and millions of people living in these cities have access to an almost unlimited range of products. They are bombarded with advertising for all types of goods and services. And however much they like eating fish and shrimps, we have to face the fact that it is not the be-all and end-all of their existence. To reach these consumers, Royal Greenland’s sales organisations must penetrate the throng of products and adverts. Once in a while, it can actually strike you as something of a miracle that Greenland halibut is found in the biggest Japanese sushi chains and in Chinese stews, that Greenland prawns are sold in German or French hypermarkets, and that Greenland cod is served in English canteens. However, it is only possible because we are able to connect those of our employees who live and work in the untamed and sparsely inhabited North Atlantic region together with employees who live and work in some of the biggest and busiest cities on Earth. A couple of weeks ago, I myself had the pleasure of experiencing the diversity that characterises Royal Greenland in a very direct way. As described in an article inside this issue of Navigatio, the executive team is in the process of holding citizens’ meetings in all 30 towns and settlements where Royal Greenland has plants. Each citizens’ meeting follows a two-part programme. In the first part, we talk about Royal Greenland’s markets and foreign activities. We try to draw a picture of the metropolises, the hypermarkets and the consumers who have such a huge choice of products. In the second part of the meeting, we zoom in on Royal Greenland in Greenland, specifically our activities, plans and investments in the town or city we are visiting. We try, to the best of our ability, to answer the many in-depth questions which are asked about products, markets, processing and production. We visited, among others, the settlement Itilleq, which is an hour by sea from Sisimiut. Here, we have recently acquired a processing plant which primarily deals with cod. Of course, as cod has not been present in Greenlandic waters for many years, the population of the settlement has fallen significantly. Today, there are only about 70 people left in Itilleq, so even though the meeting was wellattended, we did not need a PA system for our presentations. However, from the mood in the room and the questions being asked, you could sense that cod is about to make a comeback! After our visit to Itilleq (and Sisimiut and Sarfannguaq), I flew directly to the world’s largest seafood trade fair, Seafood Expo Global in Brussels. The fair serves as a meeting place for hundreds of businesses involved in selling fish products, while welcoming thousands of buyers from customers all over the world. Royal Greenland’s activities at the trade fair were centred on our stand. Through pictures, food and brochures, the stand tells the story of our products and of Greenland. For many visitors, it is precisely the story of the untamed, sparsely inhabited and unspoilt nature that draws them to our display – instead of to the many Chinese, Vietnamese, Pakistani and Thai stands selling warm water shrimp. Royal Greenland’s stand at the fair is manned by salespeople from all our sales companies and from our central category and marketing organisations. During the fair, which stretches over almost three days, customer meetings are held from morning to evening. In addition, our business partners, distributors and competitors pay us a visit. It actually struck me that, because it was so busy, for much of the time there were just as many people on the stand as living in Itilleq! Royal Greenland’s CEO flew directly from Itilleq to Seafood Expo Global in Brussels. He is pictured here with Gerth P. Olsen and Winnie Hammeken, who are both employed as international management trainees, together with Sales and Marketing Director Bruno Olesen. To be closest to the fish and closest to the consumer, it is necessary that we always tell each other about our very different worlds – and that we remember that it is our ability to link these worlds together that is the key to our success. Have a good summer! Mikael Thinghuus, CEO Royal Greenland A/S · Postbox 1073 · 3900 Nuuk, Greenland · Tel. +299 36 13 00 · Fax: +299 32 33 49 royalgreenland@royalgreenland.com · www.royalgreenland.gl · www.royalgreenland.com NAVIGATIO IS PUBLISHED BY ROYAL GREENLAND A/S The magazine is free and can be ordered from royalgreenland@royalgreenland.com EDITOR: Káte Hansen, kaha@royalgreenland.com LAYOUT: Info Design aps PRINTING: Specialtrykkeriet Viborg as NAVIGATIO NR. 2 2014 3
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