After many twists and turns, the Prima Group, presided over by regional entrepreneur Hugo Sanchez, finally acquired the majority of the shares of Moño Azul.
"This is an important step for us and for the entire Rio Negro Valley," said Nicolas Sanchez, the CEO of Grupo Prima, which is made up of the assets of the Sanchez family.
Nicolas Sanchez made it clear that "the purchase of Moño Azul has nothing to do with the Patagonian Fruit Trade (PFT) company. The operation was closed with the Prima Group. This new acquisition is a corporate integration in which the Orsero Group has a minority stake. From now on, the Prima Group will control and manage Moño Azul."
The purchase of the stock package of Moño Azul does not take into account the former tomato factory in Otto Krause, the offices of Guerrico, and the facilities of the former Liguori. The Prima Group keeps the main assets of the company: the packing and refrigeration complex of Vista Alegre, the Villa Regina complex, just over 700 hectares of fruit in production and another 350 hectares that are not in production, but are ready to be planted. It is a whole new story for the Sanchez family.
Key association
The move of Prima Group into the fruit business is significant. There are three parameters to take into account to achieve a better future positioning.
- The more than 30 million kilos of pears and apples that the former firm of the Orsero family will bring for this season.
- The Moño Azul brand is an intangible million dollar asset that will add value to the Group in the local and international fruit market. The managers of the Prima Group are aware of this, and know that it will allow them to go out and compete firmly in the local and Brazilian market, which they didn't exploit to its full potential in the last two seasons. At present, the Moño Azul brand already generates a price differential in the market. In the wholesale market, its prices are up to 10% higher than the average prices of the rest of the companies, in the Quality and Premium segments.
- Growth of the fruit basket with a unique brand. In other words, Prima Group will probably use Moño Azul's logo in most of its fruits, which include different varieties of apples, pears, table grapes, kiwi and stone fruits, among other products.
Source: rionegro.com.ar