We prioritized the physical health and mental wellbeing of our 24,000+ employees through a wide range of actions and investments, raising awareness and ensuring alignment with all government regulations and requirements, whilst empowering them to ensure that our Group and operating companies would remain operational and capable of fulfilling our promises to our customers, community and nation.
We took immediate action to engage and support our customers, accelerating our digital transformation and automation, bolstering our logistics and distribution networks and launching Panda’s new eCommerce platform.
We did not stop investing in our turnaround or the strategy that will shape the future of our Group, delivering solid returns for our shareholders while launching a venture capital program for disruptive investments in food and retail to continue to enhance our portfolio and unlock avenues for future growth.
We doubled down on our position at the heart of our communities and our critical food security role across our markets, ensuring supply of goods during the darkest days of the pandemic while reinforcing our long-term commitment to sustainable social impact by establishing Savola World Foundation.
The strength of our strategy and pride of our people were fundamental to the Company’s capacity to overcome obstacles and continue to create value for our diverse stakeholder community. Bolstered by robust risk management and corporate governance at every level of the organization, Savola capitalized on the opportunities that arose in this challenging environment whilst establishing a solid foundation for sustained growth and profitability in the years ahead.
One of the largest food and retail players in the region with an annual turnover of over SAR 22 billion
Ranked 14th in Saudi Arabia and 39th in the Middle East in Forbes Middle East’s annual list of Top 100 companies in the region
#1 basic food business in MENA, Savola has market leading positions and brands across consumer staples and value-added ranges, such as edible oils, sugar, pasta and frozen food
#1 grocery retailer in Saudi Arabia, Panda has strong brand equity and over 28% market share in the attractive and under-penetrated modern retail space of the GCC’s largest market
Largest shareholder in 2 leading Saudi consumer brands, Almarai and Herfy, as well as popular frozen food brand, Al Kabeer
Dominant retail footprint with 200+ Panda and HyperPanda stores in 40+ cities across the Kingdom, with 100+ million annual transactions and the largest logistics network in Saudi Arabia
Direct manufacturing and distribution strength in more than 8 countries, with 14 facilities serving a combined population of more than 400 million
Attractive exposure to large and growing population base with favorable demographics - more than 50% below the age of 35 years.
Extensive consumer, market and brand knowledge, successfully leveraged to launch, grow and maintain market- leading positions and products (e.g. Afia, Al Osra, etc.)
Continuous customer-centric innovation and product development based on deep consumer outreach to capitalize on strategic opportunities to launch and scale new businesses in the rapidly maturing and evolving consumer space in MENA and beyond
Unique investment holding business model that allows for strategic investments and value creation in the MENA consumer food and retail space
Experienced leadership team with clear mandate to deploy and/or reallocate capital to enhance shareholder returns through investments in consumer segments with long-term growth potential
40+ year track record of business growth, active capital reallocation and long-term investment horizon
Actively exploring multiple venues of investments in food and retail to help drive sustainable growth for the Group for years to come
By converting the challenges of 2020 into opportunities, we have not only successfully navigated a complex environment but also charted a course toward continued growth and success.
Savola has not only stood firm in the face of this adversity, but succeeded in achieving remarkable results.
Our values underpin everything we do, they are a blueprint for concrete actions we take as individuals, as a team and as a company, every day. Since the Group was founded in 1979, this is how we do business:
Our Strategy and Business Model
Savola is a strategic investment holding company with a thematic investment program focused on the food and retail sectors, with the aim of creating value by enabling and accelerating growth levers in the underlying portfolio to achieve scale and profitability.
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Savola is established, with a paid-up capital of SAR 40 million and 50 employees.
Savola’s edible oil refinery in Jeddah, the first in Saudi Arabia, begins operations.
Launch of Afia premium corn oil. By the late 1980s, Savola captures 70% of the Saudi edible oil market.
Acquisition of a 40% shareholding in Almarai.
Savola becomes a publicly listed company on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).
Savola Bahrain and Savola Egypt commence edible oil operations.
Joint venture with Tate & Lyle to establish United Sugar Company, Saudi Arabia’s first sugar refinery.
Afia International Egypt is formed through the merger of Savola Egypt and SIME Derby Egypt.
Savola Foods establishes an edible oil factory in Egypt.
Savola enters the retail sector, following its merger with Azizia Panda.
Savola gains a 70% stake in Herfy through the Panda merger.
Savola Foods establishes edible oil businesses in Morocco and Sudan.
Panda launches the Hyper Panda format.
Savola establishes Kinan Real Estate, subsequently divesting 70% through private placement.
Savola invests in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) and Knowledge Economic City as a founding shareholder.
Panda acquires Giant Stores and opens its first central distribution center in Riyadh.
Panda acquires Géant Stores operations and expands its network to 152 locations.
Savola launches its first CSR program, ‘Makeen’, to train and empower people with disabilities.
Herfy is listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) with Savola retaining 49% of its shares.
Standard & Poor’s, Hawkamah and the International Finance Corporation rank Savola 2nd among top-listed companies in the Arab world for governance and transparency.
Savola Foods enters the pasta market by acquiring El Maleka Company and El Farasha Company in Egypt.
Savola’s first Sukuk issuance (SAR 1.5 billion).
Savola acquires Al Muhaidib’s shares in Panda (18.6%) and Savola Foods (10%) in exchange for the issue of 33.9 million new Savola shares through a capital increase to SAR 5.34 billion.
Savola Foods enters the seafood business with global seafood leader, Thai Union, to launch the famous John West brand in 12 markets across the MENA region.
Savola Foods launches Afia Distribution Company in Saudi Arabia.
Savola unveils a new brand identity, symbolizing its evolution to a strategic investment holding company.
Savola receives the Sa’afa Award from the Integrity and Transparency Foundation.
Savola sells a 2% stake in Almarai, as a part of its capital re-allocation, whilst remaining the largest shareholder with a 34.52% stake.
Savola ranks top 10 for transparency in corporate governance, environment and social practices in MENA by S&P and Dow Jones indices and Hawkamah.
Savola launches its second CSR program, ‘Negaderha’.
Savola Foods commissions a new factory in Jeddah to manufacture specialty fats for the B2B market.
Savola Foods establishes a joint venture in Iraq with Aves to create Bonus Food Company LLC, which is engaged in the refining and packaging of edible oils and vegetable ghee.
Savola acquires a majority stake (51%) in Al Kabeer, one of the region’s leading frozen foods companies.
Savola issues the 2nd tranche of Sukuk, pursuant to a new program in an aggregate amount of SAR 1 billion.
Savola among the 31 companies added to MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International), as part Tadawul’s inclusion into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
Standard & Poor’s, Hawkamah and the International Finance Corporation rank Savola 4th among top-listed companies in the Arab world for governance and transparency.
Savola named among Top 20 Great Places To Work® in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Savola ranked top 10 among all non-financial sector companies traded on Tadawul in the Corporate Governance Index (CGI) by Al Faisal University’s Corporate Governance Center.
Savola was among the ‘Top 100 companies in the Middle East’ for 2020 according to Forbes Middle East, ranked 14th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 39th in the Middle East.