Leading the way in Sofia

Veselin Fratev runs a combined wholesale and retail business in the centre of the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
Veselin Fratev opened his first pet product shop in 1995 in Sofia, in a retail area of just 13 m². After three years of observing how more and more of his counterparts in the trade came to buy their stock from him, the decision to become a combined wholesaler and retailer and supply the growing number of trade customers was an easy one. Today the company operates from a 250 m² warehouse with a 50 m² showroom at the front. The little shop opened in 1995 now goes by the name of “101 pets”. And in 2000 Veselin Fratev opened two more speciality shops in Sofia with retail areas of 13 m² and 20 m².
Nearly 70 specialist dealers in and around Sofia buy in their stock from Kaducei Ltd, each of them selecting from the extensive range available the products that will sell best in their own businesses. And depending on the customer base and location, these products can be very different. No pet shop in Bulgaria is likely to have enough room to stock a full range, and the showroom at Kaducei Ltd thus serves to display the wholesaler’s complete range, enabling the retailer to see what products are available to him. Purchases are then delivered in the company’s own van.
Food for dogs, cats, birds and rodents accounts for 65 per cent of the current product range. The remaining 35 per cent is made up of accessories, leads and cat litter. These proportions are reflected in the sales: food accounts for 50 per cent of sales, accessories for 30 per cent and vitamins and medicines for 20 per cent. End consumers can also buy direct from Kaducei Ltd, although this is not a significant channel for day-to-day sales, according to Veselin Fratev. The company’s main aim is to offer the speciality retail trade in Sofia a complete spectrum of pet products. The only sector that Veselin Fratev steers clear of is aquatics, as this is a very weak segment in Bulgaria and the preserve of just a few specialists. Live animals are also avoided, as Fratev considers the risks associated with being able to make a financial success of supplying these too great.
Up to now Veselin Fratev has bought his range in from other wholesalers and importers in Bulgaria. He isn’t interested in importing goods himself – purely trading in the products seems to him to be the least problematic option in the current situation. Since the appearance of the country report in PET in Europe 2/2003, however, he regularly…