Aiming for a higher profile

With its 40 stores bringing in annual sales of roughly € 100 mio, the Animalis chain is one of the leading companies in the French pet supplies sector. All the outlets of the company, which belongs to the Cora Group, stock a wide range of up to 20 000 products as well as a variety of pets for sale, including dogs and cats. The product lines cover all established types of pets, even poultry, the keeping of which is extremely popular in France. Animalis intends to add equestrian products to its range in the near future. New concept The new sales and presentation concept, which Animalis has implemented to date at the stores in Clermont-Ferrand, Bordeaux and Fresnes, close to Paris, provides better store navigation for the customers, greater clarity and many additional themed elements. "Our aim is to gear our stores more closely to the requirements of the customers in future. However, these requirements do not always exactly match the preferred product placement of our suppliers," explains general director Jean-Philippe Darnault. The former managing director of the Truffaut garden centre chain, likewise part of the Cora Group, and founder of Animalis assumed responsibility for the fortunes of the pet store chain once again in 2013. His top priority is ensuring that the customers feel at home in Animalis and are able to find the products they seek for their pets quickly. Details are also very important to Darnault in this regard. Employees working on the check-outs previously had their backs toward customers entering the store. "That's not a particularly warm welcome," comments Darnault. In the new concept, the check-outs have been positioned so that the assistants working there can greet every customer with a smile.

A clear overview is also important to the manager. On entering the store, every customer should be able to see which way he must go to find the product line he is looking for. The product groupings have thus been designed so that each customer has a complete overview of the sales floor from the entrance, thereby saving time and avoiding frustration. A colour-coding system in which a certain colour is assigned to each pet category aids this process of clarification. Large-format background images showing pets against a natural backdrop contribute towards creating a…