Kölle Zoo goes in a new direction

This intention is evident from the 14th Kölle Zoo store, which opened in the Franconian city of Würzburg at the start of April. The company presents a completely new and exclusive barf concept, Wolfshunger, in a 40 m² barf shop decked out in the style of a traditional butcher’s shop of yesteryear. The concept comprises only healthy, grain-free dog food aimed at barf enthusiasts and pet owners wanting to go down this route. In André Seeger Kölle Zoo has gained a barf specialist who has developed the Wolfshunger principle and runs his own barf shop for dogs and cats in Essen. Plans are in hand to open barf shops of this kind in other branches of the store chain too, and the Wolfs­hunger brand is to be marketed exclusively in all Kölle Zoo stores in the future.
The dog and cat department in the new store is much bigger than those in previously opened stores in the chain. To achieve this, the number of aquarium units was cut by 25 per cent, but this does not detract from the fascination of the tanks and products.

Various themed areas have been incorporated to enhance the appeal of the dog and cat department. As well as the barf shop, there is a colonial-style pavilion showcasing unusual accessory ranges in an attractive manner. The presentation of high-quality natural scratching posts, which are manufactured by the Erfurt company Rarissima using wood from the Thuringian Forest, was the focus of particular attention when the store opened. The posts are sold exclusively in the pet product retail trade by Kölle Zoo.

The new Kölle Zoo is part of what is called the Ikea Homepark, a shopping mall with a variety of retail units directly adjacent to the Ikea store and its huge car park. Although it is one of the speciality chain’s smaller stores with a retail area of 1 600 m², it is probably one of the most attractive.
As someone who knows the market, Matthias Pohl is all too aware of the pull that Ikea stores exert on children and young people. This is why, contrary to normal practice, the small mammal department has been positioned close by the entrance to the new Kölle Zoo. The cage bird department with its large glass aviaries also attracted countless visitors when the store opened, giving the lie to those who…