COFIDES has supported Central de Compras Ópticas, (CECOP), specialised in providing services to independent opticians, in the acquisition of the French purchasing group Cercle Optique.
With this objective, COFIDES has provided the company from Madrid with a joint venture loan of 800,000 Euros taken from the FONPYME fund. The total investment for this project amounted to 2.7 million Euros. Thus, CECOP increases the number of countries in which it has a presence, committing to a business model similar to the one it develops in Spain.
The SME provides independent opticians with access to products, marketing, training and operational management, supporting them in their daily management and favouring their growth and strategic development. The optical sector in France is characterised by being in a mature phase of development. In 2021, the company's sales grew by more than 13%, meaning they surpassed pre-pandemic figures.
The chairman and CEO of COFIDES, José Luis Curbelo, said that "SMEs are a fundamental pillar of the Spanish production sector. COFIDES is firmly committed to promoting its path of growth, which, as in this case, is based on the continuous contribution of value in a sector as competitive as the provision of optical services.”
Jorge Rubio, founder and CEO of CECOP, explained that the acquisition of Cercle Optique is meant to strengthen "our value offer to the opticians who are members of both groups and to be able to provide them, whatever their characteristics and origin, with services that improve the performance of their establishments".
In this regard, CECOP is strengthening its internationalisation process, which objective is to ensure that the company becomes a key player in the European market.
CONTRIBUTION TO THE SDGs
This investment mainly contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, Decent work and economic growth, since it will facilitate the growth of the company abroad, consolidating several jobs. Likewise, it will favour compliance with SDG 5, Gender equality, generating female employment, specifically 50% of the expected jobs.
ABOUT CECOP
CECOP provides strategic and operational solutions in the management and development of optical businesses, as well as in training and digital transformation. It currently has more than 7,600 associates spread out across eleven countries: Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, Ireland, France and Germany), Latin America (Brazil, Colombia and Mexico) and the USA.
ABOUT COFIDES
COFIDES, a state-owned company engaging in the management of State and third-party as well as its own funds, pursues a number of aims: internationalisation of Spain’s economy, furtherance of economic development and fortification of the solvency of companies affected by COVID-19. In addition to the Spanish State, its shareholders include Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).
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