A dramatic downfall

Tukano was Slovenia's first pet store chain and belonged to the wholesale company Hobby Program. After setting it up in 1995, the family of proprietor Milena Zadravec pursued ambitious targets. By 2007 it had 14 outlets in Slovenia, including a 1 500 m2 store in Ljubljana. It had opened a 400 m2 outlet in Zagreb (Croatia) in 2001 with the intention of opening up to 20 stores in the neighbouring country. By mid-2008 there were 17 stores in Slovenia, with a target of 20 by 2009 - such were Milena Zadravec's plans.
The rapid expansion and lifestyle of the Zadravec family came at a price, however, and the company was eventually sold to Vitakraft in summer 2009. The Zadravec clan continued to run the stores until their contracts were terminated in 2013. The warehouse and administrative facilities in Slovenia disappeared almost completely and were relocated to the Vitakraft head office in Croatia. The Tukano chain was sold to the company Ainet. Managing director Alida Vodep, previously a franchisee with three stores, wanted to continue to run the chain with the assistance of investors and expand it, but large debts, long-term leases and other liabilities posed a significant obstacle. It was a situation that investors blamed largely on Vitakraft Croatia and from which there was no longer any way out by the summer of 2015. 

Opting for insolvency on 14 July 2015 was the only step the Tukano management could take to resolve the dilemma. The Tukano brand name was sold. The shop rents and wages of more than 30 employees could no longer be paid, nor could supplier invoices totalling more than € 500 000. Investors lost around € 1.2 mio, and the story even made it onto Slovenian regional television news. The insolvency also had dramatic consequences for smaller suppliers, who were scarcely able to keep their own businesses going due to the payments outstanding.

In the first few months following the insolvency, stores were closed, including the former flagship retail outlet at the BTC shopping centre in Ljubljana, along with the store in Ljubljana-Brdo a short time afterwards. The outlet in Celje was closed prior to the insolvency, and the store in Koper will soon follow suit.
The final months of the year will reveal what is to become of the…