"We want to be closer to the consumers"

After some years, we can say that the pet market has recovered quite well, giving us good reason to expect a more dynamic scenario in the next few years. In the meantime we have registered some important changes, which must be taken into consideration to be able to face future challenges. Generally speaking, the product segment related to cats and dogs is the best performing segment worldwide. In some specific countries we report higher growth in the cat accessory category. Birds and rodents are quite stable and in some areas losing ground, but Ferplast remains one of the most important players in the segment. The aquatics segment is moving from stable to decreasing. Of course there are some differences among geographical regions: in Asia, for example, small animals are scarcely present.

The European market remains the most important and stable one for us, even if it registers slow growth. The Russian market was one of the best performing ones of the western countries, but it is now suffering because of currency devaluation and geopolitical problems. Being a global player, we can rely on a wider market, where other countries can offer us a good opportunity to develop our business, such as in South America, America, China and the Middle East. That's why during the last few years we have attended lots of international exhibitions in those areas. Besides different local markets we must mention e-commerce: online sales are registering important growth all over the world.

The customer's expectations in this segment have evolved considerably in the last few years. They are becoming more and more demanding and very well informed about the products and services they seek. For this reason we try to provide as much information as we can through all our different media channels: the company website, blog, Facebook and Instagram. These new media give us the chance to communicate in a different way, more informally, bringing us closer to people. We collect stories about how people and their pets use our products, and about their opinions and expectations. Their feedback gives us the opportunity to improve our production according to their needs. Being more informed than in the past, the consumer can now…