Podravka takes over Lagris a.s. in the Czech Republic

Podravka d.d., the largest food industry based in Central, East and Southeast Europe, is to take over Lagris today. The ceremony to celebrate the contracting of this transaction will take place on the premises of the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Prague.

Lagris is a leading independent food manufacturer on the Czech and Slovakian market based in the Czech Republic, in the town of Luhačovice. Lagris was established in 1991 by Josef Adolt as a private business for the sale of food products. Today Lagris is in 100% ownership of the Adolt family and consists of two legal entities: Lagris a.s in the Czech Republic and Lagris s.r.o. in Slovakia. Lagris has an established market position, a well-known brand, high-quality products and efficient manufacturing. All business processes which relate to the development, manufacturing, sales, and distribution of products are covered by the ISO 9001 certificate and HACCAP.

Lagris is a recognisable brand in the following product categories: rice, leguminous products, dried fruit, potato-based products and salt. It is somewhat less recognisable in the categories of condiments, gastro soups and sauces. Lagris has a more than 40% market share on the Czech market in the categories of rice and leguminous products, which makes it a market leader in these categories. The total turnover of Lagris in 2001 was about 17 million USD, and in Slovakia about 3 million USD. Lagris has about 260 fully employed workers, i.e. more than 200 employees in the Czech Republic and more than 50 employees in Slovakia.

Davor Cimaš, member of the Management Board of Podravka d.d., stated: “Podravka’s strategic goal is to internationalise business. Podravka has been present in the Czech Republic and Slovakia with its own company since the mid 1990s and it holds a leading position in universal food complements and a respectable market position in the area of soups. However, we have reached the conclusion that our product range should be expanded by taking over a local manufacturer. The takeover of Lagris enriched us with an established brand on the mentioned markets and we also penetrated the categories of rice and leguminous products in which Lagris is a leader. We also penetrated some other categories in which Lagris has a favourable market position. This way we are strengthening our own market position in Central Europe while part of the Lagris product range will be presented on other Central European markets in the future”.

The Lagris product range is present on the Czech and Slovakian markets in the retail segment and HORECA (gastro), and the acquisition of Lagris will allow Podravka to realise positive synergetic effects. Namely, Podravka is a leader on these markets in the categories of universal food complements and a significant manufacturer in the category of soups and semi-cooked pasta- and rice-based dishes, and together with the Lagris product range it will strengthen its position in trade and overall market performance.