Partner with a plan

When major anniversaries come around in companies, journalists always try to get a pithy quote from the managing director that sums up the last few years. Rolf Genz, managing director of the German firm Zooma Zoofachmarkt Beteiligungs GmbH, is no exception to this and after briefly considering the matter says "With us there is no great fuss, but our partners can plan around us and we offer reliable long-term cooperation." In Germany the cooperative develops concepts for over 500 pet product retail companies, including various rural stores. Zooma has also been cooperating with BTG- Logistics for 15 years.
The impression of a reliable partner was confirmed by the comments of the retailers present at the anniversary party and house fair of Zooma at its head office in Hückeswagen, which was attended by over 300 guests. Everyone spoke of an "uncomplicated working relationship that above all is always down to earth and friendly". It wasn't always the case, however, that Zooma was viewed in such high regard and with such satisfaction. Genz recalls a time when the cooperative was still in its infancy: "Axel Sperling (editor's note: joint managing director of Zooma with Dorina Hild at the time) and I actually met in the pet sector by chance. And at the time very few insiders in the sector gave us a chance." This was because the approach taken by the two men deviated from what was then the norm in pet supplies retailing. "We didn't want a centrally organised franchise system, as is the case with other chains. Instead we wanted to offer our partners a service portfolio from which every retailer could pick out exactly what suited them." 

The philosophy of the company also had to be something special. According to Genz, this was due to the prehistory he and Axel Sperling shared as social workers. "We brought a kind of life philosophy with us to the entire enterprise. This was focused on treating others as one would wish to be treated oneself." It was a noble aim that wasn't, and still isn't, always easy to realise in a free economy. "We didn't just want to write values such as loyalty to the trade and reliability on the company nameplate, we wanted to live those values too. And we wanted to build up our central organisation in the same way."

The individuality of each partner was always an important criterion here. "We don't force anyone to make use of all the services," says Genz. On the contrary…