people and become the success-
ful multilatina it is today.
WH EN DID THE COMPANY DECIDE TO
TAKE ITS OPERATIONS INTO THE
INTERNATIONAL MARKET?
The international expansion of Grupo B imbo
began in the 1980s, when we started export-
ing our products to the United States, to the
Hispanic pop ulation of Mexican origin.Then
we entered Latin A merica, which presents
different challenges.
HOW DO YOU W IN ANEW MARKET IN
THE BREAD-MAKING SECTOR, WHICH
AT FIRST GLANCE APPEARS TO BE AN
AREA CLOSELY TIED TO THE UNIQUE
CHARACTER OF ACOUNTRY?
Bread is one of the products that make up
part of the basic food basket of the majority ofa population, so we think the challenge lies in
finding a way to satisfy the palates of consu-
mers, adapting our products to their tastes
and trends, both at the local and world levels.
Some products can be successful in several
markets. It all starts with understanding the
consumer.
HOW DO YOU STUDY LOCAL TASTES IN
DIFFERENT M ARKETS BEFORE
LAUNCHING NEW PRODUCTS?
We consider global trends innutrition, localtastes, as well as consumer preferences in gen-
eral, through a series of studies. These include
anthropology, population, preferences, which
enables us toconcentrate on offering alterna-
tives to their daily needs.
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU NEED TO
DESIGN ANEW PRODUCT?
It depends on the product, bu t generally it
takes six mo nths to one year. However, pro -
jects that involve new production processes
can lengthen the time to two years or more.
WH AT IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESS FOR
A NEW PRODUCT IN A FOREIGN MAR-
KET?
Mainly, it's whatever pleases the consumer...
good flavor hat m eets high standards of qua-
lity aswell as expectations. One impo rtant
factor is that itmust represent a value offer for
the consumer.
HOW HAS THE COMPANY ADAPTED
THROUGH THE YEARS TO SHIFTING
TRENDS IN EATING HAB ITS? FOR
EXAMPLE, THE PROMOTION OF LOW-
CALORIE FOODS AND THE DEMONIZA-
TION OF FLOUR INSOME CIRCLES.
We are in the vanguard of the new consumer
trends. Specifically, we have wo rked intensely
SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE
ACE Group is one of the world's lorgest insurance and reinsurance
providers. We offer a great variety of products to clients around the
world; from large multinational corporations, to clients in local markets,
and individuals covered by personal insurance. With more than 15,000talented anddedicated employees, ACE has a physical presence in 53
countries and commercial and individual customers in more than 170,
you can feel confident in the support offered by ACE.
ACE Seguros, headquartered regionally in Santiago, Chile, includes
business operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Miami, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Puerto Rico.
To learn more,
visit usat aceseguros.com
insuring progress"
7/28/2019 Interview With CEO of Grupo Bimbo
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MEXICO
The company history in three images. The effort to reach every Mexican town by road and river;
and the vision of the founding fathers : R.Servitje, J.Jorba, L. Servitje, J. Sendra y J. Mata.
to improve the nutritional profiles of our
products. In 2005, Grupo Bimbo launched a
campaign to promote consumption of whole
grains, offering enriched products which had
the seal of approval of th e Whole Grains
Council, a non-profit consumer defense group
that works to improve health by promoting
consumption of grains.
FOOD SECURITY IS A NEW CONCEPT IN
WH ICH YOU ARE INVOLVED.
Grupo Bimbo has stated its commitm ent
regarding one of the most diíEcult issues tha t
faces the world since the beginning of this
century by joinin g forces with other global
companies, including the large players, to ana-
lyze and find solutions through the Food andNutrition Security Group of the B20 (*).The
recommendations of the Food and Nutrition
Security Group have as a common goal to en-
courage the participation of the private sector
and to achieve better coordination among all
interested parties, to accelerate and apply na-
tional security programs in diet and nutrition.
EXACTLY WHAT DO THESE
PROGRAMS DO?
We have been working on this issue, analyz-
ing causes and effects, since 2011. This year,
as C E O of Grupo B imbo, I was invited to
be co-president of the B20's Food and N u-
tritional Security Working Group . We have
placed real comm itments on the table through
which the sectors represented by the working
group plan to increase investments in agricul-ture and also help attain the objective of rais-
à à W e are in the
vanguard
of the new
consumer trends.
