Too hard to do single handed

Szentkirályi and Sió-Eckes are on a joint offensive in restaurants, but Univer with Gyermelyi and Podravka also have their own project, later joined by Veszprémtej and Kotányi. Sió-Eckes Kft. and Szentkirályi Ásványvíz Kft. signed an agreement about setting up a joint sales team in November 2005, to help them enhance their leading positions within their own categories. As a result of this fusion of the sales teams, Szentkirályi has achieved dynamic growth in the HoReCa sector and coming up to third place among mineral waters sold in restaurants. – There are multinational companies behind practically all of our competitors, who receive significant support from their mother enterprises. We were looking for a partner who would allow us to keep our independence, but would also make a significant contribution to our efforts to boost our market share. We had already had talks with Sió- Eckes Kft. about joint in-store promotional campaigns before, so we were certain they would be ideal partners for us – says Levente Balogh, managing director of Levente, a Szentkirályi Ásványvíz Kft. The objective of collaboration was to ensure that both companies are present in places where originally only one of them had been present. In the beginning, the main task for the joint sales team of 25 was to maintain contact with members of domestic retail chains under the 300 square meter size and with independent stores, as well as with large restaurants and catering businesses. As a result of collaboration between the two companies, both have succeeded in strengthening their positions as market leaders in their categories. By 2006, the number of sales reps has grown to 60 and the number of businesses visited regularly has also increased from 2,000 to nearly 10,000. This year, the sales team has received another 6 members, assigned to the task of finding and serving “top” and “large volume gastronomy” businesses. The two companies have also agreed to jointly allocate HUF several tens of millions per year for financing equipment like glasses, refrigerators, sun shades, chairs etc. used in HoReCa businesses. – We began our Chefpont campaign with Univer and Podravka, to reach restaurants more effectively four years ago– says Norbert Káhn, sales director of Gyermely Zrt. Two new members, Kotányi and Sajtmester have joined the project since. The collaboration is based on the collecting of points by restaurants. Collected points can be exchanged for gifts which come useful in the kitchen. – We have succeeded in further strengthening our relationship with customers – adds Mónika Almási from Univer.