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“Our concept provides for a full range of food and accessories along with a selection of live animals for each of our partner businesses,” says Lars Bergkvist, chief executive officer of Arken Hemdjurshandlarna AB, which is based in Täby. Most of the stores are situated in shopping centres lying on the outskirts of larger towns and boast average retail areas of approx. 250 m². The largest of the Arken pet stores is in Sundsvall on the east coast of Sweden and has a retail area of 980 m², while the smallest store has an area of just 81 m². Most of Arken’s pet stores are situated in shopping centres lying on the outskirts of larger towns. Eight Arken pet stores opened in 1987. Their average retail area was 130 m². 13 years later, on 1 January 2000, the current franchise chain – the first in Sweden – was created from these. By then the number of Arken pet product stores had grown to 24 outlets. “We wanted to have a stronger concept towards the consumer with the same name on every store and we also wanted to be able to expand the number of stores,” Lars Bergkvist comments with regard to the founding of the franchise organisation. Bergkvist states that the overall concept was then elaborated in detail and developed further over the next few years. The reward for these efforts was steady growth, bringing the number of member stores to 31 by 31 December 2005. The stores are all linked together via a central merchandise data management system. They are supplied from a centrally listed range of goods and advertise through monthly campaigns that are organised centrally. The store interior in Eskilstuna has a rustic appearance. Sales of pets account for 20 per cent of the overall sales of the Arken stores, while food accounts for 30 per cent and accessories for 50 per cent. In addition to stocking the usual products from the international pet product industry, Arken also has its own range of dog and cat food and cat litter. In-house staff training is one of the most important responsibilities of the head office in Täby in Lars Bergkvist’s eyes: “We believe that our success depends on the salespeople. We have basic training as well as the Arken University training in order to develop people.” Arken pet stores can be found mainly in the south of Sweden. The franchise outlets are scattered across Sweden, with over 1 800 km separating the most northerly Arken pet store in Haparanda and the most southerly in Ystad. “At least three to five new members are to be added…