Strong player in Hungary

Alpha Zoo belongs to Alpha Investment Holding Cplc, under the auspices of which Alpha Vet Animal Health Ltd also operates. Established in 1972, Alpha Vet Animal Health Ltd is regarded as the biggest distributor and a significant manufacturer of veterinary medicine in Hungary as well as running its own veterinary hospital. Alpha Vet Ltd. started out in 1995, also as a wholesale company of pet products. It started out as a distributor for the Eukanuba pet food brand, but the Alpha Vet range now comprises over 25 000 SKUs, including internationally renowned brands such as Trixie, Bosch, Farmina, Rinti and Miamor, to name but a few. The wholesale business accounts for 80 per cent of sales.
In 2009 Alpha Zoo branched out into retailing and now operates 40 stores across Hungary. 24 of these are located in and around the capital Budapest, mostly in the malls of large hypermarkets such as Tesco or Auchan. The retailer operates 15 stores of its own, while the others are run as franchises. Alpha Zoo is based in the small Hungarian town of Székesfehérvar, approx. 60 km from Budapest. The company's managing director is Dr Gábor Zsigmond, who has extensive experience of the pet supplies business.
Alpha Zoo operates a soft franchising scheme, under which the head office of the franchisor offers partner businesses the option of freely selecting around 20 percent of their range. An open system such as this accommodates in particular those franchisees who specialise in more marginal areas, such as aquariums and terrariums. Most franchise partners are new to the pet product sector, but have already gained business experience in other sectors, where in many cases they likewise belonged to a franchise scheme. Some of the franchisees are veterinarians wanting to run a small pet shop alongside their veterinary clinic. 

While Alpha Zoo's own stores cover a retail area of approx. 400 m2, the franchise stores are much smaller at between 50 and 150 m2 in size. Seven of the company's stores also sell pets. To differentiate itself from its competitors, the company stocks six different exclusive brands of pet food covering all price categories from budget level to super-premium. The range also includes some well-known and less familiar Hungarian manufacturers of pet products.