We analyze with Luis Galli, among other issues, the recent activity of the company, its local and regional projection, the positioning of their own brands and those in which they are international partners and the sustainability objectives of Newsan as a company.

Let's start doing a 2022 refresh, what year the market and Newsan are coming and how was the television business with the World Cup.
In 2022 the recovery of the consumer electronics and appliances continued, which grew until 2015. In 2016 it began to fall, it had a slight recovery in the second half of 2017 and in 2018 it fell a lot. Between 2015 and 2019 the markets fell, in units and depending on each of the categories, between 40% and 50%. In the first three or four weeks of pandemic it seemed that the night was coming, but a recovery began that has remained until today and has allowed most of the categories to be recovered significantly.

Where did you see the recovery more reflected?
It depends on each category. Baseding 100, some are at 90, others in 95 and others in almost 100. In cell phones we are very close to the best years. This year we may be between 11.5 and 12 million, very close to the best historical brand. Last year, 3.4 million televisions were reached, also very close to the best years. There is a lot of reasons. In the first stage of the pandemic, linked to the fact that when there was an extraordinary consumption of appliances. After the pandemic, the plans in quotas with negative real interest rates followed, which functioned as an acceleration of consumption and, linked to this, a delay of the dollar that generated that in relative terms electronic products are cheap and continue to consume.

Analysts saw a possible flattening in cell phones, as there were no technological news that justifies the replacement.
Cell phones is a curious case. In 2020 the offer was 6.5 million, we touched the floor, and this year we will be at 11.5 million, more or less what the demand is. It is true that there were no great technological innovations, but in addition to having a more intensive use of the cell phone, and more replacement, there is greater use of the cell phone from earlier age.

In television recovery, the World Cup had surely to do.
There was a lot of uncertainty, because televisions got together with the air season. Both manufacturers and retail understood this and the World Cup was advanced. Last year there were two television seasons: the normal one, from March to August, and an additional one that extended until December 10. An exceptional year that allowed volumes and a migration to means of socks and high inches.

Was that leap in inches and was already producing in some way or the engine was the World Cup?
Before the World Cup in Russia, everyone thought that after 2018 the 32 -inch was going to leave, but the crisis was so deep that it became the most sold. The Qatar World Cup allowed medium and high inches to be sold again.

What was the average inches sold?
A little above 50, which is very good because between 32, 39, 40 and 43 you have 50% of the market.

In that recovery of the market you were talking about before, how did Newsan manage in all categories and diversity of brands, which implies diversity of strategies?
The idea is that our client can supply his business with all the categories, linear and brands that Newsan has and solve all the supply of products he needs. We have alliances with international partners to compete at the tip of the pyramid, to the part of the environment we go with our strategic marks, such as Noblex, Philco, Siam or Atma and the base with tactical marks. This gives us an important scale and diversification of business.

Sustainability
“We recycle three components: cartons, telgopor and nylon. The cardboard is finished recycling in the pads on which we support the final products. We compress telgopor and export it and the nylon transforms it into pellet, which we then bring to the ice cream makers and we do the interior cabinets. Favor the one who recycles unlike the one who does not. "

You mentioned international brands. How do you reach these alliances, what do these brands perceive as advantages in an alliance with Newsan as partner?
Newsan puts the reputation, the trajectory of more than 30 years and an international image against suppliers that allows us to sit equally with international brands such as LG, Motorola, Hisense, Bosch, Revlon and Braun. In recent years, Argentina has entered and out of crisis permanently, and those brands have a hard time adapting to these swings and regulations. Estas alianzas permiten que asumamos el riesgo de los ciclos económicos, las marcas siguen teniendo presencia en este mercado y el único riesgo que asumen es que Newsan les pague el producto, algo que hicimos en tiempo y forma en los últimos 32 años.

You give me foot to ask you how it is made locally to overcome these cycles or stay, even with them, developing business.
Beyond having our export business, appliances is totally local and our business is to continue investing and developing. 10 years to this part of Newsan doubled the amount of categories that it explodes and its international partners, because we could adapt to each of the economic cycles of Argentina. Before the crises were every four years, now every two, and in front of those scenarios we invest a lot of time in the analysis and decision making, when you have to expand or not. We continue to grow because we continue betting.

Even with very consolidated brands, such as ATMA, which however continues to hold with actions and invest in it.
What happens is that the audience changed, expects you to tell him other things and you have to capture the customer's attention and loyalty from another place, Speaking that you have a sustainable brand, that takes care of the environment, which is behind the recycling of inputs used in the iron. This caused our brands to grow and some are equal to equal to international brands. Nuestra oferta de televisión en el mundial tenía a LG; Hisense, number one in the world on televisions; We launched the Motorola TVs and had noblex, Philco and Sansei, an unbeatable offer that gave us a share of more than 30 points.

I also imagine that the only way to face that obligation to project, and with the threat of a two -year crisis, is with investment.
But, in addition, the investment is oriented to conversion. You have to be permanently transforming your business model. Regardless of the fact that we do not reach the final consumer directly, we give our B2B service as if it were B2C. The company had to adapt to technological change, we had to evolve inside doors and in our way of doing things out. We go from selling products to create experiences. It is very difficult to give the client a good experience just by campaigning marketing, or winning the awards that Noblex won. If behind that marketing there are no first level products, sufficient offer, international quality standards and that all contact points work well for a after -sales or consultation, it is very difficult. This is the most important qualitative leap that Newsan gave.

FUTURE
"Our fort will continue to be in the appliance business in Argentina," said Galli

Do they have plans to expand the expansion of Newsan regionally?
We already have a presence in Mexico, Uruguay and Paraguay. We are trying to replicate the model taking advantage of the scale we have, the knowledge of the business and some international brands that gave us the possibility of being their representatives in other countries. Our fort will continue to be in the appliance business in Argentina, regardless of whether we are Food's main exporter, mainly linked to wild fishing. We hope to double in the next three years the level of exports, we reach more than 70 countries and we are introducing the aquaculture industry, where the largest projects in Argentina are from the Newsan group. One is before the Alicurá dam, where we are taking the first year 50 tons of sustainable salmon trout not polluting with which we reach the two most demanding markets in the world in fishing, which are Japan and Spain. And we have a second project in La Mansa Bay, and with the first mussel harvest.

You talked about sustainability and one of its ways in everyday life is the change that occurred in urban mobility. You incorporated the category. How was the process and where do they point to its development?
Mobility changed to pandemic and the need to get out of the car, for cost and maintenance. In Argentina, last year the motorcycle market was more important than the cars. We start with traditional, electric and scooter bicycles and at the end of last year motorcycles. Today we are in a position to go with everything with the brands Philco and Siam, even betting on the electric motorcycle, although the penetration in Argentina is still very low.

How do they work specifically in sustainability and recycling during processes?
We become a sustainable company, because we believe that being a company that believes in inclusion, gender equality and environmental care has given our brands a lot of purpose, especially before the young consumer. We must be one of the few companies in Argentina that recycles 95% of the inputs we use, with a plant dedicated to recycling. Fundamentally, we recycle three components: cartones, telgopor and nylon. The cardboard is recycled in the pads on which we support the final products. We compress it and export it and the Nylon transforms it into pellet, which we bring to ice cream makers and do the inner cabinets. We do it for social responsibility, although there is no regulation that favors the one that recycles.

How do you see the need, more than ever, to put the client in the center of the experience and, in addition, with the speed imposed by artificial intelligence?
A look is how far artificial intelligence can go. What we are clear is that it will change the way people will choose a product and buy it and how the company will work. The changes that AI will produce are equal or greater than those produced by digital transformation.