Cappo eyes sea change with Parkside site sale
THE CAPPO Seafood family is gearing up for a step-change - selling their long-held, now rezoned Parkside property - as they seek a new location to continue their near 100-year growth.
THE CAPPO Seafood family is gearing up for a step-change — selling their long-held, now rezoned Parkside property — as they seek a new location to continue their near 100-year growth.
Cappo Seafood co-director Damian Cappo said the plans to relocate come amid one of the strongest growth periods in its history with an 80 per cent rise in sales at its Central Market store over the past year.
Damian, who manages the Parkside factory and shopfront, said he was excited about the relocation and what it means for the longer term growth of the business.
“It’s a big change for us. My dad (Maurice ‘Morry’ Cappo) bought what was originally a milk factory at Parkside in the late 70s and I have spent all my working life here.
“But the business has grown and we need a more modern facility,” he told The Advertiser.
CBRE’s Harry Einarson and Mitch Curnow and Knight Frank’s Tony Ricketts and Lucas Weeks have been appointed agents for the sale of the land, which was rezoned for mixed-use developments in January.
“We applied for that rezoning, which has generated a lot of interest in the site.
“The expressions of interest has been fantastic given the ideal location of the site (off Greenhill Road)
“We have enjoyed it and had our time on it but I strongly believe it’s time for us to move on,” he said.
Market sources expect the property to attract offers in excess of $7 million.
Cappo Seafood is likely to trade at Parkside through the Christmas, festive season before a relocation some time next year with the group looking at a number of city fringe and suburban locations.
Part of the push to move into a new facility is to expand local, national and global markets.
“We’ve built a very successful and sustainable business thanks to our loyal South Australian
customers,” Mr Cappo said.
“Enhancing and improving our offering to the local market is therefore a key consideration in
our overall growth plans.
“We’re looking to create a new seafood retail experience.
“We will be investing in a more interactive and customer-centric fresh seafood store in metropolitan Adelaide in the near future.”
The increase in sales that has come as a result of the move to a new location within the Central Market and the recent acquisition of the Angelakis Bros. seafood business by Barossa Fine Foods were new developments that have prompted a change to its own business model, Mr Cappo said.
“With every change, there is opportunity. These changes has given us a chance to look at how we can position ourselves into the future.”
Cappo Seafood traces its history to 1919 when six brothers (including Maurice’s father Carlo), all early Italian migrants, founded the business at Port Pirie.
A small tent pitched on the site that is now occupied by the Adelaide Hilton was the first CBD sale site for the Cappos family. When Maurice joined the business in 1953, he “basically dumped everything and started again”.
Today Cappo Seafood is run by third-generation brothers Damian and Matthew, who looks after the Central Market operations.
Maurice is now retired.
The wholesale arm of the business, run out of Whyalla, was sold a couple of years ago to concentrate on retail sales.
The group employs up to 50 staff during peak season across its retail operations and its partnership with Thomas Foods International set up last year.
That partnership, resulting in the establishment of a separate entity Thomas Cappo Seafoods, is opening up new growth markets, the group said. Thomas Cappo Seafoods, currently exports to Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.
The group expects to start exports to the United States in the near future.
A domestic division of this partnership was established in July 2018 servicing national seafood retailers, wholesalers and sushi chains.
“With our stand-alone retail operations and the Thomas Foods partnership, we can effectively meet growing customer demand across local, national and overseas markets.”
There were no plans to set up more stores with the fresh retail environment demanding a hands-on owner-operator to meet quality standards and expectations. The group wants to celebrate a century of being in business as the premier Australian seafood brand locally, national and globally, he said.