Can you tell us something about your company's business and origins ?

We are an independent company specialising in large-scale exports, particularly supplies of top-of-the-range fresh produce for gourmet grocers and supermarkets on a worldwide scale. We are an exclusive air supply provider of the group Mercure International of Monaco for its fresh produce distribution segment throughout West Africa (Senegal, Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast). This segment covers three hypermarkets, a number of supermarkets and some thirty-odd other large stores. Mercure International of Monaco is a Monaco-based group that deals in two lines of distribution - food products and sports articles. We subcontract our logistics services, including goods pick-ups, to SDV to enable us to focus on our core business area - the purchase and sale of fresh produce, as well as on communications with a broad customer base that, in addition to West Africa, includes Asia (exclusive stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok), the Middle East and, since 2001, the Near East, particularly the United Arab Emirates. We also have contractual engagements with the stores we serve, i.e. the former stores of the West African Trading House (SCOA). We took over the former fresh produce supply organisation from a subsidiary of the Arcor group which was based in the Senia area at the time. We also have some limited business dealings in the hotel-restaurant sector.

Can you tell us about your product list ?

We only deal in products that have been through a strict selection process. We sell standard products like creams and butters, fruits and vegetables, charcuterie, etc. and also high-end products such as foie gras, caviar, smoked salmon, etc., in addition to a certain number of gourmet grocer products. Our business focus is fresh quality produce from France (label, regional, organic, AOC, etc.) and Europe (cheese, charcuterie, delicatessen products, dishes and desserts, etc.). We sell a little over 100 tonnes per month, half of which goes to West Africa, the remainder being shipped worldwide. Eighty-five percent of our produce is shipped by plane and fifteen percent by ocean-going freight. We sell traditional products such as poultry, fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables (20%), cheeses (30%), plus a diverse range of dairy products such as yoghurt, ultra-fresh dairy produce, butter, desserts (20%), charcuterie and delicatessen products (20%) and gourmet delicatessen products (10%).

How would you describe your customer base?

Our customers include supermarkets, retail stores and gourmet grocers whose own customers are buyers with high purchasing power (expatriate families, business executives, retailers, local gentry). Our sales policy is to provide a comprehensive service that fully meets our customers' needs by selecting a certain number of ranges of the highest quality products, identifying any new trends likely to interest their own customers through varied collections of festive, label, regional and seasonal products, and also by organising promotional events showcasing a select range of products such as wine shows and tours of certain manufacturers and suppliers i.e. major Paris delicatessens, fresh produce markets, or even oyster parks and other production locations.

How do you see your sector developing?

The future for the shipping business lies in strengthening its professionalism. Leaving business concentration aside, it is obvious that we are moving towards greater specialisation via an increasingly niche-centred approach. We may also see some pooling or segmentation of the destinations, products and customer bases in each business area. We have chosen to dedicate ourselves to being generalists. However, to ensure success as a large-scale exporter means having to ensure impeccable product quality, competitive delivery costs, sound knowledge of customer countries, and products and, especially, of the rapidly changing regulations that vary widely from one country to the next, and to which we will continually have to adapt.

What do you think about Rungis Market ?

For an exporter, Rungis is a prestigious name of worldwide renown. This gives us a considerable edge in logistics terms, as well in terms of supplies of fruit, vegetables, fresh seafood, creamery produce, delicatessen and foreign specialities, etc. Our purchase volumes of all these products taken together tops 30%, mainly in fruits and vegetables (salads, fruits, fresh herbs, etc.). Our only concern would be that Rungis is still too focused on the traditional markets of Paris and the rest of France.