Master of 1 000 stores  

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It was the end of the 1980s. Torsten Toeller returned from a trip to the USA fired up with enthusiasm for the concept of the US pet megastores. He wanted to establish such speciality discount stores for pets in Germany too, but his boss at the time gave his idea the brush-off. Torsten Toeller was not to be deterred, however, and on 18 January 1990 he opened his first Fressnapf store in Erkelenz, North-Rhine Westphalia. But as everyone knows, the first step is always the hardest - something that the young entrepreneur also came to realise. Too expensive, not enough choice - these were the criticisms levelled at the first Fressnapf by the customers. Instead of going bust, Toeller sold his car, doubled the size of his range and slashed the prices. Soon he had increased sales severalfold and thereby laid the foundation for Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH. Rapid expansion Thereafter the signs at Fress-napf pointed to rapid expansion. In 1992 the company opened its first franchise stores, with hundreds of new stores opening in Germany over the years. Torsten Toeller and his franchise partners have clear goals for the future: to further increase Fressnapf's market share, which was 21.6 per cent overall at the end of 2008, because as Toeller says, "we have our potential." Fressnapf has prevailed abroad too. In 1997 it opened its first store in Austria, now the company's most successful foreign market with over 80 stores in operation. This figure is expected to rise to 120 by 2012. Fressnapf puts its market share of the pet supplies retail sector in Austria at approx. 50 per cent. Foreign markets growing in importance Fressnapf can only dream of such market power in other foreign markets - but the trend is upwards even outside the German-speaking countries. In 2008 Fressnapf's sales abroad totalled € 316 mio, an increase of 21.3 per cent compared with the previous year - far higher than in Germany. Fressnapf is opening approx. 40 stores per year abroad, the same number as in Germany. In most countries the stores trade under the name Maxi Zoo. This year, more stores are expected to open abroad than in the domestic market for the first time. Since the German market is gradually being covered, Fress-napf will turn its attention primarily to expansion outside Germany in the next few years. In the meantime, pet owners can buy pet food and accessories from Fressnapf in twelve countries. France, surely one of the hardest foreign…