Uncertain future for Tom & Co.

With 144 outlets in Belgium, Luxembourg and France, Tom & Co. is the leading pet store chain in Belgium. 136 stores are operated as franchises, with only eight owner-operated. The company was established in 1991 and has been part of Delhaize since then. Tom & Co. sales are in the order of around € 100 mio.The decision by Delhaize to part company with Tom & Co. was taken against the background of a merger with the Dutch food retail group Ahold. The Belgian company intends to concentrate more closely on its core business in future and no longer regards Tom & Co. as a priority. Observers believe that Tom & Co. would not have generated many additional synergies as part of the enlarged group, thereby underpinning the argument for disposal. Looking forward, Ahold Delhaize will be more food-focused without Tom & Co. and enable the combined group to invest in its grocery offer without the distraction or investment needs of the pet specialist as part of it. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

The buyer of Tom & Co. is PetSerCo., an investment group in which Lionel Desclée is the principal shareholder. Desclée, hitherto senior vice-president of Delhaize, will leave the company following the acquisition. The deal is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2016. 
The Tom & Co. brand is to be retained by the new owner. "Nothing will change for the employees and franchisees. All existing employment contracts will be respected," was the assurance given by Delhaize. Tom & Co. currently employs 58 people, according to press reports: 38 at its Belgian head office in Zellik, close to Brussels, and in the five stores run by the company, and 20 in the stores in France.

The sale of Tom & Co. is anything but surprising; Delhaize put its pet store chain up for sale a few years ago, but didn't find a buyer prepared to meet the purchase price expectations of the Belgian food retailer. In Belgium, Tom & Co. faces strong competition from the Fressnapf Group, which had 37 stores in the country at the end of 2015. Last year Fressnapf recorded its biggest increase in turnover in Europe at 27.6 per cent in Belgium. It aims to open five more stores there this year. It will be interesting to see if Tom & Co. has…