Experts in food

The first bricks-and-mortar store opened 20 years ago not far from Madrid. New outlets followed every two years, bringing the current number of stores operated by the dynamic entrepreneurial couple to eight. A common feature of all the stores is their proximity to a busy transport hub in the greater Madrid area. 
The couple also continues to operate the home shopping service, which accounts for around 15 per cent of the Telepiensos Group's overall sales. 12 people are employed in the central warehouse, supplying customers in and around Madrid with goods on a daily basis. 
With an average store area of roughly 400 m², Telepiensos is one of the bigger market players. Its largest store has a retail area covering 700 m². The company employs 46 people in all. Only one of the stores is located in the Madrid city centre and is the company's smallest outlet with a retail area of 300 m². However, company boss Joaquin Navarro is confident of being able to expand here also.

Telepiensos's traditionally strong focus on dog and cat food in its product portfolio is reflected in the high street stores also. These items alone account for 75 per cent of sales, with small animals accounting for 15 per cent and birds and aquariums for ten per cent. In the early years, Joaquin Navarro tried to compete with the hypermarkets that are typically found in the country, but he soon realised that the customers in his stores didn't want to buy cheap products. As a result, the stores sell only high-quality pro­ducts and the rivalry with the hypermarkets has evolved into peaceful coexistence.
Telepiensos retails its own premium food for dogs and cats under its Dogzilla and Catzilla labels. The products are manu­factured in Spain and have al­ready received an industry award for their names.

Joaquin Navarro says that he regards himself and his retail operation as a leader when it comes to premium food for dogs and cats. His employees are trained by veterinarians and other experts and spend a lot of time in store advising on nutrition. The company is about to tackle the topic of BARF feeding (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) that is so popular in Germany, even if it is considered difficult to organise in Spain, not least on account of the high daily…