Cédrick Gallot is a cheerful, dynamic businessman who is firmly committed to developing his company and the fruit and vegetable sector…
The managing director of Sélection, a flourishing fruit and vegetable business, Cédrick Gallot (age 33) succeeded his father, Yves, in 2001, after the latter’s untimely death at age 57.
“Originally from Britanny, my father came to Paris to study (degree in maths and physics) and he used to work at Les Halles at night in the fruit and vegetable sector. That was how he decided to set up a traditional trading company at the Rungis Market, in building A3, in 1969. My mother, Denise, who was working for a fruit and vegetable company at Rungis, then joined him. My father was very avant-garde, so from 1970-80 he decided to invest in producing string beans in Cameroon, which was his first imported produce. In the 1980s, he joined the Saveol et Azura group. Later, as a member of COLEACP, he set up a pineapple growing subsidiary in the Ivory Coast in 1992. He was a member of the fruit and vegetable wholesalers’ union (CSCGFL) and he was also on the board of the French importers union (CSIF). After doing my scientific baccalaureat and a two-year science diploma, I got an engineering degree from Ecole d’Agronomie Tropicale in Cergy (majoring in hydrology and agronomy) and a master’s degree in England. I joined the company in 1999 and took over the management in 2001 when my father died. He was an excellent teacher and I felt obliged to make my name. As the youngest in the family, I am backed by my sister, the administrative manager, and my brother, the sales manager. From 28,000 tons of fruit and vegetables a year at one time, we now do 45,000 tons (with 20,000 tons going through Rungis) and our flagship products are tomatoes (12,000 tons), pineapples (15,000 tons), mangos (5,000 tons) and string beans (4,000 tons)…
Sélection is a holding company with 35 employees in France (3 at our Perpignan office) and 500 at our subsidiary Sélectima in the Ivory Coast. We are also partners with various producers in a processing plant at Agadir (Morocco). We have about twenty listed products, with six top products: pineapples, tomatoes, string beans, mangos, litchis and ratatouille. Our clientele includes retailers (17%), exports (18%, EU and Russia), large and medium-sized supermarkets (30%, France and EU) and wholesalers (35%, Rungis and provinces). Our niche market has become very competitive and we need to boost our turnover to stay in the game. Rungis Market is an exceptional benchmark location for all professionals and its strength lies in the range of products on display”.
