In the past year, Fressnapf Group achieved a remarkable feat by surpassing the 4-billion-euro sales mark, recording a substantial year-on-year sales boost of about 475 million euros despite facing economic challenges. While the leading European pet store chain experienced an 8.5% growth in the German market, reaching a gross turnover of 2.072 billion euros, its international sales soared by an impressive 19.4% to 1.928 billion euros. Noteworthy sales spikes were observed in various countries, including Poland (+27.9%), France (+26%), and Hungary (+22.7%), contributing to an overall sales increase of 13.5% compared to the previous year.
Founder and owner Torsten Toeller emphasised, “Our business model proved robust last year also.The positive sales trend is based on the consistent implementation of our strategy moving towards the omnichannel ecosystem, the expansion and conversion of our stores, enlarging our pan-European footprint by the acquisition of Jumper in the Netherlands, expanding at home and abroad and the consolidation of our service offering across Europe.”
Fressnapf is currently undergoing its most significant transformation in its history, shifting its focus from being a product-centric supplier to a comprehensive service provider addressing all aspects of customers’ pets’ life cycles. In addition to their diverse product range, Fressnapf now provides an expanding array of services, such as online veterinary services, grooming salons, and pet insurance. The year 2023 witnessed the opening or modernization of 240 stores in the new Future Store format.
CEO Dr. Johannes Steegmann outlined, “We will introduce the ecosystem with the services incrementally into all countries in which we are represented and roll out the Future Store concept. This will call for high investment in the future too and we have earmarked more than 500 million euros for this in the next three years. The investment we are putting in ourselves will focus on the areas of expansion, Future Store, IT, supply chain and human resources.”
Steegmann reiterated that customers and their pets are the focal point of the ecosystem. The ‘Friends’ loyalty program, operational in six countries, not only aims to strengthen customer relations but also strives to gain deeper insights into pet lovers for personalized product and service offerings. With approximately six million participants, the loyalty program has proven to be highly successful, with ‘Friends’ demonstrating increased spending and more frequent shopping.
Online sales for the Fressnapf Group increased by a substantial 20% compared to the previous year. To further fortify the e-commerce business, Fressnapf is gearing up to invest in enhancing the online customer experience throughout the upcoming year.
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