Healthy, Tasty, and Always Available
Interview with Dr. Oliver Knop, Managing Director of Fyffes International SA
Bananas – tasty, healthy, and available all year round in supermarkets. Companies like Fyffes International SA ensure this. Fyffes is not only Europe’s largest importer of bananas but also their largest organic and Fair Trade importer. Respect for the environment and producers is deeply embedded in the company DNA.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Dr. Knop, since February of this year, after decades of working in global corporations like Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and Lavazza, you have become the Managing Director at Fyffes, responsible for the business in Germany. What attracted you to this position?
Dr. Oliver Knop: I am a native of Hamburg and have gained worldwide experience in operational business through my previous positions. The primary goal is the integration of the fruit importer Inter Weichert into the Fyffes group.
Wirtschaftsforum: To understand the importance of this task, it helps to look at the history of Fyffes. What have been important milestones?
Dr. Oliver Knop: Fyffes started in 1789 in Ireland with importing tea. By the end of the 19th century, tropical fruits were added, with a focus on bananas from the beginning. Inter Weichert is a Hamburg-based company founded in 1910 that developed into one of the largest and most important importers of exotic fruits. While Fyffes focuses on bananas, pineapples, and melons, Inter Weichert offers a wide range. Both companies have been collaborating since 2007, and in 2017 Inter Weichert was acquired by Fyffes. In the same year, the Japanese Sumitomo Corporation acquired Fyffes. Our challenge now is to merge the various companies under Fyffes into a global conglomerate with worldwide reach. As the CEO of the German subsidiaries, I am primarily focused on molding Inter Weichert and Fyffes into a strong unit that belongs to the global Fyffes conglomerate.
Wirtschaftsforum: What are the benefits of this merger?
Dr. Oliver Knop: For Inter Weichert, it is about importing bananas economically, for Fyffes, it is about diversifying the portfolio to include more exotic fruits.
Wirtschaftsforum: What is the current state of Fyffes?
Dr. Oliver Knop: Fyffes' core business is in the English-speaking world; in England and Ireland, we have a dominant market share. In the USA, Fyffes is the market leader for melons, and present in Continental Europe with subsidiaries. With 5,400 employees, a revenue of 1.6 billion EUR is generated. In Germany, we have 30 employees, plus a forwarding agency in the port with another 20 employees for landing and distributing the goods. In Germany, the revenue amounts to 150 million EUR.
Wirtschaftsforum: How do you assess the further development of the company?
Dr. Oliver Knop: We plan to continue growing and strengthen our position especially in Germany. The first step towards this is integration into the global corporation. Fyffes brings a significant competitive advantage. The company has always had a relatively low proportion of own plantations, but a huge number of about 2,000 producers in 16 countries. Because climatic quality fluctuations can be balanced out, grocery retailers can rely on getting fresh bananas every day.
Wirtschaftsforum: Are there specific challenges associated with the merger of the two companies?
Dr. Oliver Knop: The focus is initially on the procedural connection to the group, that is, the SAP integration of Inter Weichert, which is now 80% complete. Thanks to a very cultivated IT structure, we know exactly which producer in which country will harvest how many bananas a week. The fact that Fyffes has integrated such a complex supply chain in a way that we can offer products from different regions by different producers all year round is unique in the industry. The goal is to utilize the efficiency of this end-to-end integrated delivery system to complement the portfolio with products that are in demand throughout the year.
Wirtschaftsforum: Is that exactly where the success lies?
Dr. Oliver Knop: The success lies in the Fyffes tradition combined with a state-of-the-art supply chain and our leading role in social and environmental aspects. Respect for the environment and the producers plays a central role for us. Fyffes was a founding member of the GLOABALG A.P. initiative and today 100% of our products are certified accordingly. Fyffes is the largest organic and Fair Trade importer of bananas in Europe. All this is the success of an excellent team. The employees here master their craft, follow strong values, and as Hamburgers, know what makes a good businessman. With this, we have good prerequisites to achieve our goals and expand our market position. We see difficulties rather in political conditions. Bananas cost the same today as they did ten years ago. The policy wants us to implement Corporate Social Responsibility, to sell bananas cheaply and to secure jobs – all of this we can hardly manage alone.