After the success of our first digital conference, Auxadi and Spanish Association APD have held on July 20th a new conference on the Internationalization of the Spanish Companies in the new normality. On this occasion, the panel was ran by Víctor Salamanca, CEO of Auxadi, as moderator, Juan Manuel Cividanes (IGAPE), José Ramón Purroy (ABANCA) and Juan Paz (Hijos de Rivera). The event was attended by more than 150 people and was introduced by José Luis Cabarcos (Director of APD Galicia).

The conference began with Victor Salamanca, explaining similarities and differences between the crisis experienced by Spanish companies between 2010 and 2012 and the current one. In this sense, Juan Manuel Cividanes stated that “the 2008 crisis was a crisis of the financial system, while what we are experiencing now is a health crisis. However and as main difference, during the current one all institutions have been able to react much faster” adding that “the other big difference is that in a year we will be in a much better situation and we will get out of this situation much more quickly’’.

On the development of new distribution channels and the changes in consumer habits, Juan Paz from Hijos de Rivera explained how “e-Commerce has played a very important role. In this context we have tried to adapt our brand purpose (which is to be the most loved beer) to respond to the needs of our customers. At an international level the consumption pattern has also changed, as we have experienced a variation towards other channels”.

The conference also addressed the role of the banks and financial institutions, focusing on the role they should play regarding business activity. In this sense Jose Ramon Purroy of ABANCA highlighted that it is “very important” to further add “in our specific case, we have expert teams to support companies arriving to a foreign market. What we do with the company, is not merely aimed to banking services and products, but also to help them get established’’.

During the event other topics ancillary to internationalization were highlighted, such as technology (“digitalization is the key word in this context”, in the words of Juan Manuel Cividanes), promotion of country branding (“the Spanish company and the Spanish professionals are well considered abroad”, noted José Ramón Purroy) or new ways of management and business relations (“B2B has changed, with the possibility of being able to do business through different platforms, without having to be exclusively in person” explained Juan Paz).

With this session, Auxadi and APD continue their series of conferences on internationalization looking at September as next appointment.

Auxadi, as member of Marca España operating in more than 50 countries through its 16 international subsidiaries, supports the country’s business network helping companies internationalize becoming an extension of their accounting departments abroad.

You can see the complete session below (Spanish only):

All information contained in this publication is up to date on 2020. This content has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. You should not act upon the information contained in this chart without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this content, and, to the extent permitted by law, AUXADI does not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of you or anyone else acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this chart or for any decision based on it.