Specifically, w e
have worke d
intensely to
improve the
nutritional profilesof our products. ^ ^
ing production and productivity by asmuch
as SO percent by 2030. (NB: The B20 believ
agricultural productivity must increase by 50
percent by this date to be able to respond to
the challenges of nutritional security).
The increase in productivity must offer fo
and nutrition security for everyone in a way
that is environmentally sustainable, ensures
economic growth and improves the m eans o
subsistence and revenue for producers.
RETURNING TO THE MARKETS YOU RE
OPERATING I N, WHICH REGION OF THE
WORLD DO YOU EXPECT WILL PROVIDE
THE GREATEST SALES GROWTH IN THE
MEDIUM TERM?
In percentage terms, Latin Am erica is the re
gion that vsoll provide the highest growth as
result of our initiatives to increase penetratio
and distribution, mainly through traditional
channels. In Mexico we hope to continue
the growth trend of the last two years. In th
United States, the results will refiect the in-
corporation of recent acquisitions.
DO YOU ANTICIPATE MORE PURCHASE
FOLLOWING THE BUYOUT OF SARA LE
IN THE UNITED STATES AND ITS
OPERATIONS IN SPAIN AND PORTUGA
WHICH MARKETS INTEREST YOU?
W e w ill focus more on the integration o f
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MEXICO
Grupo Bimbo entered the Chinese nnarket in May 2006."So far our efforts have been fruitful," says Servitje.
Sara Lee over the next few years. We need to
achieve the synergies that we're anticipating
from the new B imbo Bakeries USA . We want
to strengthen profits in the markets in which
we currently have a presence.
WHAT IS BIMBO'S MANAGEMENT
STRUCTURE IN THE DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES WHERE YOU OPERATE?
We operate through eight organizations,
which are: Bimbo SA, Barcel SA, Bimbo
Bakeries USA , El G lobo, Latinoamérica Sur,
Latinoamérica C entro, Bimbo Asia, and most
recently Bimbo Iberia. The management com-mittee of each country is made up of local and
international teams.
WHAT SURPRISES DID YOU COME
ACROSS IN THE CHINA OPERATION?
Grupo Bimbo entered the Chinese market in
May 2006. Our objective in that country con-
sists of a long-term plan that represents a source
of important growth for the group.
We are learning as quickly as we can how
to infiuence C hinese consumers and convince
them to try new products and consume them.We wan t to become a relevant player for pack -
aged bread in China, increasing per capita
consumption and enhancing penetration of our
products. So far our efforts have been fruitful.
WHAT W AS THE KEY TO ENTERING
CHINA?
Entering China was undoubtedly a huge cha-
llenge for our company. Right from the start
we took into account the natural differences
that exist between one country and the other,
including language and culture, so as to adapt
our ways of working.
Our long-term vision and openness to
change were among the most important fac-tors. We were firm in remaining faithful to
our values and philosophy while being fie-
xible in adapting to a new culture th at we are
constantly learning. The local leadership and
talent have been essential to our development
in tha t country. The m ixing of, and interaction
between, the two cultures has been a mutual
learning process that enables us to understand
the market and facilitate problem solving.
AND IN TERMS OF PROCESSES?
In terms of processes and metho ds, we havefollowed the same plan we use in other re -
gions, adapting to the language and ways
of communicating. I'm referring to th e IT
systems, enterprise resource planning, repor
crucial processes of methodology in market
ing, operations and adm inistration. We have
been adapting w hile respecting the local sta
dards and laws.
BIMBO HAS A PLAN TO GENERATE
100 PERCENT OF THE ENERGY IT
CONSUMES IN MEXICO. HOW IS THIS
PROJECT COMING ALONG?
DO YOU HAVE SIMILAR PL AN S
IN OTHER COUNTRIES?We hope to start up operations at the Parqu
Eolico Piedra Larga (Piedra Larga Wind
Park) in the second half of 2012, dep end-
ing on climate conditions and the physical
progress ofthe works. The park will compr
45 wind generators with an installed vnnd
potential of 90 M W The wind energy we
generate there vn]l supply the annu al elect
cal consumption of 65 Grupo Bimbo insta
llations (production plants and other opera
ting centers). It wall be the highest conversi
of renewable energy in the food industry inthe world. El
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