“The New Target After Ülker Is Us$1 Billion”

Jim Goldman is the CEO of Godiva, which Ülker bought for US$850 million. .. He says that Yıldız Holding’s strengths will be particularly beneficial when it comes to regional expansion. He states that their target is to grow quickly and adds: “Yıldız Holding bought Godiva to make investments. Now we have even greater expectations. Our annual turnover is US$500 million but it can definitely reach the billion dollar level.”

Four months ago, Ülker bought the chocolate giant Godiva for US$850 million and became the owner of a global brand. It successful bid meant that that it won out over several giants such as Nestle and Godiva, which were also interested in Godiva, and demonstrated its determination to go global.

Godiva was founded in 1926 in Brussels by the chocolate expert Joseph Draps and today is known all over the world. The brand has 450 stores and 9,300 sales points in 80 countries and its product range runds from premium chocolate to biscuits, coffee, cocoa, cakes and chocolate bars. The company’s annual turnover is US$500 million.

Godiva CEO Jim Goldman says that the cooperation between Ülker and Godiva will generate a lot of business. “This business can definitely reach the level of a billion dollars. We shall pool our R & D strengths. I believe that there are excellent opportunities for growth in Turkey and the Middle East.”

Godiva CEO Jim Goldman explained to Capital for the first time how Godiva was bought and became a member of the Ülker family.

* Why did the Campbell Soup Company decide to sell Godiva?
Campbell Soup had been running Godiva for 40 years. It was successful in the categories in its group. It was also successful in terms of growth. The markets to which it currently attaches the greatest importance are those in developing countries such as China and Russia. At the same time, it wants to increase its sales of snack foods and health drinks. Godiva was only a minor player in this field. However, the brand had great potential for growth and it needed to invest in order to expand. Campbell saw this. It believed that Godiva would be able to fulfill its full potential if it was owned by a company which could give more importance to it, give it priority and make investments. This is the reason it sold it,

* So, part from Ülker, how many companies were interested in it?
I cannot give you any information about this subject because of the confidentiality agreements that were signed. But I can say that several companies were interested in buying Godiva. Each of these companies had a different structure. For example, the companies which made offers included global chocolate companies, private find companies and companies based in North America.

* What was the reason for Campbell Soup choosing Ülker?
The company which made the acquisition was Yıldız Holding. Yıldız Holding made the best offer. The other reasons it got Godiva were because it would give priority to the brand and make investments.

* How has Godiva changed since the acquisition?
As you know, the sale process was only concluded a few weeks ago. As a result, it is still very early for a substantial change. It is still not clear when the change will begin. At the moment we are still at the stage of getting to know each other.

* Will there be any change in your marketing strategy?
I don’t think that the acquisition will produce any change in our marketing strategy. We are established as a premium brand and there will be no change in this situation. We shall continue to manufacture our products according to Belgium traditions.

* Has there been a change in the management? Will there be any Turkish executives?
Most recently, Dave Marberger joined our team as CFO. This is still a very new development. Dave was transferred to us from his position as CFO at Tasty Baking, a publicly owned company. I think that he will be an extraordinary executive and make major contributions to the company. We have no plans to add a Turkish executive to the team. In addition, we are in the process of determining the board of directors. In addition to Turkish members, the board will include members from different countries from around the world.

* When will Godiva begin its operations in Turkey?
We still haven’t decided on the timing. Yıldız and Godiva are doing several interesting things together. We want to carry out this operation in the best possible way. But, as I said, we haven’t set a firm date.

* Will you enter new markets?
We are thinking of expanding in terms of markets. At the moment, I cannot say which markets because it is still in the planning stage. But we shall expand into new regions according to Yıldız’s vision. These will be locations which Yıldız Holding knows very well.

We Shall Grow More Aggressively With Ülker

* What kind of future path will Godiva take with Ülker? What is Godiva’s new target?

Yildiz Is Creating New Areas
 Yıldız Holding is a company which is focused on expanding its businesses, entering new area and creating new areas. We are very excited about this at Godiva. Because we think that it is possible for Godiva to grow a lot.

We Shall Cooperate In R & D
 Yıldız will keep us as a separate company. I shall be the CEO of that company and shall look for mutually beneficial opportunities that will bring us together. For example, when we bring together the employees in our product development departments, we shall have a fantastic opportunity to share information about the production of high quality chocolate.

Nilüfer Gözütok
ngozutok@capital.com.tr