Australia’s largest retail group enters the pet industry

The Sydney-based group entered into an agreement to acquire a majority equity interest in Petspiration Group for AU$ 586 million ($395M).

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said this agreement would expand the group’s presence in the growing pet retail segment.

“Specialty pet is a logical adjacency given the high penetration of pet ownership across Australia and New Zealand. The partnership will allow us to meet more of our customers’ pet family needs with a complementary range of specialty pet products and services,” he said.

Stand-alone business

Petspiration CEO Shane Young and Managing Director David Young will keep a 45% equity investment in the business and continue in their functions. Woolworths said Petspiration would run as a stand-alone business within the retailer group and under a separate board and governance structure.

“We will operate independently of Woolworths Group but will work closely together through our common values to deliver on all the opportunities we have to jointly create value for our pet families and supplier partners,” added Young.

In addition to PETstock’s network of 276 stores across Australia and New Zealand, Petspiration also owns e-commerce platforms such as Pet.co.nz and a loyalty program with 2.4 million members. The group employs over 3,500 people. 

Woolworths Group, considered the largest company in Australia by revenue, owns the biggest supermarket and grocery store chain in the country, with around 3,200 stores across Australia and New Zealand.