New situation in France

Exhibitors and visitors attending the French trade show Expozoo will not be short of things to talk about – recent events have already provided plenty of conversation topics in advance. As in many other European countries, the French economy is making only halting progress at the moment, and this is having an effect on the pet product industry too. The market for pet products only grew slightly in 2003, as current charts show. The aquatics segment in particular, one of the most important in the speciality trade, is experiencing problems. Yet in spite of this, the pet trade has succeeded in improving its market position vis-à-vis the supermarket chains further compared with the previous year.
How to reclaim market share from the Carrefours, Auchans and Casinos when it comes to pet food is something the two German-based speciality chains Fressnapf and Futterhaus (operating in France as Pile Poils) also intend to demonstrate. They have resolved to make strong inroads into the French pet product market over the next few years. In contrast to the French companies in the speciality trade, Futterhaus and Fressnapf stock the Masterfoods and Nestlé Purina PetCare brands sold by the supermarkets alongside premium products. This is something that the French speciality trade is unaccustomed to. And both German retailers also have a wide range of private labels with which they can keep pace with the supermarket own brands.
Whether Fressnapf and Futterhaus will be successful in France remains to be seen and their prospects are rated very differently by industry insiders. A lot might depend on whether the two German chains secure good locations in the future. Futterhaus experienced considerable difficulties with French bureaucracy initially but opened two new stores in February, in Vesoul and Belfort, both without live animals. Fressnapf meanwhile is in the process of converting the City-Zoo stores acquired last summer to its own corporate concept. Europe’s leading speciality chain also intends to open a small number of pilot stores this year to get a better feel for the French market.
The French pet product chains would do well to neither under- nor overestimate their new rivals. They should instead concentrate on their own strengths – and in plain speaking that means they must optimise their existing locations and at the same time strengthen the relationship with their customers. The more strongly they present themselves in the market, the harder it will be for new…