December 16 (SeeNews) - Croatia's Atlantic Grupa [ZSE:ATGR-R-A] said it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with local coffee shop chain Vivas.
The deal will result in an additional annual revenue of 8.0 million kuna ($1.2 million/1.1 million euro) from espresso coffee sales, Atlantic said in a statement on Friday.
The agreement is part of Atlantic's strategy to take a leading position on the Croatian coffee market and expand in the growing segment of out of home consumption.
"With approximately 24 thousand tonnes of coffee produced annually, Atlantic Grupa is the leading coffee producer in the region. We are the leading company in the Serbian market with our brand Grand kafa, undisputed leader in Slovenia with the brand Barcaffè and an ambitious contender for the leading position in the Croatian market, where our market share has increased from 4 to the current 15.5 percent since the acquisition of Droga Kolinska by Atlantic in 2010," the general manager of SBU Coffee at Atlantic Grupa, Mate Stetic, said in the statement.
"With a share of almost 21 percent in total revenue, coffee is the largest individual business unit in Atlantic Grupa and certainly one of strategically most important units for the future business development," Stetic said.
The group's strategy is to become a leader on the coffee market in Southeast Europe, as well as to improve its position in other segments such as savoury spreads, salty snacks, chocolate and fruit-flavoured soft drinks, where it is already present with leading brands including Argeta, Smoki, Najlepse Zelje, Cedevita, Cockta, the group said.
Atlantic Grupa is a regional distributor of fast-moving consumer goods and a producer of functional foods and supplements. It also owns a pharmacy chain in Croatia. In October, it agreed to sell its food supplements unit Fidifarm, owner of the Dietpharm brand, to local generic drug manufacturer PharmaS.
The group's shares did not trade by 0915 CET on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Monday, after closing flat at 1,300 kuna on Friday. They are part of the bourse's blue-chip index CROBEX.
(1 euro = kuna)