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The Mexican fast-food king, who already had an important presence in Spain, will have even greater after the purchase of the group Vips to his compatriot Plácido Arango. Alberto Torrado Martínez (Mexico City, 4 October 1963) was founded 29 years ago with his brothers Cosme and the Armando Alsea group, born under the name of Torrquín. He remains at the head of the company and chairs the board of directors.
Torrado will merge the Vips restaurants with those of Zena-Alsea in Spain, which include the brands Cañas and Tapas, Domino's, Burger King or Foster's Hollywood. in the Food Service Project, which will total 1,000 establishments.
The story of Torrado Martínez recalls a little film The Founder, with Michael Keaton, which tells the rise of the McDonald's chain in the United States. In the late eighties, the Torrado brothers (Cosme, Alberto and Armando) saw a business opportunity in the arrival of franchise chains in Mexico. The first was McDonald's and they were betting on Domino's Pizza.
They started distributing their pizzas by bike in nearby neighborhoods, following Domino's pledge: "If you do not receive the order within 30 minutes, we will refund your money." After opening the chain's fourth restaurant in the country, they retained exclusivity for the south of the capital and eventually bought it for all of Mexico. To cover 10% of the $ 2.5 million of the transaction, they turned to a loan from their father and another trading partner.
In 1993, Torrquin was renamed Alsea. The badociation with the American group of pizzerias went through difficult times during the 1994-1995 crisis, but it continued. In 1998, it spread to Brazil and in 1999, Alsea became public. The Torrados have the monopoly of Domino's franchises in Mexico until 2025.
In 2002, Alberto Torrado was chairman of the board of directors of Alsea and, from 2004 to 2007, chairman of the board of directors. General manager. He is again chairman of the board of directors since 2007. He is also director of franchises at Alsea since 2017.
In 2016, Cosme Terrado, until then CEO, has been replaced by the Colombian Renzo Casillo , from Walmart. Cosme, 56 (he is the oldest), remains adviser at Alsea, while Armando, 49, is president and CEO of Alsea Casual Dining.
Alberto, who is married, holds a degree in accounting from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México and holds a postgraduate degree from the Pan American Institute of High Level Trade Management. He holds several independent consulting positions in Santander, Mexico, and chairs the National Association of Fast Food Services.
According to Torrado of Mexican magazine Expansión, Domino's provided them with the knowledge and experience necessary to access other franchises. In the early 90s, they tried to take Dia to Mexico. Torrado was a director of the company between 1998 and 2001.
They also have a long relationship with Burger King and Starbucks. Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 US presidential election provoked Mexicans' reaction against the chain of coffee shops because they were American (although their owners are distinctly anti-Trump), but Torrado has managed the crisis successfully. Since last year, they have an exclusive deal with the brand in Uruguay. In 2014, they bought the Vips channel (the one in Mexico, nothing to do with the Spanish channel) in Walmart.
The group's activities are divided between fast food, informal foods, family restaurants and cafes. In addition to those mentioned, Alsea manages the brands Popeyes Chicken & Seafood, P.F. Changs, Pizza Kitchen in California, Chile, Italianni, Cheese Cake Factory, El Portón, La Vaca and Archie. The brothers stress that we must be careful when we transport brands in different countries and that we must take into account local differences.
The company is the largest in Latin America, operates more than 3,500 restaurants and has more than 70,000 workers in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay and Spain.
The purchase of Spanish Vips values this group, which includes Vips, Ginos, Starbucks, Wagamama and Fridays channels in Spain and Portugal in 500 million euros after indebtedness. The purchase involves the transfer of 400 restaurants operating under the franchise regime. Alsea has yielded 4.6% to the Mexican Stock Exchange after the operation and today records its lowest price in almost two years.
The operation is in full swing in Spain, with the arrival on the Spanish stock exchange of Amrest, controlled by another Mexican (Carlos Fernández), and who manages La Tagliatella and franchises of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks in several countries. The customer order race is more difficult than ever.
Transatlantic link
Alsea sales are 58% of those of Mexico; the rest of the Latin American countries (Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Brazil) account for 22%; and Spain, 20%.
Up to now, shareholders of Vips, Plácido Arango and his family, as well as venture capital fund ProA Capital, will end up with 8% of Food Service Project, the Spanish company Alsea, for 75 million . The food service has a total value of $ 1,000 million.
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