Swiss expertise in food

The company has its origins in the dog breeding business run by Ernst Furrer over 40 years ago. Looking for a food for the bitches used in breeding, the Swiss dog expert developed a sausage created from pasteurised meat. The “Schnappi” private label was born and quickly expanded to include further products. Soon other dog owners began to show interest in the products. Ernst Furrer already had a grocery distribution business in Switzerland, and so it was easy to add the distribution of pet food to this. Other brands including “Biomill” and “Hokovit” were added subsequently. Kurt Klingler, the son-in-law of the company’s founder, joined the company and provided the impetus for expanding the pet food segment. To meet customer demand, the garage of the property where breeding took place in Uster was turned into a salesroom and then extended. This location has been extended steadily to date insofar as permitted by construction constraints, but has reached its limits at the current 120 m² of retail area. “Unfortunately, it is not possible to obtain consent from the authorities for new construction or even for a basement underneath the existing building,” says Kurt Klingler. He had already purchased an adjacent property to be able to expand properly. Branching out with an idea
The first Goldenway branch was opened 20 years ago in Windisch, close to Brugg, occupying 130 m², which seemed vast at that time. Further branches were added in Basle (400 m²), in Wil near St. Gallen (500 m²) and in Sursee (240 m²). At its peak, the company had five Goldenway outlets. Now there are three, employing 13 people: the main branch in Uster, the original store in Windisch and another store opened two years ago in Saland (170 m²). The entrepreneur could envisage expanding with further stores, but is not actively looking for any sites. “If I’m offered an interesting location, with or without a pet shop already there, I’ll look at it and take it on if applicable,” continues Kurt Klingler. Over 80 suppliers are on Goldenway’s books when it comes to purchasing. Many brands are imported exclusively, including “Korngold” from Austria, Grau special pet food from Germany, the Dutch brand “Hokamix” by Kroeske and Markus Mühle and “Luposan”, also from Germany. Many other brands have been imported exclusively at one time or another, but some of these have been acquired by big companies, for example “Almo Nature”. Exclusively imported brands are also sold to retailers, breeders and dealers…