Dole Europe will continue to adopt a targeted approach to expansion during 2010 and remains poised to grow its business in eastern Europe as and when markets and consumers there shift their attention towards quality and away from price.
In an exclusive interview to be published in the April issue of Eurofruit Magazine, Dole Europe president Jean-Christophe Juilliard said the group planned to keep pace with the ongoing development of modern retail channels in the region.
'Clearly our eyes are turning to eastern Europe because that’s where we see a lot more potential for development, so we may open more warehouses and ripening centres there,' he said.
'We can already show our customers there all of the services we can provide. The point is, in some cases, these eastern markets are still focused too much on price, whereas we focus more on the quality of product and service. So we are working with Tesco, Ahold and others, but targeting only where it makes sense.'
Mr Juilliard also pointed to the recent acquisition of Romanian company Distrifruit as an example of the group's measured approach to expansion.
'We didn’t just rush in a few years ago because of a trend, neither did we withdraw because of the recent downturn,' he explained. 'We had been working with our Romanian distributor for a long time, and when it came to it, mid-2008 was the right time and so we did it.'
The group's decision to take over its distribution partner in Romania could eventually be repeated for other markets such as Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, Mr Juilliard added.
The full interview with Jean-Christophe Juilliard can be found in the April issue of Eurofruit Magazine. To reserve your copy, click on the link below:
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