17-11-2007
Participation of Sarantis Group in the 7th Sales Congress

Vangelis Kypriotis, Sarantis Group Executive Manager for Consumer Products in Greece, participated in the outstanding panel of the 7th Sales Congress which was held under the auspices of the scientific magazine SALES & MARKETING REVIEW, on November 16th in the Goulandris Museum.

Once again this year the organizing committee made an important effort to gather some of the most prominent names from the Greek and the international market. As a result, the Congress was opened by Mr. N. Papageorgiou, President and Executive Director of 3Α S.A., whereas all the speakers were Senior Sales and Marketing Officers from Greek and multinational corporations and Directors of big retail and wholesale corporations, who pull the strings in the Greek market.

This year's successful 7th Sales Congress was titled: 'CHANGE OF CONDITIONS AND SHIFTS IN THE GREEK MARKET (Everything flows, nothing stands still)'. The changes in the sales executives working conditions but also in the business environment in general have been an issue for several years. Only that nowadays they increasingly become more and more a state of reality, as indicated by clear examples of new trends in franchise, increase of discount super market chains, increasing importance of customer protection and product quality improvement, merging-acquisitions and new sales and marketing techniques. The objective of the 7th Sales Congress was to cast light in the developments in all these fields and therefore the Congress dealt with the following thematics:

* Discount super market chains and how they affect the market and the consumers;
* Franchise - Purchasing Cooperatives: The new trends in the Greek market;
* Consumer security and how to achieve it through super market products and services (Quality - Innovation – Products and Services Improvement);
* The impact of globalization on the Greek business environment;
* Shifts and change in sales executives working conditions;
* Historical Brands: How did they support sales growth in super markets and how were they supported by modern sales and marketing techniques

Mr. Vangelis Kypriotis participated in the fourth, of the above mentioned, thematic and spoke about: 'The Birth of a Multinational through Merging and Acquisitions – The example of SARANTIS'. Mr. Kypriotis, bearing a 16-year professional experience in the field of consumer goods, focused on modern strategy techniques and their implementation and referred to examples from the history of Sarantis Group. Typical examples of mergings are the enterprises CAMEL, SANITAS and TRYLET, by means of which the Group managed to strengthen its position in the household product sector by gaining leading market shares. Other examples, among the many, to which reference was made to, were the acquisition of the Polish PACKPLAST, a household product manufacturer holding major market shares, and the merging of LOBELIN PHARMACARE, a leading corporation engaging in the field of healthcare products.

Following the last thematic, Mr. Michael Rosada (Managing Director of the International Business and Consumer Insights Division at IRI) expressed his views on the subject of: 'Shopper Insights and Consumer Trends - Key Factors for Success in a Dynamic Environment'. His speech was ensued by a debate.

The 7th Sales Congress closed with Mr. E. Kalousis, President of the Hellenic Association of Food Industries, awarding a Plaque of Honor to the 2007 Exceptional Manager and with Mr. N. Stefanidis, Publisher of the scientific magazine SALES & MARKETING REVIEW, presenting and awarding prizes to the most successful launches.