For the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector, the period that goes from pre-Christmas to Three Kings' Day is not good for sales. "Generally, Spain has a high per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Spanish consumers tend to eat fruit and vegetables motivated by health reasons, which don't matter as much at festive meals and celebrations, unlike in other European countries, where fruits are also purchased as a treat," says Christophe Laffon, commercial director of Hnos Fernández López.
Constant growth of the large retail sector, compared to the wholesale market
The company is more than 95% focused on the Spanish market, where it supplies both large retailers and wholesale markets, with sales outlets in the markets of Barcelona, Sabadell, Lleida, Tarragona, Alicante / Cox, Madrid, Seville and Tenerife.
According to Christophe Laffon, in Spain, the large retail sector, whose share increases every year by about 1%, continues to gain ground on the wholesale market. “About 27% of our turnover comes from retail sales through our sales network in wholesale markets, while approximately 45% comes from the large retail. In recent years, we have dedicated more efforts to boosting sales in large supermarket chains, which is reflected in the growth of business in this channel over the last 5 years; the greatest for the company in general. Although Spanish consumer purchases in supermarkets were comparable to those of other European countries, this was not the case for fruits and vegetables, which have seen a considerable increase in their presence and diversity on the shelves in the last 7 years.”
According to Christophe, fruits have recorded the greatest increase in their sales in Spain's large retail sector, also in terms of value. “In general, high-value products such as subtropical fruits, berries, seedless grapes and fruits with recognized brands are the ones that have gained the most momentum. Consumers in the Mediterranean tend to live vertically, in cities with a high concentration of inhabitants per square meter. This explains why proximity sales in supermarkets have grown so much, since they tend to buy frequently, but in small quantities. I think Spain could even become one of the countries with the most online supermarket sales in the not too distant future, especially when it comes to commodities.”
“Imported banana sales continue to grow without harming Canary bananas”
The Canary banana / imported banana business is still the company's main activity. “Canary bananas are the most important product in terms of turnover. It is true that the market share of imported bananas continues to grow in Spain, although this does not mean that there has been a reduction in the consumption of Canary bananas. So far, imported bananas have grown without taking a toll on the share of Canary bananas, while the latter, also supported by strong marketing investments from the sector, maintains a fairly high price differential with respect to imported bananas, which I believe will continue to grow gradually in Spain,” says Laffon.
At the same time, Grupo Fernández López continues to grow with kiwifruit, its second most important product, with the Sungold kiwi from Zespri standing out the most, since it guarantees both healthy properties and tastiness, due to its organoleptic characteristics. It is worth recalling that Spain is the largest kiwifruit consumer in Europe and the third largest in the world, only behind China and Japan. Meanwhile, the results in the tropical line are also positive, although perhaps not as much as expected, so more investment is expected in this area in 2020.
Greater presence in southern Spain and commitment to organic production
After the purchase of Servimpor, Hnos Fernández López has also acquired a 7,000 square meter warehouse in the municipality of Dos Hermanas, in Seville, which will serve as a platform to provide banana ripening services and to supply both local produce and imports (from North Africa or South America) to supermarkets.
"We believe that both Canary and imported bananas should be ripened near the points of sale. Supermarkets tend to prefer those suppliers that are able to offer them better logistics at more competitive prices. This investment will allow us to gain presence in southern Spain," says the commercial director.
The company also wants to strengthen its organic product line, and to this end, it has already been given a place in a Bio Market distribution warehouse which is being built in Mercabarna. "The organic market is growing in Spain and we are developing the entire range, which includes products such as pineapples, kiwifruit, imported bananas or, especially, Canary bananas. In fact, there are already plantations being converted to organic in the Canary Islands," says Christophe Laffon.
For more information:
Hnos. Fernández López, S.A
T: (+34) 93 262 66 90
info@grupofernandez.es
www.grupofernandez.es