Annual Report 2008 - Securitas

Growing in New Markets
A cornerstone of Securitas strategy is to grow in new
geographical markets to serve our global customers
in these regions. During 2007 and 2008, a large
number of acquisitions were made in these markets.
Our operations in New Markets are included under
the heading Other in our segment reporting.
Latin America
Securitas is present in Argentina, Uruguay, Peru,
Chile and Colombia. In Argentina and Uruguay,
Securitas is the market leader. The market in Latin
America is extremely fragmented and to a large
extent non-regulated. Of the global competitors,
G4S operates in most Latin American countries
except Brazil, while Prosegur is present in seven
countries in Latin America.
Securitas’ customers in Latin America can be
found in a variety of customer segments, from
manufacturing, offices, retail and education to special
events. Some of our largest customers in Argentina
are within the airport-related and telecommunications
industries, while mining, seaport and telecommunications
are big in Peru.
Security solutions are developed in close cooperation
with customers locally, and in many cases
include technology in addition to specialized guarding.
In Argentina, we also have our own security
training center, which is a competitive advantage.
We will establish our own training centers for security
officers in all of the Latin American countries in
which we operate by the end of 2009. This investment
will primarily help us to ensure that basic
training for security officers is in line with both legal
and client requirements. Furthermore, it will give
us the opportunity to provide specialized training
according to specific client needs.
The overall objective of Securitas’ operations
in Latin America is to grow faster than the market
average. This will be achieved by specializing in
specific customer segments and offering high­
quality security solutions. The growth strategy is also
supported by selective acquisitions in this region.
India
Securitas is present in India through a partnership
agreement with Walsons, of which Securitas owns
49 percent, since 2007. Walsons is one of India’s
leading security services companies with over
10,000 employees.
The Indian security industry has been largely
fragmented. However, in the past few years, larger
and more professional players have entered into
this market. With the increasing threat perception
in society, customers are seeking more professional
security services. A study conducted by Assocham,
a premier industry association in India, shows that
this industry will double during the next four years,
from BUSD 2 to BUSD 4–5. The industry has
grown by about 25 percent per year for the last five
to seven years. The largest competitors in the
Indian market are G4S, Tops Security, SDB CISCO
and SIS.
China and South East Asia
In August 2008, Securitas began providing specialized
guarding services in the Shanghai area in
China and in Taiwan. This has allowed us to service
some of Securitas’ global accounts with operations
in China.
Our Taiwanese company Securitas Security
Services Taiwan provides specialized guarding
services to high-end residential buildings.
In Hong Kong, the security services market is
very fragmented, with a large number of small
security services companies. In Hong Kong, we are
established through Securitas Security Services
Hong Kong and through our new acquisition Polic
Secuforce. Polic Secuforce has ten years of experience
in security services operations and a contract
portfolio, mainly in the education segment.
Middle East
During 2008, Securitas was established in the
Middle East and is now starting up security services
operations in Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab
Emirates. The market entry has been through
organic start-ups and small acquisitions.
Historically, the region has been highly focused
on the provision of large numbers of security officers
at very low prices and margins. Recent tightening
of laws in many territories in the Middle East has led
to an emerging requirement for more specialized
guarding services. The solution is to use security
technology as a complement to security officers,
giving a more competitive security solution in a
more cost­effective way.
Presentation of our business
New Markets
Securitas Annual Report 2008
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