Luigi Lavazza SpA will use a combination of acquisitions and organic growth to boost sales to about €2 billion ($2.2 billion) by 2020, Chief Executive Officer Antonio Baravalle said in an interview on Friday, a day after Italy’s biggest coffeemaker completed the purchase of French coffee brand Carte Noire.
"Lavazza is the biggest among the small, but is the smallest among the bigs," said Baravalle, who’s been CEO since 2011. The Turin-based company, whose 2015 sales rose 8 per cent to €1.4 billion, probably won’t make another purchase at least until the end of the year, he said.
"We’ve spent more than €1 billion in the last 12 months," he said, referring to the acquisition of Danish coffee roaster Merrild from D.E. Master Blenders last year, investments in its Australian distribution network and then the €700 million deal to buy Carte Noire. "It is time to consolidate this. We are a 'one step at a time' company."
The purchase of Carte Noire deal in France makes it the second largest market for Lavazza after it’s home country and is expected to generate about a fifth of the company’s revenue this year, Baravalle said. Lavazza, founded in 1895, boosted its US revenue 20 per cent last year in the US, where its clients include Keurig Green Mountain Inc’s K-Cup system.
For the moment, closely held Lavazza isn’t considering going public. "We have plenty to do before we even consider an IPO and plenty of cash to manage further growth for at least four years," he said. "Our aim is to remain fully independent."
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