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For the first time in the history of the company, specialty chain Fressnapf recorded a turnover of over one billion euros in the 2008 financial year, the latest highlight in one of the retail industry’s unparalleled success stories. Fressnapf founder Torsten Toeller opened his first Fressnapf store in Erkelenz in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1990, aged just 24, and almost went bankrupt in the process. 18 years later, he has achieved his first billion-euro turnover.

Almost 1,000 pet food and accessory specialty stores have since opened their doors across Europe based on Toeller’s ingenious “Fressnapf idea”. The innovative “specialty discounter” concept combines the best of two worlds: The huge range and expert advice of a specialty pet store and the large sales area and aggressive prices of a discounter. With it, Toeller broke the traditional rules of pet retail trade in Germany and turned the pet market completely inside out. There are now over 700 shopping paradises for dogs, cats, mice and other pets in Germany and just under 300 in eleven other European countries, most operating under the name Maxi Zoo. The company employs just under 7,000 including 600 at the company’s headquarters in Krefeld, Germany. Fressnapf received a top customer satisfaction rating from the “Kundenmonitor Deutschland" in 2008, demonstrating the hard work and commitment of its employees.

The secret to Fressnapf’s breathtaking rate of expansion is franchising. “Our franchise partners provide the capital for each new Fressnapf store. Their independent-minded entrepreneurial spirit is what drives our growth,” explains Torsten Toeller. Fressnapf has most recently tapped new sales potential with concepts such as XXL experience stores and services such as dog grooming and veterinary surgeries. Fressnapf will also open an online shop in 2009. “I still see Fressnapf as a start-up company – We are young, fresh, and different to all the others. We are hungry for success and will not be satisfied for a long time yet. We still have plenty of great ideas in store for the pets and pet owners of Europe,” says Toeller.


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Fressnapf breaks one billion turnover mark Hugely successful: Torsten Toeller (left) and his employees have broken the one billion turnover mark. Photo: Fressnapf/Matthias Kneppeck 19.12.2008 Download (439KB)