Scandinavian success story

The Swedish franchise chain Arken Zoo has expanded, with 15 new shops opening in Sweden and Norway during 2011. Norway now has two stores up and running and another three stores have been signed up. Lars Bergkvist, CEO of Arken Zoo, believes that there will be at least 10 stores in Norway by the end of the year. In total, Arken Zoo now has 72 stores in operation, a figure that is expected to pass 85 by the end of 2011. Arken Zoo’s sales are up by a total of 53 per cent for the first six months compared with 2010 and the like-for-like increase is 7 per cent.