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The Mexican king of fast food, which already had a significant 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 continues to lead the company as chairman of the board of directors.
Torrado will merge the Vips restaurants in Spain with the Zena-Alsea restaurants, which include Cañas and Tapas, Domino's, Burger King and Foster's Hollywood brands, grouped together in the Food Service project, which will feature 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 bet 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 used a loan from their father and another trading partner.
In 1993, Torrquin was renamed Alsea. The association 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. Los Torrados have until 2025 the monopoly of domino franchises in Mexico.
In 2002, Alberto Torrado was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alsea and, from 2004 to 2007, President and Chief Executive Officer. Since 2007, he is the new chairman of the board of directors and, since 2017, he is also director of franchises for Alsea.
In 2016, Cosme Terrado, until then CEO, was replaced by Colombian Renzo Casillo, of Walmart, as CEO. Cosme, 56 (he is the oldest), remains adviser to Alsea, while Armando, 49, is the CEO of Alsea Casual Dining.
Alberto, who is married, holds a degree in accounting from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico and a postgraduate degree from the Pan American Institute of Management. business. He has held several independent consulting positions in Santander, Mexico and chaired the National Association of Fast Food Services.
According to Torrado of the Mexican Expansión magazine, Domino's provided them with the learning and experience necessary to enter 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 from Mexico, nothing to do with the Spanish channel) in Walmart.
The group's activities are divided between fast food, informal catering, 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 insist that you have to be careful when wearing the brands in different countries and that you have to take into account the local differences.
The company is the largest of the sector in Latin America. It operates more than 3,500 restaurants and employs more than 70,000 people in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay and Spain.
The Spanish Vips purchase values this group, which includes Vips, Ginos, Starbucks, Wagamama and Fridays channels in Spain and Portugal, for an amount of 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), who manages La Tagliatella and franchises of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks several countries. The customer race is sometimes harder than ever.
Transatlantic link
58% of Alsea sales correspond to Mexico; the rest of the Latin American countries (Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Brazil) account for 22%; and in Spain, 20%.
Until now, the shareholders of Vips, Plácido Arango and his family, as well as the ProA Capital venture capital fund, will end up with 8% of the Spanish Food Service Project, for 75 million euros. ; euro. The food service has a total value of $ 1,000 million.
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