PNI opens unstaffed pet stores in Bulgaria

Pet Network International (PNI) has launched unstaffed stores under its Bulgarian banner Dr. Stefanov. In a LinkedIn post, the group describes the format, which it calls Human-free Stores, as Bulgaria's first autonomous pet shops: customers enter, choose products and pay without a staffed checkout. The store front shown in the announcement suggests entry is controlled by QR code and an app. According to the group, the concept answers expectations of convenience that customers bring over from other retail sectors, and further sites are to follow.

The name is a play on an established brand rather than a new one: Dr. Stefanov has traded for years as ‘nechoveshki magazini’ – non-human stores – a reference to the pets it sells for. The new format takes the wording literally.

PNI, based in Zagreb, runs more than 200 stores in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria under the Pet Centar…