The new owner of Clarel promises to keep the 3,300 employees on staff: "They are our most important asset"
It has just closed an operation that it has been studying for four years and that gives it entry to the Spanish retail market. Omar González, president of the Colombian business group Trinity, says, in conversation with EL MUNDO, that he is “very excited” about the purchase of Clarel perfumeries from Grupo Dia and outlines his plans for the thousand stores that will be his once he receives the approval. good from the competition authorities. And it does so without wasting the opportunity to send “the most reassuring message” to its 3,300 workers: “They are our most important asset.”
With these words, the new owner of Clarel rules out layoffs in the company and seeks to calm a repressed staff after five years of rumors about its change of hands.. In 2018, Grupo Dia hung the 'for sale' sign in its beauty chain for the first time. Since then, it has accumulated red numbers. Omar González is perfectly aware of the financial situation of the company he has just bought. “Clarel's results in previous years posed a challenging situation, but in the last two years they have done some very interesting exercises, with significant improvements in efficiency,” he says.
He presides over a group that he describes as “young”, created 18 years ago.. They are majority shareholders of the oldest steel company in Colombia, Acerías Paz del Río, its flagship. Now it lands “with enthusiasm” in Spain, through Clarel, which they have bought for 42.2 million euros. After a failed operation with C2 Private Capital, which had offered up to 60 million, Grupo Dia hands over its network of a thousand perfume stores to Trinity. “With the information available so far and in agreement with our financial advisors, this figure reflects the economic value of the company,” says González.
“We come to build on what has already been built, to know and learn, with the greatest humility possible, from the idiosyncrasies of the client,” he says.. In this “first phase”, it seeks to “understand the business from a human point of view”. “What does the client want, what needs does he have, what are his aspirations…”, he summarizes. To do this, he advances, they will use “all the data analytics tools” that they have at their disposal.. And secondly, it will delve into the operational functioning, the distribution centers and the approach to suppliers and financial entities.
With the acquisition of Clarel, Grupo Trinity reaches 14,000 employees. “This is the most important asset we can exhibit,” he insists.. He responds with a forceful “definitely, yes” when asked directly if he has the capacity to maintain the staff of the perfumeries, which stands at around 3,300 workers.. “The most important medal we carry on our chest are those 14,000 souls and we are very excited to know that each person who works with us has a decent job and we can generate greater social value for the communities in which we are present,” says the chairman of Trinity.
He is no stranger to the complex macroeconomic context that our country is going through, but he clarifies that “uncertainty is global, it is not an exclusively Spanish problem.”. “Business continues to be done despite the difficult situation, which is still the result of the effects of the pandemic,” he emphasizes, insisting that “inflation is a global phenomenon” that, according to his forecasts, “can slow down and allow us to compete the best possible way to satisfy the customer.
Omar González aspires to serve as ambassador for other Latin American businessmen who want to invest in our country. “With this operation we position ourselves as the first Colombian investor in Spain and this fills us with satisfaction and responsibility,” he concludes.