The Bellon secret for growing in times of crisis

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SÃO PAULO (SP), 19 de novembro de 2008 - At 78 years of age, Pierre Bellon, founder of the French group Sodexo, recalls in detail how he fell in love with Brazil and decided that here would be a good place to expand his business. That was the end of the 1960s and the businessman decided to change his habitual trip to the Caiena, the capital of French Guiana (where he provided food services to a local company), and travel from Paris to Rio de Janeiro instead. He had no idea, though, that Brazil would become one of the key focuses for his company's growth in all the world, especially in times of crisis.

Bellon recalled that it was snowing in Paris when his plane took off, which explains his surprise when he deplaned in the blue skies and heat of Rio de Janeiro. 'I went to the beach. The water was wonderful, people were playing soccer, the women were beautiful, I looked at Pão de Açucar mountain. Everything was magnificent. I decided at that moment that I would bring my company to Brazil,' recounted the charming president of the Sodexo board of directors during a luncheon meeting of the Business Leaders Group (Lide).

The businessman was quickly rewarded by his decision. A petroleum drilling company, providing services on offshore platforms to Petrobras, contracted Sodexho to operate in the management of remote locations. It was 1968 and the company began its first experiences in Brazil, where it also operated in exporting beef to Caiena and in the market for industrial restaurants. Business has been very good, Bellon affirmed, but he admitted that the decision to invest in Brazil was precipitous.

(Regiane de Oliveira - Gazeta Mercantil)