Equipped for the future

C3F Proagri, a member of the Luxembourg cooperative association De Verband, decided last year to restructure its speciality store for pet and garden products, which operates under the name Silolux. Although the size of the 2 500 m² retail area remained virtually unchanged, the range was significantly expanded and the presentation made more appealing. The store offers a full range across all product groups comprising 20 000 products, and since the reopening it also boasts an aquarium and terrarium department with a substantial offering of live pets. A popular shopping destination A friendly manner, the provision of competent advice by the 13 staff and the broad, attractive product spectrum are the features that make the store a popular shopping destination for pet owners and garden enthusiasts, according to store manager Marc Despotin. Wolkrange in the town of Messancy is located just at the point where Belgium, Luxembourg and France converge and it has good transport links to all three countries. As a result, pet owners from Luxembourg and France shop at Silolux in addition to Belgian customers. French is spoken almost exclusively in the store, and so the product packaging is also in French. Since Wolkrange is in a rural location, the number of competitors tends to be limited. The nearest pet shop is at least 5 to 10 km away from Silolux, and the only other stores in the vicinity are a Cora supermarket, a garden centre without a pet department and a Brico DIY store, which stocks a few pond accessories. Customers who shop at Silolux often have a fairly long journey to the store, which explains the substantial demand for large packs of pet food. Another reason is that many owners of large dog breeds live in the store’s catchment area. Focus on premium When it comes to dog food, Silolux concentrates primarily on well-known premium and super-premium brands like “Royal Canin” and “Pro Plan”. In addition to a basic range of brands sold in the supermarkets, the store also offers “Belpet” as a low-cost alternative. This is a private label product from a speciality retail cooperative of the same name to which Silolux is linked. Other key sales drivers in the store apart from dog food include products for chickens, rabbits and other classic pets. To save customers having to carry heavy food sacks, they can ask for these at the cash desk and a store employee will carry them out to the car. Pet food accounts for 70 per cent of the Silolux store’s pet product sales…