“We cast a global view of the pet industry”

 
The new president of the company: Rolf Hagen Jr.
PET in Europe: A change of generation is well under way at Hagen. What is expected to be different in future?
Rolf Hagen Jr: We have enjoyed many years of partnership between the generations working in our company. It has been a mixture of experience and knowledge blended with curiosity and questioning, resulting in key new Hagen operations and brands. All the while the new generation gained appreciation and respect for how things work. Nothing is built overnight. As for the future, the recent changes will allow additional focus on product innovation, clear branding and effective marketing while we are building a new team that will work diligently on improving our operational record. Of course, this is not without responsibility as we also stand accountable for the results of these actions.
 PET in Europe: The latest personnel changes at Hagen also indicate that European operations are to be concentrated more centrally than before in the future. How is that expected to look in practice?
Rolf Hagen Jr: It will be perhaps subtle at first but what we fully expect to happen is that the best practices from each of our major European operations will influence the operations of the others. This means that if Hagen UK has done an excellent job capturing market share in the aquatic consumable segment,  then let us take what they have learned and apply it to the market in France as effectively as possible. Having a new layer of management coordinating this effort and reporting back to our Canadian head office makes the difference here. The existing European packaging concepts become even more effective as the full marketing circle will be in place, not just parts of it. We also intend to focus on value-added deliverables, such as category management, that will further differentiate us from our competition. Our new European general managers all share this vision and are supporting the initiative. That is what will make the difference.
The Hagen stand is always a magnet for visitors to Interzoo. This year is not expected to be any different
PET in Europe: Where do you see potential synergy effects between the branches in the individual countries?
Rolf Hagen Jr: We are limited in our marketing resources due to the large palette of products we offer the trade, and therefore we see clear development cost savings when a single marketing department can coordinate a pan-European effort. Furthermore, focusing on winners and building…