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1Presentation of the groupPresentation of SequanaGroup strengthsDiversified portfolio of high-quality brandswith leading market positionsThe Group is engaged in a variety of businesses, most of whichboast leading positions on their respective markets.Antalis is Europe’s leading distributor of paper and among thebiggest distributors worldwide. It has an extensive customerbase of more than 135,000 printers and companies. Antalis hasstrengthened its presence in the fast-growing Packaging andVisual Communication businesses (16% of sales in 2012), whilestepping up its growth push outside Europe (South Africa, SouthAmerica and Asia-Pacific). Antalis’ global reach and balancedgeographic spread in Europe allow it to diversify its customerportfolio and capitalise on the higher-than-average growth potentialof emerging markets. Antalis’ profitability over the past fewyears has been rooted in its wide array of products and services,broad geographical presence, strong relationships with its customersand suppliers and a highly effective distribution network.Arjowiggins enjoys leading positions on certain niche markets(No. 1 worldwide for premium fine papers, banknote paper andtracing paper). It is also the largest producer of recycled graphicpaper integrated in 100%-recycled pulp, holding a No. 1 positionin eco-friendly/recycled paper in Europe (excluding LWC). Thisbroad line-up of highly specialised businesses represents severalniche markets with their own customers, applications and marketdynamics. This helps to limit the cyclical impact of Arjowiggins’businesses. Arjowiggins enjoys top-ranking positions on marketsfor high value-added products, where prices are significantlyhigher than for standard graphic paper. This allows it to generatehigher margins and reduce its sensitivity to fluctuations in inputcosts, especially pulp. Arjowiggins’ broad geographic spread alsoenables it to capitalise on growth in emerging markets, and particularlySouth America and Asia.Strong competitive edge and barriers to entryAntalis and Arjowiggins operate chiefly in highly concentratedmarkets where size (in terms of the depth of products and serviceson offer, capacity for innovation, scale of the distribution networkand production/storage capacity) can be major factors in forginga competitive edge.Antalis enjoys leading positions in most countries in which it hasoperations and has set up customer-focused solutions includingCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) tools and e-commerceapplications. Potential entrants into Antalis’ markets arefaced with significant barriers to entry, since market position,logistics network efficiency and the ability to attract new customersare key to profitability. The fragmented nature of the customerbase also makes it hard to capture new customers and marketshare on a long-term basis.Arjowiggins has a strong presence on niche markets where innovation,customer relations, brand recognition (more than 50 recognisedbrands among key market players) and product qualitycreate significant barriers to entry. The size of these niche marketsalong with the highly specialised expertise they require andthe nature of the paper manufacturing process also help stave offcompetition from major players. Arjowiggins’ growth strategyhinges on innovation and on anticipating the needs of clients andend customers. Each division has its own R&D department witha proven capacity for innovation and these units have received asteady stream of accolades over the past few years.6 | Sequana | 2012 Document de référence (English version)