The German marker company
Edding
sold its Argentine subsidiary to
Facundo Mendizábal
, owner of the Parallel company, known for being the importer of Stanley thermoses, as well as a marketer of other multinational brands, such as Avent (Philips) or Impulse (Unilever).
The operation, which will become effective from March 31,
"was agreed upon at a symbolic purchase price of US$1
, plus recoverable current assets (inventories and accounts receivable)," Edding said in a statement.
The company's decision is part of a global strategy, as happened with other brands, such as Nike, which made the same move in the region: leaving the management of their products in the hands of third parties, generally local firms.
"With the implementation of the 2025+ Strategy, the Edding Group ceased to have a dedicated strategy for the Latin American region at the beginning of 2021," the company explained.
"Since then,
the risks of our activities in Argentina were no longer in balance with the expected benefits
and can now be significantly reduced through this sale. The business will continue with Parallel as distributor and partner in the Argentine market," they said.
The firm added that, "despite the only symbolic purchase price and severance payments, the sale has a positive effect on the Group's net worth, financial position and operating results compared to the uncertainty
scenario
that I had been living the company".
"The
avoided loss
for 2023 if compared to what would have happened with the company running is currently estimated to be in the six-digit range of euros" (between 100 and 500 thousand), Edding estimated.
The departure of Argentina occurs after that of
Brazil, a country that he left at the end of last year
.
There, since 2014, he had a 21% stake in the Brazilian firm Companhia de Canetas Compactor, which he sold to his partners, with a profit of 400,000 euros.
Edding was founded in Hamburg in 1960 and in 2022 had
sales revenue of €159.2 million
, with 735 employees.
In addition to markers, it sells whiteboards and electronic displays and tattoo ink, among other things.
Meanwhile,
Parallel
employs 44 people and billed US$ 26 million in 2022.
The option of abandoning the direct presence and leaving a local distributor that knows more closely the political and economic ups and downs of Argentina and keeps the brand alive was the model chosen by other companies.
Nike and Asics
used this system, as did
Shell,
which sold its business to Brazil's
Raíze
n (in which it still holds a stake).
Other large companies also left the country, but selling their entire business, such as
Walmart
, which sold its business to the De Narváez group, or the Italian
Enel
, which has already divested itself of its Costanera and Dock Sud power plants and is looking for a buyer for Edesur.
And, finally, there were companies that
decided to close
their local operations, such as the Chilean
Falabella and LAN
, which stopped operating in the cabotage market, just like
Norwegian
.
NE
look also
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