Abed Chagar, CEO, Colorado

Colorado paints is focused on new innovations in paints and marketing to stand out from its competitors and meet the varied needs of its clients.

How would you describe the evolution of the company over the last 60 years?

Colorado is the only public company in the segment of paint with 20% of market share of the coating in Morocco. Colorado was established in 1962 went through four phases. The main period of evolution of the company was at the end of the 1990s up until now. Our turnover in 2000 was around EUR12 million, and now we do EUR50 million. In these 20 years, the staff went from 100 people to 500, and we have acquired many certifications. We have also won many awards in recognition of our impact on the Moroccan market in terms of marketing, advertising, the profession, and the ecosystem of paint in Morocco. One of the ideas we did 20 years ago was to establish schools to teach applicators how to apply paint, especially specialist textured paints. In this kind of paints, we are not just a leader in Morocco but the Mediterranean. We are among the three largest manufacturers in the region alongside two Italian companies. We invest heavily because in this period we also set up three new factories. The oldest one was established in 2006 and measures 10,000sqm, and the most recent one was in 2010 measuring 90,000sqm where we produce 90% of our production, which is liquid- and water-based paints.

What sets Colorado apart from its competitors within Morocco?

Our current capacity is 100,000 tons of paint a year, and we produce only around 45,000 tons because of COVID-19 and the recession from previous years. We have many competitive advantages over our competitors. We are the only public company in Morocco, and that means we are an example of compliance and respect for regulations in terms of legislation, taxes, and so on. Women are also important to our organization. I am the general manager, and we also have two female deputy general managers. In our company, 35% of our executives are female, for example. In our board, three of the eight directors are women as well. In countries like Morocco, it means a lot to have women in a job of direction of management. It means it is a serious company that gives women the opportunity to empower themselves. Compared to our competitors we have launched new ideas in marketing. We have explored all the possibilities of markets: products, price, paints, and so on. We have a team force and market that are connected to painters all the time, for example. We now have 11 showrooms in Morocco and 10 others aboard in Algeria, Benin, Qatar, and many other countries. Every year, we launch at least five new products, and this is something special in our segment. We launched a new range of products eight years ago that we call functional products, which is paint with additional functions. For example, we have a product called Stop Insect Paint, Coloclean that fights against bacteria and virus, Coloflex that is waterproof, and more. We have many similar new products that we can export everywhere. We can also negotiate closely and export and adapt products quickly, which is a major asset compared to European countries.

How much of your revenue comes from exports and to which markets? What are your expansion plans?

Exports now represents 12% of our turnover, and we export to more than 20 countries in Europe, the Middle East, and almost all the French-speaking countries in Africa. We are not present in English-speaking countries at the moment. We first began exporting in January 2008, and every year we are growing by 10%. Exports will represent more and more of our turnover. We are a member of ASMEX, and I am extremely active there. As vice president, I am responsible for the competitiveness of companies, and I am a member of the board. ASMEX now is doing a great job aggregating the exporters from Morocco, helping them conquer new markets, and defending their interests with the government in terms of logistics, taxes, and more.

How did you mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on your operations, and what is your key goal and strategies for 2021?

Economically, the reaction from Morocco was great, and it reached all the goals that were defined. For Colorado, it was difficult because of the lockdowns. In the first semester, we lost 30% of our turnover, though fortunately in the second semester, the economy practically recouped all the losses of the first semester. Finally, it was a good year in terms of turnover and benefits. 2020 was extremely important for us in terms of testing our capacity to react to a big crisis. We reacted extremely well and have strengthened our financial fundamentals compared to the start of 2020. For 2021, we are optimistic, even though the pandemic is still ongoing. We have launched new products and have studied many opportunities, as a crisis in general comes with many opportunities. COVID-19 is a moment for Europe to connect its economy to the south.