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TEN YEARS AS CEO
Rune Andersson founded Mellby Gård back in 1986 and was CEO
of the company until fall 2013. Johan Andersson then took on
the role of CEO and under his leadership, the company has
continued to grow stronger. The Group’s net sales have grown from SEK
4,6 to 12,2 billion, with profitability following suit.
“I was about to turn 70 and thought it was time to step down,” says
Rune Andersson. “I called our three sons Gustav, Erik and Johan to a
meeting at the office at Ribersborg in Malmö. We agreed and still agree
that the Group should be a family business. Selling or going public is
not an option. It was natural that Johan took over – there were no major
discussions about it.”
“I was looking forward to taking on the role of CEO and thought it
would be exciting,” says Johan Andersson. “Gustav and Erik run their
own businesses and had their hands full with those, so it was a smooth
succession.”
Johan Andersson had then worked for three years at Smarteyes, so
the discussions about him taking over as CEO of Mellby Gård were well
timed. He was ready for his next operational challenge.
“I want to emphasize how extremely flattering it was to be asked,” he
says. “I’m honored that I was given the opportunity and proud that I
had the courage to take it. Besides the change of CEO, we did several
other things, including appointing a professional board of directors.
Dad was appointed chairman and we three brothers and a couple of
external individuals were elected as board members.”
CREATED MELLBY GÅRD 2.0
With the change of CEO, the Group was restructured and reorganized.
All operating companies were incorporated into Mellby Gård AB, and
the trotting horses, forestry and agriculture and Eriksberg – activities
that were more like passion projects and closely linked to the family –
were placed outside it. Today, Eriksberg is a commercial operation that
is developing well in terms of both net sales and profitability.
“My father had built a large group of companies, at that point
consisting of about ten companies with net sales of billions of Swedish
kronor, so I felt it was a huge responsibility,” says Johan Andersson. “I
was well aware of the Swedish expression ärva och fördärva (inherit
and ruin) and put a great deal of pressure on myself. But I didn’t go
around thinking about it for too long – instead, I quickly decided to go
for it. You could say that we created Mellby Gård 2.0 and became a
family business.” He continues:
“Dad had run the Group almost single-handedly. He had hired Sten
Libell, Anders Bülow and subsequently Rolf Andersson, and they ran
the business together. Dad always managed the Group in a professional
way, and with Mellby Gård 2.0, there was more structure. It wasn’t a
revolution, but rather an evolution.”
When Johan Andersson took over, Mellby Gård also started
employing a number of additional people at the Group’s head office.
The management was gradually expanded and the company now
has a slightly larger head office, although it is small in relation to the
size of the Group. A number of key employees have been added over
the years and today, Mellby Gård has just over a dozen permanent
employees.
“Mellby Gård is a slightly different family business in that we operate
in many different sectors and you have to respect the fact that it
takes time to learn about the companies,” explains Rune Andersson.
“To familiarize himself with their operations, Johan joined several
of their boards, as well as chairing Feralco and Cale. But it wasn’t
feasible for him to be on all the boards, so it was important to create a
professional team.”
During the ten years that Johan Andersson has been CEO, Mellby
Gård has made several important transactions. When Kappahl was
bought out of the stock market, the Group’s net sales almost doubled.
In addition, Mellby Gård’s two industrial companies, Feralco and
Roxtec, have continued to perform strongly and a major investment
has been made in AcadeMedia, which has performed very well
operationally. In the parking industry, an important structural deal
was made when Mellby Gård co-created Flowbird by integrating Cale
with Parkeon.
“I’m very happy with the balance we’ve created between our
verticals,” says Johan Andersson. “We’ve broadened our business in
a good way, and today Mellby Gård consists of about twice as many
companies as it did ten years ago.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF SAYING NO
And perhaps most importantly, what isn’t visible. All the investment
proposals and external bids that Mellby Gård has turned down, where
the advantages of being a long-term family business really show.
Because unlike an investment fund, you can say no when things aren’t
quite right and continue working instead on your existing companies,
as long as you think they can develop. This is the basis of Mellby
Gård’s business logic.
“Over the years, many operators have approached us with attractive
offers, but we’ve consistently rejected them, with a few exceptions,”
says Rune Andersson. “We’re very pleased that we stuck to our logic
and turned down this type of deal.”
Rune Andersson emphasizes that there is currently a good balance
in the Group. Compared to ten years ago, the Group’s business is
more evenly distributed across several different sectors, although
the industrial vertical still generates the largest share of total value
added. This balance offers many advantages, including currency
hedging that is naturally built in. Kappahl makes virtually all its
purchases of goods in dollars, which is largely offset by Roxtec’s equal
export sales in dollars.
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