Swiss pet market turns upside down

Online retailing is making growing inroads into the Swiss market and taking a considerable portion of sales away from the bricks-and-mortar trade, including pet stores. In 2016, Swiss consumers purchased goods and commodities online to the tune of 7.8 bn CHF, an increase of 8.3 per cent on the previous year.

No detailed figures are available for the online trade in pet products in Switzerland, but it is known that Zooplus AG increased its sales in the country in 2016 by 37.7 per cent compared with the previous year to 22.6 mio euros. This is considerably higher than the average increase in sales of 27.7 per cent achieved by Zooplus across Europe in 2016. 
A prominent position in online retailing for pet products is also occupied by Qualipet.ch, the online shop of Switzerland's leading pet store company. Qualipet has around 90 stores in Switzerland and an intimate knowledge of the market.
Another strong competitor is Digitec Galaxus AG, in which the Swiss trading group Migros has a 70 per cent holding and which offers a huge range of pet products, including virtually all the specialist retail brands. A third online player is also luring away customers of Swiss high street pet stores: Brack.ch. This company is part of the Competec Group, a merger of several retail enterprises and logistics providers. The group's sales in 2016 amounted to around 600 mio CHF. Brack.ch officially announced its entrance into the pet supplies market last summer and has launched its business with 32 different brands. Its range features a host of well-known brands including Bosch, Animonda, Terra Canis, Sanabelle, Josera, Trixie and Cat's Best, and is constantly being topped up. 
Online retailing has contributed significantly in the pet sector, too, to steadily declining product prices and thus also to a fall in trade margins in Switzerland. This increases the pressure on the bricks-and-mortar pet stores. 

This change in basic circumstances has probably played a key part in opening cracks in the once steadfast alliance between the leading Swiss pet store chain Qualipet and Delphin Amazonia, the number 1 in Swiss pet supplies wholesaling. Qualipet remains an important customer of Delphin Amazonia, and this is not likely to change for the time being. However, Werner Schmid, founder and director of the leading Swiss wholesale company, wants to put Delphin Amazonia on a broader footing in the future. Last year the wholesaler…