Seeking a successful niche

Fressnapf and Das Futterhaus, the two pet store chains from Germany, are eyeing further expansion in 2016. While market leader Fressnapf has let it be known that it will open at least three new stores this year, Norbert Steinwidder, the managing director of Das Futterhaus Austria, has told PET worldwide that he intends to launch as many as six new stores. 

As of the end of March, the Fressnapf Group had 128 stores in Austria, along with five large-format Megazoo outlets, while Das Futterhaus operated 31 stores. However, the difference in size between the two chains belies the fact that Das Futterhaus is on the offensive and aims to make up ground on the market leader in the next few years. Last year, the speciality chain from northern Germany increased its sales in neighbouring Austria by 15.6 per cent, while sales on a comparable store area rose by 3 per cent. Sales by the Fressnapf Group in Austria increased by 3.8 per cent last year. Fressnapf Austria is one of the company's most successful subsidiaries.
Both pet store chains benefited from the burgeoning trend among dog and cat owners towards feeding their pets on premium pet food. Whether naturally produced or grain-free, food with added health benefits or barf pet food, high-quality products are extremely popular and have been a hit with consumers thanks to innovative suppliers. In some cases these are special products that are not sold off ruthlessly at a knock-down price on the Internet, unlike market-leading brands. 

Even if the Austrian pet supplies sector is developing positively, online pet product shops and above all Zooplus AG are causing a headache for high street retailers. Fressnapf is currently working on the launch of an online shop in Austria. Independent pet shops in particular are feeling the pinch. "More and more pet owners buy online and then complain that all the pet stores are closing," says pet supplies dealer Werner Daxböck, proprietor of Zoo Daxböck in Neun-kirchen, south-west of Wiener Neustadt. Many independents get less worked up about the speciality chains than they do about competition from the Internet. Gerd Winkler, managing director of Happy Pet in Feldkirch, close to the German-Austrian border, adds: "As a result of online retailing, many products are not of interest to pet product retailers. Fortunately, however, there are still enough suppliers that take care to ensure that prices don't fall. Here retailers have to adapt…