Berli Jucker eyes regional acquisitions
Berli Jucker's chief wants at least to double the company's business contribution from Asean countries from the current 15 per cent to between 30 and 40 per cent in the next three years.
Berli Jucker is looking for acquisition opportunities among retailers in Indochina, especially Vietnam and Myanmar, with a view to filling out the supply-chain system with downstream business and improving its bargaining power against independent retailers, said president Aswin Techajareonvikul.
“The target is in line with our strategic expansion, which is set to cover all Indochinese and Asean markets within the next three to five years to cash in on the coming Asean Economic Community, which will combine Asean into one single market,” he said.
Aswin, who has held the top management position since January 2008, said that during his time at the helm he had been able to double the sales of the trading and manufacturing company to more than Bt30 billion by the end of last year.
Nearly five years ago, the contribution from Asean countries was just 3 per cent of overall sales, at more than Bt10 billion. That has now risen to 15 per cent.
He joined Berli Jucker in March 2007 as executive vice president in charge of corporate development and international business for the BJC Group of companies.
He was then appointed executive director and chief financial officer of Berli Jucker in August of the same year, responsible for financial and accounting, corporate development and international business and acting as senior executive in charge of group human resources.
He undertook a restructuring of the company by arranging it into separate business groups for packaging, industrial, consumer products and healthcare.
Aswin last week was honoured in the “Global Leadership Awards 2012”, in the food and beverage category.
Arranged by The Leaders International magazine in cooperation with MY Events International, the award presentation was held at Putrajaya International Convention Centre south of Kuala Lumpur.
“My personal ambition is to make Berli Jucker one of the leading business organisations in Asean with strong foundations from upstream to downstream of the whole supply chain, ranging from distribution and logistics to manufacturing and retailing,” he said.
Regionalisation
“With the regionalisation of Asean into a single market, we want to focus on teamwork and harmonise any diversity of our human resources working within the company, in relation to occupation, personal background, education, nationality and culture,” he added.
The company employs about 9,000 people, of whom 1,400 are foreign staff.
“I also want to make Berli Jucker the business organisation most preferred by new-generation people for working,” said the company president.
The company has invested in acquiring a distribution firm as well as setting up plants for tissue paper, glass bottles and aluminium cans in Vietnam, which will be the company’s second manufacturing base after Thailand.
The company also has 100-per-cent ownership of a Malaysian potato chip-producer, Jacy Foods, as well as a glass factory in that country.
Berli Jucker wants to expand its business further in Malaysia, especially in distribution and food manufacturing, including halal products.
Brad Hee, general manager of Jacy Foods, said the company had produced potato chips under the Wise brand in Malaysia for almost 25 years.
Berli Jucker took over the business in 2008 and changed it from a small, loss-making operation into a profitable company in 2010 by focusing on distribution and product freshness. It used consumer insight to gain an in-depth understanding what consumers want in terms of delivering freshness and taste.
The company then started to produce the Thai potato-chip brand Tasto in Malaysia last August.
Jacy Foods posted sales growth of 12 per cent in 2009, 16 per cent in 2010 and 33 per cent last year.
Meanwhile, Berli Jucker subsidiary Berli Jucker Foods has acquired a 51-per-cent stake, or 2.73 million shares, in Danone Dairy (Thailand), a manufacturer of fresh dairy products, for Bt210 million, according to a regulatory filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
The acquisition would enhance Berli Jucker Foods’ market expansion, sales channels and production base for consumer products in Thailand and other countries, it said.
