Going for growth

The company was established back in 2004. It was born out of a common interest of three friends, who were chiefly involved in dog breeding up to that point, in procuring high-quality food for their dogs. They chose the German brand Animonda with the aim of importing and selling it in Slovakia, and thereby ensured a secure and satisfactory future for the products in the domestic market.The import of Animonda products also led to the new company taking the name Ani-Pet. "It was not a day-to-day decision, but long-term preparation and testing of our own feed on our own animals and the animals of our friends and acquaintances," managing director Sonˇa Ivanková told PET worldwide.

In the early years of the company's existence, Ani-Pet concentrated primarily on wholesaling, with the focus on pet food and accessories. The company built its own logistics centre to deliver to pet stores in Slovakia as efficiently and competitively as possible. "From the outset our approach has been simple, but clearly formulated," continues Sonˇa Ivanková. "We want to give our customers the best quality at the best possible price."
The company's philosophy doesn't end at getting products from A to B and delivering to C. Ani-Pet also works continuously on promoting the products according to their applications and specifications, mostly through participation in trade shows and exhibitions. As well as Animonda from Germany, the wholesale range includes products from Novafoods (Italy), Marpet (Italy) and Affinity Petcare (Spain).
"Providing competent advice is an important part of our work," states Sonˇa Ivanková. "We draw on our knowledge and experience of breeding cats, dogs and other pets for this. Our direct network includes some very well-known breeders from Slovakia and many other countries."

The company now has seven pet stores of its own. It opened the first of these shortly after it was established in 2004 at the company's headquarters in Nitra on a retail area of approximately 180 m². This outlet was later expanded to its present size of 400 m². Store number two was opened in 2008 in the Aquario shopping centre in Nové Zámky on a modest area of 60 m², which was subsequently increased to 170 m². A further 130 m² store followed in 2012 in Nitra, this time in the new Centro shopping centre.