22 years after they split – Aroma Tel Aviv merges into Aroma Israel. Golan Einat, who was the sole shareholder in Aroma Tel Aviv after purchasing it from Sahar Shefa, will remain with shares in the merged company. However, according to estimates, Einat will not have a managerial position in the merged company and in fact separate from the control of the cafe chain.
Aroma Israel and Aroma Tel Aviv refused to specify the new ownership structure of the merged company, which will be called “Aroma Espresso Bar Israel”.
Read more in Calcalist:
Aroma Israel has 153 branches in Israel, and another 57 abroad, and also owns roasting plants, pastries and raw materials. Aroma Tel Aviv operates 37 branches, most of them in franchises. According to the companies’ announcement, the merged Aroma will operate 187 branches.
According to industry sources, “Einat bought himself a quiet deal and will no longer deal with franchisees in this competitive industry.”
The cafe industry has undergone upheavals in recent years. Among other things, in the Corona crisis, quite a few cafes ran into difficulties, in light of government directives and restrictions that led to a decrease in redemptions.
In 2019, Aroma Tel Aviv ran into a crisis after two customers who ate a tuna sandwich in one of the chain’s branches were hospitalized in Ichilov. The Ministry of Health blamed Aroma Tel Aviv, but the chain shifted the responsibility to Williger, its tuna supplier at the time.
The Aroma chain was established in 1994 by Yariv and Sahar Shefa. In 1999, the chain split into two separate companies – Aroma Israel and Aroma Tel Aviv. After the split, Aroma Tel Aviv, which was controlled by Sahar Shefa, operated in Tel Aviv and Aroma Israel, which remained under the control of Yariv Shefa, operated in the rest of the country. In 2011, Einat bought 50% of the Tel Aviv chain, and in 2014 completed the acquisition of full ownership of it.
Einat also owns about half of the Roldin chain together with the Hakak family. He is also the owner of Zappa clubs, which were affected by the closure of cultural events during the Corona period, accumulated debts, and tried to bring in a business partner.
.