On Wednesday 23rd September 2020, the Commercial Court of Marseille ruled in favour of the company Salade2Fruits (€28m turnover and 100 employees) for the takeover of the Aubagne-based Canavese group, specialising in the sale of fruit and vegetables as well as meat and seafood products, mainly for mass distribution.
Founded in 1976 in Aubagne, near Marseille, Canavese (€150m turnover in 2019 and 410 employees, including 180 in Aubagne) announced in a press release the day after it was placed in receivership on 1 April 2020 that it had been "hard hit by the unprecedented coronavirus health crisis" and that it had "suffered a drastic drop in business since the start of the crisis and a sudden 55% loss of turnover with the closure of its customers' establishments: schools, universities, corporate and commercial catering".
The group had nevertheless been in difficulty for several years and had begun a reorganisation of its strategy in 2018 by separating, in 2019, from its banana and pineapple production and ripening business in Ivory Coast (1,200 hectares) and its citrus fruit production in Morocco (650 hectares). Both accounted for 25% of its turnover.
96% of jobs taken over
"We have a strong project, that of a food wholesaler that relies on cutting-edge technologies to provide high-quality customer service and meet the new needs of the sector," comments Fabien Deurrieu, President of Salade2Fruits, in a press release. The offer of this fruit and vegetable distributor (as well as fresh vacuum-packed and tidal fries) to the catering industry will safeguard 96% of the Canavese SA company's jobs, i.e. 237 employees, and maintain its activity in Provence. In addition, the Canavese, Force Verte, Force Rouge and Force Bleue de l'Aubagnais brands will be retained.
Created in 2009 in Maillane in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, Salade2Fruits expects, with this new scope, a provisional consolidated turnover of €95 million in 2021 with 430 employees. The new group will be able to draw on 11 logistics platforms in the south of France, from the Italian border to the Spanish border.
en.econostrum.info