Housewares & Horeca Equipment Supplier
The Company is active in the import and export of glassware and houseware, tableware and hotel equipment (food service), small electric appliances and the production of non-stick cookware Fest.
Yalco represents large and selective foreign and domestic houses. In parallel, Yalco deals in the manufacturing and industrialization of its exclusively own brand names and in distribution of the above products through a Pan-Hellenic coverage sales system. Additionally, the company expands through its subsidiaries in the area of retail business of similar products, air-conditioners and logistics services.
SOCRATES D.CONSTANTINOU & SON S.A. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY OF GLASSWARE AND HOUSEWARE under the trading name "YALCO" is a Commercial Company established in 1972.(Government Gazette 6/3.1.1972) According to its Article 3 of the Company's Charter, the aim of the company is:
According to the decision of the Extraordinary General Meeting of 04/19/2002, the article 3 of the Company's Charter has been broadened in order to include to the Company's activities the following:
2. History
The company's founder Mr. Socrates Constantinou began trading in housewares in 1920 in the city of Drama. In 1933 he settled in Thessaloniki and established a personal business with activities the trading of houseware products. SOCRATES D. CONSTANTINOU Ltd. was established in 1968 and began trading under the name "YALCO" with life of 5 years.
The company became a Societe Anonyme (S.A.) in 1972 following the merger of the personal and Limited companies under the distinctive title "YALCO", which was registered as the Company's trademark. The life of the business was set at 99 years until 2071 having its headquarters in the Kalohori County in Thessaloniki. The Company operates under this form until today.
In 1974 the company started to expand its activities in Southern Greece and established a sales office and a showroom in Athens. Since then with its impressive expansion of sales in Southern Greece it has become the main distribution company and supplier of all major units of the housewares market.
In 1989 it relocated to an area of 23,000 square meters in New Kifissia (on the Highway of Athens-Lamia), becoming the first company in the sector having complete facilities (offices, showroom, warehouses) in Northern Greece (Thessaloniki), as well as in Southern Greece (Athens).
The period between 1989 - 1995 is characterized by major investments in the development of its logistics systems and administrative re-organization.
In 1995 YALCO was listed on the Athens Stock Exchange (November 1995).
The period between 1996-2001 the Company broadened its activities in other sectors:
In 2002 the absorption of the major competitor up to that date, VELLIFEST S.A. took place. With this absorption the Company expanded its main activity in the production of Non-Stick Cookware for home or professional use and acquired new fields in Oinofyta.
As a result, YALCO now has the biggest logistics and show room facilities in its field with:
In 2003, the Company, in the context of expanding its activities beyond the Greek borders, founded a subsidiary company in Hungary under the name "YALCO HUNGARY KFT" with the same activity as the parent company. Already, since 2003 the company was staffed and commenced its operations in Hungary as well as in its neighbouring countries.
In year 2004, the development of "YALCO HUNGARY KFT" confirmed the Management's aims regarding the level of sales.
2005 was a period of stagnation in terms of the development of sales and lower performance concerning the results, which were influenced by deflationary pressures of individual and occasional importers, mainly from China. The above-mentioned pressures forced the Company to follow an aggressive pricing policy, which, as expected, depressed the gross profit margin.
Since the beginning of 2006, YALCO's pricing policy was progressively restored to normal levels and as a result the year closed with an important increase in sales and results both for the parent company, as well as its subsidiary companies, as is presented in the "Summary Financial Statements for Year End 2006".
In addition to this, during 2006, the Management of the company focused, besides on the development in the domestic market, also on attempts to expand in neighbouring countries. As a result, it established a new company in Romania, under the name "S.C. YALCO ROMANIA S.R.L", which since March 2007 has become the official distributor for the distribution of the entire range of electric domestic appliances of BLACK and DECKER.
Finally, YALCO has decided the concentration of all Logistics services in the Oinofita region of Voiotia, in order to achieve the maximum possible economies of scale and the improvement of the services offered to its customers, with the construction of a modern storage and distribution center of total budgeted cost of 5.9 million euros, of which 35% will be funded according to the provisions of the Developmental Law 3299/2004, to which it has been included.
3. Description of Activities
The Company is active in:
a)the import and export of glassware and houseware
b)the production of non-stick cookwaren
c)the representation of foreign and domestic houses and deals in the industrialization, processing, refinement and packaging of the above products
d) the participation in other companies having similar or relevant activities
e) the provision of logistics services.
In particular, in the imports and exports of glassware, houseware and hotel equipment (foodservice) it cooperates with the following companies: ARC, ARCOS, BAUSCHER, BLACK&DECKER, COSMOPLAST, De BUYER, DYNAMIX, FEST, FULTON, GIES, GIOSTYLE, GLOBAL, LEIFHEIT, 3M, MARINEX, PASABAHCE, PEUGEOT, PINTINOX, PUJADAS, SCHOTT ZWIESEL, SIMON JERSEY, SOEHNLE, SSS, SUNNEX, THERMOS, TIGER, VELLINOX, VIDRIO, WALTHER GLAS, BOHEMIA CRYSTALEX, MATFER, BOURGEAT, REVOL PORCELAINE, CAMBRO distributing their products in Greece.
4. Orientation - Progress
The continuous effort of YALCO to broaden its product range by following the international markets as well as the development of the consumer behaviour.
Sales structure per sector for the fiscal year 2008:
The growth of the company's main figures for the period of 2006-2007 are displayed in the graphs that follow:
After 80 years of being active and following an impressive development course, YALCO constitutes today the biggest supplier of banqueting products in Greece and one of the biggest in Europe. This success is a result of:
5. The Group
YALCO, together with its subsidiaries operates in the field of housewares, tableware, electric appliances and hotel equipment. With 80 years experience, it always chooses products from the best suppliers worldwide and offers them to the Greek market at the most competitive terms. Having invested in a contemporary logistics system it supplies the market with products on a just in time basis, especially important to the hotel equipment sector. The group consists of:
6. Goals and Strategy
The course of YALCO until today was based on the continuous quest and implementation of new plans mainly in the wholesale sector where the Company focuses its activities.
The Company started to differentiate its presence in the retail sector, through its subsidiary OMNISHOP S.A., in the Logistics services sector, through its subsidiary ROTA LOGISTICS CENTER S.A., air conditioners through its subsidiary EXCEL and in the production of non-stick cookware for home and professional use with the absorption of VELLIFEST.
This effort will continue and focus beyond the retail sector in the search of partnerships which will strengthen the CompanyΆs main activity especially in the sector of professional equipment.
7. Investment Policy
The investment policy of the Company concentrates on the following three sectors:
Especially in the sector of wholesale home equipment and small electrical appliances, the Company will broaden its presence with new partnerships. In the same sector of wholesale, it will broaden its presence significantly in the area of catering- professional equipment and soon obtain a prominent position. In the retail sector, the Company plans to expand its OMNISHOP chain through own shops, as well as through third party franchisees, in order for the Company to have an OMNISHOP store in every major city of Greece. Finally, it follows closely the technological developments in the production of non-stick cookware and investments in new technologies and automation.