CRUZBER reviews a year marked for the company by its major investments to create the foundations that will enable its future growth. 2023, a year marked by a marked slowdown in global growth due to high inflation, rising interest rates, reduced investment and disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions.

The company started the year with ambitious objectives for both sales and investments, but the slowdown in global growth caused it to rethink the plan in order to focus on the future and concentrate on investments to increase its production capacity.

Sales during financial year 2023 again showed similar behavior to those of pre-pandemic years in terms of seasonality and monthly distributions. CRUZBER managed to maintain its turnover level and exceeded 14.5 million euros. A positive result for the company which, despite not being in line with the initially set target, is the second-best result in CRUZBER’s history and represents more than 43 percent growth compared to 2019 – the pre-pandemic base year. By half-years, the first half of 2023 (S1) was marked by lower sales levels compared to the previous year, closing with a 6 percent drop, mainly due to the late start of spring sales. The second half of the year (S2) was more positive, with growth of 3 percent as some of the markets in which CRUZBER is present were reactivated and new markets and channels were opened.

The foreign opening ratio closed with very similar figures to previous years, with Spain representing 51 percent and exports 49 percent of the company’s global sales. Highlights include: continued growth of sales in Spain, where despite being a very mature market for the company and having a leading position, it continues to grow; development of the French market, which is already the second most important for CRUZBER; and company’s entry into North America (United States and Canada) with its CRUZ product brand. After its agreement with RACK ATTACK, North America’s premier retailer of vehicle rack solutions, with 47 physical stores spread throughout the territory, CRUZ lands in North America, a strategic and demanding market, and a challenge for the company.

The mother product category PC (passenger car) represents a greater weight within the company’s portfolio compared to LCV (light commercial vehicle), accounting for 54 percent of total sales. The growth of the mother product category LCV is noteworthy, with growth of close to 20 percent compared to financial year 2022. The main drivers of this growth continue to be the renewal of fleets of corporate and self-employed vehicles and the expansion of the product category in foreign markets. By contrast and in the same proportion, the mother product category PC (passenger car), declined by around 20 percent versus financial 2022, as global demand for bike related products and the economy in some key markets for CRUZBER in Europe such as the United Kingdom.

The product category with the largest increase was roof racks, with growth of close to 15 percent versus financial year 2022 and an overall weight of 23 percent. At the other extreme was the bike carrier product category, with the largest decline of nearly 50 percent. The two most significant product launches in 2023 are worth highlighting: the new generation of CRUZ roof bars (CRUZ Airo, CRUZ Lane and CRUZ FIX feet), which represents a radical change in the way the product is sold and distributed, with roof bars, feet and fitting kits being sold separately; and the CRUZ Tailo multi-purpose platform, the first rear product designed, developed and manufactured entirely at CRUZBER’s facilities.

In CRUZBER’s brand architecture, the company’s main product brand is CRUZ with a global sales weight of close to 94 percent, presence in 42 markets and which remains and will remain its main focus. The company’s second product brand, FIRRAK, which was launched in 2021, already accounts for 4 percent of its turnover. The strategy has remained the same since its launch: FIRRAK targets an audience that seeks to cover their transport needs in the vehicle at a contained price and the company offers it in certain markets as a more economical option, limiting and closing the door to potential competitors or enabling CRUZBER’s entry to them. FIRRAK is currently present in 6 markets globally. The manufacturing of original equipment or private label has never been the focus of the company’s efforts and in 2023 represented a meager 2 percent of its volume.

The 2023 financial year, the company began direct sales of its main product brand CRUZ to the end consumer. CRUZBER took advantage of the launch of its new CRUZ product website (cruz-products.com) to offer end consumers the possibility of purchasing its products directly in Spain. With this, the brand aims to be closer to the end consumer, improves brand awareness, reaches where other channels do not reach, expands and improves service and gets a faster and closer feedback to help improve products and services constantly. The new CRUZ product website also means the separation between its main product brand and its corporate brand CRUZBER and that is why it also launched the company’s new corporate website company.cruz-products.com, where can be found a complete and updated information about the company.

The company is clear about its greatest value and that nothing of what it does and achieves would be possible without the commitment and professional development of a motivated team. That is why CRUZBER works as a team, encourages communication, makes decisions as a team, and is committed to continuous training. The company closed 2023 with a total of 149 employees, which represents almost 20 percent growth in its workforce compared to 2022, with 74 percent men and 26 percent women.

CRUZBER continues working to improve the global supply chain to ensure greater flexibility and adaptability in the face of expected growth. The company continues to make significant investments in processes, equipment, and facilities to ensure continued success and growth that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. For this reason, the company invested more than 20 percent of its global turnover during fiscal year 2023. Among them, the complete renovation of the facilities and painting process at CRUZBER’s headquarters with an investment of close to 2 million euros; and construction of a new building of 1,600 square meters for the storage of raw materials and semi-finished products and which brings the total area of the CRUZBER HQ to more than 16,000 square meters. With all this, the company expects to end 2024 with an increase in production capacity of close to 60 percent.

In relation to CRUZBER’s serious commitment to sustainability, minimize its environmental impact and reduce its emissions, some of the latest initiatives carried out include the compacting of the product in the packaging to maximize the units that can be transported and reduce logistic emissions, elimination of plastic materials in the packaging, substitution of production processes for processes that reduce environmental impact, use of recycled and recyclable raw materials, and recycling and reprocessing of raw materials and production waste. In this sense, highlights the more than 1,600 meters of CRUZ Pipe Carriers made from recycled raw material from the manufacture of other CRUZ products, and have already involved the reprocessing of 8 tons of aluminum. The analysis of Gregorio Cruz, CEO at CRUZBER, is confident: “With the investments made, we expect an increase in production capacity of close to 60%. We are really proud of these investments as they guarantee continuous, sustainable and environmentally friendly growth to face the major challenges that the market and our customers present us with day-to-day. Successfully resolve each of these challenges is also thanks to the efforts of the CRUZBER team. We are encouraged to share important achievements, such as the remarkable presence and consolidation of the company in different markets during the last months. In the second half of the year, CRUZBER landed in North America (United States and Canada) with our partner Rack Attack. We have strengthened the presence of the CRUZ brand in Europe and experienced growth in Spain that accentuates the brand’s position as a market leader. We are aware of the arduous path we still have to travel, and also that with the power of our team we are in a position to achieve the most ambitious goals successfully.”

The strategic plan stays the same for CRUZBER, which has established its road map with a focus on the user experience and the sustainability, which is based on three mainstays: growth driven by product development, the efficiency of the supply chain and the development of new markets and channels. The company works continuously and sustainably on the development of current and new product categories that will drive future growth; the development and reinforcement of the positioning of product brand; improving the efficiency of manufacturing and supply; the improvement and modernization of production and logistics centers; and the development of the different markets and channels. In this way, CRUZBER hopes to achieve in the next 5 years its ambitious targets and have a significant presence in the five continents.

The objectives for 2024 are clear and well defined and will be marked by the launch of new products in line with market needs and the development markets where CRUZBER’s presence is limited. CRUZBER expects to return in 2024 to a sustainable growth of more than 10 percent and maintain the expected profitability, with EBITDA of around 20 percent.