Sanyo Hellas: Rising to the top, Hollywood, the fall and the end titles

By Matina Harkoftaki

On Wednesday, March 9, another page was written in the last chapter that composes the history of the once state-owned Trophy Holding Group (formerly Sanyo Hellas), which for many years starred in the domestic business firm. A story that had it all, even a scent … Hollywood. From the humble beginning and the spectacular development to the difficult moments and the final collapse, the path of the company founded in the early 1970s by the brothers Stavros and Alekos Papageorgiou is coming to an end. Arcadia Hotel, one of the last assets of the group, changed hands on March 9 after the online auction, leaving the company, which previously owned, among others, the well-known Avenue shopping center in Maroussi.

The beginning

Let’s take the things from the beginning. It all started in 1971, when the Papageorgiou brothers, with a place of origin in the Arcadia Trophies, decided to create Sanyo Hellas, thus laying the foundations of a diverse business building, which over the years would go beyond the narrow confines of representation. of electrical and electronic devices of the well-known Japanese group in the Greek market and would expand into a number of sectors both through subsidiaries and through the holding of holdings in various companies. During its course the group has to show innumerable subsidiaries, among which, SanyoCom, Silicon Technologies, the AEXTE Community, the Cypriot Tropea Investment, the Evolution Investment, Exploinves, as well as the group of companies Arcadia, with the list to have no end. Through them he opened and developed activity in several sectors, from telecommunications, technology and television productions to real estate, tourism and shipping, while from time to time he maintained holdings in companies such as metallurgy Tzirakian and retail chain Radio Korasidis . It is no exaggeration to say that he had engaged in a struggle to form affiliated companies, many of which did not last long, as he was going through a solution even a few months after their founding.

The change of name

Its transformation into a holding company in the late 1990s and the change of its name in 2013 to a Trophy Participation – a name that refers to the place of origin of its founders – are among the most important milestones of its journey. The new name does not bring the expected renewal within the company listed on the Greek Stock Exchange since 1991. On the contrary, 2013 marks the beginning of an ever-declining course, which a few years later led to the final collapse. It is indicative that in the financial years 2013 and 2014 the group’s turnover was close to the area of ​​8 million euros, compared to 10 million euros in 2012. However, in 2015 operating income fell by more than 50 % and closed at just 3.6 million euros. The picture of performance is constantly deteriorating, with the result that in 2016 it had a turnover of 3,274 million euros and a loss of 1,511 million euros, while in 2017 revenues reached 3.7 million euros and losses were 655,462 euros. Reaching the latest published financial statements, in 2020 the group’s turnover closed at just 474,989 euros, while recording losses of 1.358 million euros.

The auctions

The Greek debt crisis of the last decade, which “cut” the rents of the Avenue shopping center, was the main cause of the disaster. In combination with the fact that the company for loans of a total amount of 15.74 million euros with the banks Ethniki, Piraeus and Eurobank had pre-notations on part of its real estate of the order of 24 million euros, the process of electronic auctions became one-way. In 2018 begins a period where the properties of Tropaia Participation are constantly featured on the e-auction platform, starting with Avenue, which began to come out partially under the hammer from Piraeus and Eurobank banks until November 2021, when they changed the latest horizontal properties. This was followed in December 2021 by the auction of the company’s facilities in Metamorfosi, which were awarded for the price of 1,960,001 euros, just one euro more than the first offer price. Finally, the Arcadia Hotel was almost destined to follow in the footsteps of previous assets.

The four-star hotel, located in Komotini, changed hands in the middle of last week, with the amount of the award being just one euro above the starting price, which was set at 2.5 million euros. Just for the record, this hotel belonged, until recently, to its subsidiary Tropea, the Community, which was established in 1996, while the accommodation had ceased to operate as early as 2019.

The glorious days of the Papageorgiou family’s business may have passed, but its younger members, and mainly Denis Papageorgiou, have occasionally occupied the spotlight, both with the projects it has undertaken to implement in the catering industry. and entertainment in Athens and Mykonos as well as with his personal life. He is one of those who created the Rakkan restaurant in Kifissia, a project that he wanted to transfer χιnot so successfully − to the island of the Winds, while his collaboration with the Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan for the short-lived Lohan will be remembered. Club, a synergy that ended in a public dispute between Mr. Papageorgiou and the American actress.

* Republished by the newspaper Capital