Pescanova S.A. (1960–1973): between private initiative and the push of the State

This paper analyses the early years of Pescanova S.A., a pioneer in the production and marketing of frozen fish in Spain. Its business strategies and the determined support of the State for the fishing sector allowed Pescanova to gain a dominant position in the Spanish market, soon becoming the most important Spanish and European fishing company. The study focuses on the perspective of the business strategies adopted. Firstly, the setting up of Pescanova and its vertical integration. Then, multinationalization of the company in African countries is studied in the second section. The enterprise’s productive diversification and its marketing strategies are analysed in the third section. Finally, the main conclusions are summarized.