Success through passion

"Only those who are passionate themselves can spark enthusiasm in others." Herwig Eggerstedt, founder and managing partner of Das Futterhaus, once cited this as his favourite mantra in an interview. Without passion and staying power, he and wife Marion would not have achieved the success that their pet store chain, now 30 years old, enjoys today. 
When the couple opened a 400 m2 supermarket for pet products called Das Futterhaus in the small north German town of Pinneberg in 1987, it was tantamount to a revolution in the pet sector. Fressnapf, the market leader in German pet supplies retailing, hadn't yet arrived in the market; garden centres and DIY chains were limited to core ranges at the end of the 1980s and corner shops were the norm in the pet supplies trade. 

As a former field sales employee of pet food manufacturer Mars Pet Care, which was then called Effem, Eggerstedt knew the pet sector. And he had a vision: he developed a pet store concept that was to be considerably different from the small pet shops of that era. Eggerstedt envisaged large retail areas similar to supermarkets, in which classic supermarket products would be available alongside speciality store items. He even pioneered the idea of putting a food bar with a wide range of loose "pick n' mix" foods in stores. The stores were instantly recognisable from outside thanks to the yellow dog, which was omnipresent from the outset in the logo, the company's advertising, and as a mascot and likeable character.
In the years that followed, further stores appeared. In 1993 the first franchise partner came on board with a Das Futterhaus outlet. With the involvement of the Bartels-Langness group of companies, one of the foremost proprietor-run food retailers in Germany, the pace of expansion increased. 

The road to success wasn't always easy and minor setbacks occurred along the way. Formulating the content of the concept was also necessary. Eggerstedt admits to having too few speciality products and accessories in the range at the beginning, for example. To develop strategies that met the requirements for each type of outlet, he and his team worked tirelessly to fine-tune the details and trialled plenty of options: VIP pet shops and city concepts as well as exclusive premium stores, upmarket destination outlets and bargain stores.