“We manufacture over 90 % of our sales”

PET in Europe: Ferplast has developed from being just a cage producer to one of the biggest global players in the accessories sector in recent years. What is your strategy for this commercial expansion?
Carlo Vaccari: Yes, it’s true that for the first 15 years in business we were purely bird and rodent cage producers. At that time we achieved an important market share of more than 30 %, and thus it was quite difficult to attain further growth.
Ferplast had an injection-moulding department at its disposal for the production of accessories (bases and feeders). It was natural to start producing some articles for dogs and cats, and today we have a complete range in this sector. We subsequently had the opportunity of acquiring two manufacturing companies, producing leads and collars and soft beddings. We have re-equipped these, enabling both to compete in terms of price and variety of range.
Many wholesalers refused to buy these new products from us, because they had exclusive contracts with other companies. For this reason, we decided to build up our own sales network with the objective of offering our entire range to retailers. We were the first company in the pet accessories industry to re-organise in its primary European market and sell direct to the retailer. Ferplast is a producer company, and it is important to clarify this. Over 90 % of our turnover is achieved with items manufactured by Ferplast: “Canto bird cages” made 100 % by Ferplast, “Gioco” rodents cages made 100 % by Ferplast, “Amico” plastic articles made 100 % by Ferplast, “Bravo” collars and leads made 100 % by Ferplast, “Sogno” soft bedding made 100 % by Ferplast. The “Panorama” line of, small accessories including grooming and toys, is the only range of which 50 % is made in Italy and 50% imported from the Far East.
This is a point that I want to stress, because some retailers are still convinced today that Ferplast is only a cage producer and that the other items in our range are purchased from other companies. In fact, as I have already mentioned, we manufacture over 90 % of our sales.  
What has happened in the past 20 years was necessary to enable our company to grow.
The Vaccari family during the party to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Ferplast company.
PET in Europe: I know that Ferplast has its own branches in Italy, France, the UK, Germany and the Benelux countries. What about other countries?
Carlo Vaccari: In other countries we work with partners that share our philosophy…