A year full of upheavals

The Oase Group acquired the assets of Reef One Ltd. in Norwich. Reef One had spent years building up its BiOrb aquariums into a successful brand and turning them into a premium aquatics range.

Zoofast, the international online supplier of pet products, targeted expansion. In 2015 the Polish operating company, Krakvet, succeeding in increasing the number of European markets covered to 20. 

The American company Radio Systems Corporation entered a binding agreement to acquire the Florida-based company Southern Pet Containment. The company is distributor for the Invisible Fence Brand.

The Fressnapf pet store chain revealed that it had relinquished its minority share in the Dutch speciality store operator Jumper. The reason given by Fressnapf for the move was that "the strategic orientation of the two companies has developed very differently in the last few years".

Hamburg-based Lampe Privatinvest Management GmbH acquired a majority holding in Bunny Tierernährung GmbH. Bunny's managing director Oliver Petzoldt was to remain with the company as the minority shareholder. 

Shopfitting company Casco Pet acquired the German firm IHM Müller Aquarientechnik. Casco Pet regards the acquisition as an important step in the implementation of its strategic plan, providing the British company with its own subsidiary in Germany.

The British pet supplies chain Pets at home increased its sales in fiscal 2015/2016, which ended on 31 March, by 8.8 per cent to £ 793.1 mio. Sales on a comparable store area grew by 2.1 per cent.
Pets at home had plans to open 20 new outlets during the year. 50 new veterinary practices and 60 grooming salons were also expected to be opened in 2016.

Plaček's Super Zoo and Zoo Shop Benji reached a strategic agreement to cooperate in the Czech pet product market. Both sides agreed that Super Zoo would take over twelve of Benji's pet stores. As the second part of the deal, Plaček would become a major supplier to the Benji stores.

The US-based pet retail group Petland announced that it was expanding its international reach into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The pet store chain had stores set to open in the next year in Saudi Arabia and signed a master franchise agreement to…