As regards the market context of food consumption outside the home, as previously indicated, according to the Confcommercio Research Office (Congiuntura n° 10, November 2024) the quantity consumption of the item “Hotels, meals and out-of-home consumption” in Italy in the third quarter of 2024 shows a decrease of 0.8% compared to the same period of the previous year; for TradeLab (Afh Consumer Tracking, October 2024) the number of visits to the out-of-home catering facilities of the “Away From Home” (AFH) in the third quarter of 2024 shows a decrease of 1.7%.

Sales to customers in the Wholesale segment (for almost all frozen fish products to wholesalers) in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to 140.7 million euros (147.1 million in 2023) and were affected by the aforementioned reduction in the euro/kg of fish products; while those in the third quarter of 2024 amounted to 41.6 million euros and in comparison with the 43.2 million of the same period of 2023 in particular are influenced by the timing of a fishing campaign, the effects of which in terms of sales last year were entirely reflected in the third quarter, while in 2024 they also partly affected the current fourth quarter.

In October, the Marr Group's sales (read EFA News on interim management report) accelerated compared to the third quarter and showed, compared to the same period of the previous year, growth in all customer segments, also thanks to the improvement of the euro/kg of products sold. This trend is also confirmed in these first days of November.

In this context of the foodservice market in Italy, which is confirmed to be important, Marr is implementing a strategy aimed at increasing customer presence and improving profitability.

The first pillar of this strategy is represented by a commercial proposal aimed at increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty through a consultative approach of the sales force and a range of products segmented by type of customer, consumption moments and positioning range. This area includes targeted initiatives with a dedicated proposal for Hospitality and Quick Service Restaurants and Street Food.

The second pillar is based on the efficiency of management aimed at containing the related costs while guaranteeing a distinctive level of service to the Customer. This type of intervention includes the progressive roll-out of tools and processes for planning and optimizing deliveries and the recent start of the transfer of operational activities from the historic distribution center of Marr Milano to the more modern structure of Marr Lombardia, started last April. Operational efficiency also includes maintaining a high level of attention to the absorption of working capital.

The third pillar is represented by the ongoing Digital Transformation path aimed at optimizing processes through interventions that concern both the expansion of customer services and internal and support activities.

The progress of the Investment Plan is consistent with this strategy, with respect to which the works for the construction of the logistics platform in the Center-South (in Castelnuovo di Porto in Lazio) are proceeding according to schedule, the start of which is confirmed in the first part of 2025.

Activities for the implementation of the logistics platform project in the Centre-North (Ospedaletto Lodigiano in Lombardy) also continue.

Furthermore, work has begun on the new distribution centre in Puglia which, as indicated in the update of the Investment Plan in November last year, will be leased by Marr and will replace the current Marr Puglia unit with a more efficient structure and with an operational capacity adequate to seize the development opportunities of an area with a strong tourist vocation.

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