Fressnapf is growing faster than ever before. But the number of pet retailers has stagnated since the 1950s
Almost every second household in Austria has a pet. According to statistics, 1.8 million cats and 800,000 dogs live in Austria's households (last available figures from 2019). The trend is increasing. Because in times of homeschooling and home office, many have come across the dog, the cat or the budgie.
In other words: the pet business is booming. Also because more and more money is being spent on animals. Particularly if the keepers are singles, relevant surveys show.
One person who is particularly pleased is Torsten Toeller. The founder of the German Fressnapf Group set up a retail chain with 1,700 locations in eleven countries and on Wednesday announced the greatest growth in sales in the company's 30-year history. Sales rose in the Corona year by 15 percent to 2.65 billion euros. And, according to Toeller, the end of the flagpole is still a long way off. For the current year he is aiming for an increase of ten percent. In 2021 he will open more stores – especially in Poland and France. In general, he expects “a consolidation of the market because smaller providers cannot cope with the costs of digitization and are thus falling further behind”.
An assessment shared by Andreas Popper, himself a pet dealer in Vienna and Klosterneuburg. “In Austria we have around 1,000 pet retailers, a number that has stagnated for years,” says the industry spokesman. And since the 1950s.
700 million market
Large chains, above all Fressnapf with a market share of 33 percent, are bringing in an ever larger part of the pet market, which is estimated at 700 million euros. The online sales of the group have recently increased by 135 percent, sales on the shop floor by almost 20 percent. Fressnapf is becoming more and more diversified, among other things, together with Rewe, it has put together a catalog with dog-friendly hotels (“5 paws stand for a wellness hotel for dogs”, says Fressnapf Austria boss Hermann Aigner). In addition, the first two dog hairdressing salons were opened. More are to follow – at best in each federal state. Aigner: “If you want to make an appointment for your dog in our dog salon in Brunn am Gebirge today, you will probably wait three months for the next free one.”
He is critical of the increased demand for pets. Recently, breeders were unable to offer as many animals as were requested. One consequence: “At the beginning of the pandemic, the animal shelters were literally emptied,” says Aigner. Often not a good solution for the animals. Many are said to have already landed back in the home.
