The Abacus cooperative has closed the first full year after the merger with Som with a turnover of 95.3 million euros in 2022 (the accounts are pending approval at its general assembly on June 15), exceeding 93.4 million pre-pandemic and 7.6% above 2021, a year still impacted by covid restrictions.
The sale of its logistics center in Vilanova del Camí last year for 31 million euros – it is still rented – and the transformation process undertaken have allowed it to clean up its financial situation, with a debt that has been reduced by 70 % in a single year, up to the current eight million euros, says Oriol Soler, co-general director of Abacus.
With the improvement in the balance sheets, the cooperative has been able to carry out acquisitions and launch new lines of business that will focus its strategy in the coming years. Among the purchases, the company specializing in technology and programming for educational use Ro-botica stands out, through which they offer resources to schools, the Tresc culture club or the building that houses the current headquarters of the Memorial Democràtic, in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. The property, whose acquisition amount has not been disclosed, will house part of Abacus's central services from 2024, once the Generalitat's rental contract ends. "The current headquarters have become too small for us and we needed to grow," says Soler.
For this 2023, the entity plans to promote the transformation of its network of stores, where the editorial product will focus the offer -toys and stationery will go to the background-, as well as consolidate some of the new business levers already started and based on the creation of cultural and educational content. In this sense, Soler highlights the Inuk publishing label, launched this year and dedicated to children's and youth literature, or the Habilis.cat platform – science and technology.
With these engines, Soler expects the cooperative to exceed 110 million euros in turnover this 2023. The total investment planned to develop the strategic plan for the next five years amounts to 30 million euros. "Our goal is to be relevant in the educational world, we have a long way to go," underlines the co-director general of Abacus.
The entity began its assembly process yesterday in an act held at the Convent dels Àngels in Barcelona, aimed at consumer members, and will culminate with the annual General Assembly on June 15.
