The retail chains will know we’re here”

Horst and Werner Tomaschofsky started out with a very small space: a garage measuring just 15 m² was converted in 1989 in order to sell dog food. The first proper shop area was added to this a little later on, with an area of 75 m² in Tulln and finally with a further move to 150 m² in the same location. This still exists today. When the concept proved to be right, rapid expansion was undertaken: 950 m² in St. Pölten, which is well situated from the transport point of view, and a further 1 000 m² in Oberwart in Burgenland. Responding to the call of the big city, however, the successful brothers were looking for a store site close to the capital, Vienna. The Shopping-Center Süd (SCS), Europe’s biggest shopping centre on the edge of Brunn am Gebirge, offered the ideal conditions – but no store premises were to be had for miles around, as at least 800 m² – was required, plus ample parking space. They finally found the perfect site in a former discount store, just outside the environs of the SCS. And one of the main access roads to the SCS runs right past the front of the new store.
With a retail area of 2 200 m², Tomy’s Zoo in Brunn is one of the largest specialist pet stores in Austria.
14 employees man the new pet store, with two members of staff assigned to each department. Pet sales are expected to account for 10-12 per cent of sales, aquatics for 40 to 45 per cent and dog and cat food and accessories for the remainder. The general price structure provides for a range of low-priced products as well as high-priced articles. “Our customers come from the entire region between Vienna and Wiener Neustadt, populated by a few million people,” says Horst Tomaschofsky. “It’s not enough to be the largest store on the block; the shops must function.” The flow of customers is maintained through direct advertising, radio slots and an advertising campaign in the regional papers. “Our advertising commitments normally account for three per cent of sales,” continues Horst Tomaschofsky. “In the case of the new store that has just opened in Brunn, we had to dig much deeper into our pockets.” At least 400 paying customers per day are needed to operate the large store profitably. The brothers’ confidence in their ambitious objective is derived from the store in St. Pölten; the target has long since been attained there in a substantially smaller space. The outlet broke even after just 15 months.
Horst Tomaschofsky is in the pet business for the love of it.
However, Tomy’s Zoo…