Baarsma Wine Group takes over wine trader from Limburg
The largest wine trader in the Netherlands, Baarsma Wine Group, of Gorredijk, announces two important take-overs. This week, the Frisian company has taken over wine trader Léon Colaris from Weert. Earlier this month, Baarsma took over Wijnkoperij Wielinga from Leeuwarden. Both Colaris and Wijnkoperij Wielinga are renowned for their quality wines. Baarsma Wine Group is market leader in the Netherlands. With a turnover of 190 million euros, the company belongs to the top three in Europe. Each year, the company sells 90 million bottles of wine at home and abroad. Baarsma sells to supermarkets, the catering industry and wholesaler. With the take-over of Colaris, Baarsma now has a direct point of sale to the consumer. Léon Colaris from Weert is a household name under connoisseurs. The company, with a turnover of 5 million euros, primarily does business in the premium segment. Colaris serves the Belgium and Dutch market and delivers 80 percent of her wines directly to private wine merchants via direct mail. Owner Jacques van Pol has been looking for a suitable successor for his company for a while now. Once the contacts with the wine company from Gorredijk were established, the take-over developed rapidly. Ruud Heuvelmans, viticulturist and working for Wijnhandel Léon Colaris since 1986, will be responsible for the further expansion of the wine-trade company. 'The take-over has no consequences for our staff, which was an important condition. Our own knowledge combined with the know-how of the Baarsma Wine Group will result in a further growth of the company,' according to Heuvelmans. Baarsma Wine Group is planning to extent her activities in the months to come and focuses only on high-quality companies. The take-overs of Colaris in Weert and Wijnkoperij Wielinga in Leeuwarden fit this strategy. The board of directors does not exclude that more take-overs will follow.[/class] For more information, please contact: Cees de Rade, Managing Director Baarsma Wine Group: 00 31 (0)513 469469 Pieter Wielinga, Wijnkoperij Wielinga: 00 31 (0)58 2125806
[Netherlands, 01-09-2006]