Valora focuses on the internationalisation of its Retail division and strengthens the organisational structures

As part of its new “Valora 4 Growth” strategy programme, Valora Holding AG is carrying out important changes at its Retail division. These are focused on the internationalisation of the division’s business, with particular emphasis on the German market, and on strengthening the organisational structures of its Retail Switzerland operations.

Change of management at Retail division
Kaspar Niklaus, the current head of the Retail division, has decided, for personal reasons, to leave Valora’s Group Executive Management and will pursue new challenges outside Valora. Thomas Vollmoeller and the entire Board of Directors regret this decision and are grateful to Kaspar Niklaus for the substantial commitment and effort he has put into Valora over the last three years. In Thomas Vollmoeller’s words, “During his time with Valora, Kaspar Niklaus has made a significant contribution towards putting the division back on a successful trajectory, and has implemented both a solid turnaround and a rising trend in operating margins.”

In order to ensure a smooth handover of management duties in the division, it has been agreed that Valora will be able to draw on Kaspar Niklaus’s expertise over the next few months.

With effect from January 17, 2011, Andreas Berger will be the new head of Valora’s Retail division. Andreas Berger, who is 44 years old and a German citizen, studied business administration at the University of St. Gallen. He has many years of sound experience of the European retail sector. In his last job, Andreas Berger was responsible for the management of two important regions at the Aldi Group, with some 1,400 employees and annual turnover of some EUR 500 million. He played a determining role in bringing about the successful expansion achieved by the areas he managed. Andreas Berger’s nomination as CEO of Valora Retail and his appointment to Group Executive Management underscore the importance which Valora Holding AG’s management attaches to the “Valora 4 Growth” strategy programme’s objectives for international expansion, and the importance of the German market in these plans.

Organisational structures of Retail Switzerland operations strengthened
At the same time as its change of management, the Retail division will also be adapting its organisational structure in Switzerland. In order to strengthen the division’s organisation, Stefan Gächter, the head of logistics, will take on the newly-created role of head of Operations Retail Switzerland (basically consisting of purchasing department, enterprise resource planning and logistics). As part of the turnaround Valora has executed since 2008, Stefan Gächter successfully re-engineered the Group’s entire supply chain and logistics operations, thus creating a highly efficient service-providing unit for the Group. Stefan Gächter’s new role will make him an ideal complement to the division’s well-established Swiss management team (Patrick Stäuble | k kiosk, Pascal Le Pellec | avec., Hanspeter Büchler | P&B, Thomas Haupt | Caffè Spettacolo).

2010 earnings guidance confirmed
Valora will report its 2010 results at a media and financial analysts’ conference to be held on March 25, 2011. The Group is confident that, as planned, its operating profit will be raised to the lower end of the CHF 81-86 million range.

Please address any further questions regarding the above to:
Investor Relations Mladen Tomic Tel: +41 58 789 12 20 mladen.tomic@valora.com

Media Relations Stefania Misteli Tel: +41 58 789 12 01 stefania.misteli@valora.com