Fressnapf wants to renew itself from the inside out

The aim of the reorganisation is to put the company in the best possible position for its European expansion and international growth. Fressnapf wants to provide the best possible support to the local units in the various countries from its headquarters in Krefeld and to focus the company even more strongly on the individual needs of its customers. Central functions are to be reduced while activities in the individual countries are to be strengthened. This includes devolving more responsibility to the regional headquarters and streamlining processes at the Krefeld site. As a result, management and team structures have been adjusted and duplicate structures have been eliminated. At the same time, individual employment contracts that no longer fit the future structures were terminated by mutual agreement. Less than one per cent of all Fressnapf employees will be affected, the Krefeld-based company said.

Peter Pritchard, interim CEO of Fressnapf, explains: “The key to successful growth is being flexible and responding to local market needs. I firmly believe that decisions need to be made locally as our local teams know their customers best”. Fressnapf founder and owner Torsten Toeller points out: “We want to sustainably strengthen and expand our market position as a pan-European champion. In order to best position ourselves for the future and for accelerated growth, we need to renew ourselves from the inside out. With the reorganisation of the head office, we are now consistently following this path”. The realignment of Fressnapf’s central organisation is part of the company’s strategic transformation to gain further market share in Europe, both organically and through future M&A activity. The company has recently expanded its European presence through strategic acquisitions, including the Jumper Groep in the Netherlands and the forthcoming acquisition of Arcaplanet in Italy.

For the acquisition of Arcaplanet and to refinance existing debt, Fressnapf opted for capital market financing for the first time and successfully placed a 800 mio euro seven-year senior unsecured bond at the end of October, despite the recent highly competitive market environment. Due to…