After the acquisition of the historic Italian cooking brand, Lagostina, in 2005, the European no.1 of small appliances and one of the no.1 worldwide, the French SEB (Moulinex, Tefal, Krups, Rowenta, WMF) has added to its portfolio a highly prestigious name in the professional espresso machine sector, the Italian The San Marco, a family business of the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group (MZBG), which held 85 percent. Massimo Zanetti he is, by the way, the owner of the company Segafredo, one of the world's most important coffee producers, as well as a member of Forza Italia.
“This sale will allow us to focus – declared Zanetti – on our core business and to seize the growth potential of our international brands, in particular with the Segafredo brand, symbol of Italian espresso coffee since 1960, while developing new trends on local markets thanks to our unique identity that combines tradition and new market trends”.
This is only the latest of the passage under foreign control of Italian jewels of food: in 2022, in fact, the Australian company Breville took total control of LELIT, sold by Gemme Italian Producers for a value of 111,7 million euros. The SEB group has also been operating in the hotel sector for some time and is looking for high-end brands to enhance its image and increase its presence in a sector, that of professional appliances, where the made in Italy is quantitatively and qualitatively the top of the offer. “We are pleased with the acquisition of La San Marco – he declared Thierry de La Tour d'Artaise, President of Groupe SEB – which will allow Groupe SEB to consolidate its activities in the professional coffee segment with recognized historical know-how and a real complement to the existing offer. This acquisition is in line with our intention to accelerate its development in the rapidly growing and particularly profitable professional market segment. As with Groupe SEB, innovation is at the heart of this century-old company. We look forward to welcoming all employees of La San Marco. Together we will continue our ambitious growth in the professional sector.”
The SEB group has turnover 8 billion euros in 2022 with 33 employees. Lastly, it should not be forgotten that, although about 70 percent of the factories producing the best systems and equipment for catering and hospitality are concentrated in Italy, control is largely in the hands of financial companies and foreign companies. Starting with the world leader, the Electrolux Professional, a spin-off that the parent company, the Swedish Electrolux, executed in 2019 to separate - and therefore go public - from its appliances activities. For years, the giant Angelo Po, with numerous factories in Italy, has also been part of Marmon Food, a holding company of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
