Family business roundup: Bankruptcy for poultry producer, while duty-free group sells stake

Tough times have taken its toll on Zacky Farms, the poultry producer owned by the eponymous family, which has filed for bankruptcy, while Greece’s Folli Follie is selling a majority stake in its travel retail operations.

Folli Follie, controlled by the Koutsolioutsos family, is selling 51% of its duty-free shopping division to Switzerland’s Dufry – a travel retailer operating in 44 countries.

The €200.5 million deal will see Dufry handling a network of 90 shops in 45 different locations, said a statement on 10 October. Folli runs duty-free shops through its subsidiary Hellenic Republic.

Folli’s chief executive, George Koutsolioutsos, who along with his family owns 38.9% of the parent family business, said the sale was “proof of confidence for the entrepreneurial environment in Greece and supports [the] country’s efforts in attracting new international investments”.

The group had 2011 revenues of €1.02 billion, 25% of which was credited to Hellenic’s operations. Folli is also well known for its retail outlets selling jewellery, watches and accessories.

Meanwhile, California-based Zacky Farms, which traces its roots back to the 1920s, filed for bankruptcy on 9 October. The family business listed debts of between $50 million (€39 million) and $100 million.

Set up by Samuel Zacky, who opened a shop selling live chickens in 1928, the group blamed its financial position on high cost of poultry feed, causing “significant operating losses”.

The family-run company, which has revenues of around $350 million and employs more than 1,500 people, said it is seeking to sell the business.

Zacky Farms operates as a poultry farmer, processor, distributor and wholesaler.