Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2015 32 RO: WHAT PRODUCTS ARE A PRIORITY FOR THE U.S. MARKET? WILL YOU BE BRINGING SOME OF THE MORE POPULAR APPLIANCES BACK TO THE US? CNA: We are going to have a full scope of products, and when it comes to products with a major differential advantage, we clearly have leverage on the cooking. We will absolutely have a full range of cooking products such as ovens, electric and gas cooktops, ventilation hoods, washing, cooling and refrigeration etc. After meeting with the North American Fagor distributors, they informed us how sought-after certain units have been since their discontinuation. We will be seriously considering reintroducing the Fagor washer/ dryer combo and another 24" panel ready refrigerator. As far as a 30" series goes, that will take a little longer to tool up for, but is on the drawing board. And of course, we'll have many products continuing in the kitchen countertop and home appliances segment. RO: WILL CNA GROUP CONTINUE MANUFACTURING IN CHINA? CNA: CNA was one of the pioneers in the business that went to China back in the early '90s. At that time, it was an exotic experiment and now it seems like if you're not in China, you don't have an industrial project. We have already implemented some in-sourcing back into Europe because China no longer has all the advantages. China will retain some, Europe will retain some, and every other part of the world will have their different competitive advantages. What we're trying to understand is what sort of supply chain model we have for the whole business as one single unit. If we have a component or a finished product that we feel can be efficiently produced in China, we'll keep on doing so. But that's no longer as massive an advantage that China used to have compared to other countries. The game now is getting more balanced. The more presence you have in the market, the more globally integrated the strategy of the supply chain has to be, and we're following that strategy. RO: WHAT ARE THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES OF FAGOR APPLIANCES MANUFACTURED IN SPAIN, OVER THE OTHER EUROPEAN COMPETITORS? CNA: In Spain, we have the largest industrial park, over 120,000 m2 of facilities. Together with China and Brazil, this allows us to be one of the most efficient companies in the global market. But the difference is in our factories, which will offer a level of productivity that I would say has no match in Europe and is certainly among the leaders in the field due to the intensive capital we have behind us. The other asset is undeniably the technological know-how, the engineering, the tooling, and everything that is already invested in this project. That makes the industrial model of Fagor a competitive one by European standards. It's not labor intensive. It is a capital and technology-rich driven environment. That is why we can be even more competitive than other factories in Europe. RO: CULINARY IS HOT! WHAT ARE FAGOR'S PLANS TO PROMOTE THE EPICUREAN ASPECTS OF COOKING? CNA: Fagor-CNA Group has signed a collaborative agreement with Celler de Can Roca, the "#1 restaurant in the world" (Restaurant Magazine) and Chef Eneko Atxa, the youngest chef to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, from Azurmendi, a Basque restaurant in Bilbao, Spain. The intention of this relationship is that they become ambassadors of Cata and Fagor, not just for the image associated to the brand in the world, but also for R&D of new techniques, technology and discover- ies. With their creativity, expertise, and talent, new products will be introduced into the marketplace for the benefits of the culinary world. In this case, we have prepared in conjunction with the Roca group, several new international patents for technological developments applied to a new way of cooking. We will become partners in developing and bringing to the world these new ideas. I N S I D E R L O O K : F A G O R / C N A G R O U P I N T E R V I E W "THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR FAGOR AMERICA! CNA-CATA GROUP IS A SOLID LEADER IN THE SPANISH AND EUROPEAN APPLIANCES MARKET AND NOW WITH FAGOR, WE WILL CONSOLIDATE A GLOBAL PRESENCE IN ALL CONTINENTS AND MORE THAN 116 COUNTRIES. WE WILL RESUME AND EXPAND ON OUR PLANS IN RELATION TO THE U.S. AND CANADA, AND REBUILD AROUND OUR CORE CORPORATE VALUES OF UNIQUE EUROPEAN DESIGN, WITH BEST IN CLASS MANUFACTURING TO ENSURE OUTSTANDING FEATURES AND BENEFITS TO THE END USER. ALL THIS WILL BE ENHANCED BY OUR CREATIVE MARKETING, SALES, AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING OUR TRADE PARTNERSHIPS AND ESTABLISH FAGOR AS A KEY PLAYER WITHIN THE APPLIANCES INDUSTRY." Patricio Barriga—president, Fagor America RO

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