Fressnapf pumps €80 million into building its largest e-commerce warehouse

The German pet retailer has started the construction of its 9th logistics center in Nörvenich, 40 km (24.85 miles) from Cologne, and is expected to be 72,000 sqm.

The new facility, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2025, will allow the pet retailer to “significantly” increase the proportion of next-day deliveries and enhance customer satisfaction for its e-commerce business.

The new center will also add 800 jobs to the region, of which 500 are expected to be filled by the end of 2024.

Last August, Fressnapf invested in a 47,500 sqm warehouse in Neuruppin (Brandenburg). During the release of its 2023 earnings, the company shared its ambitions to earmark a further  €500 million ($541.4M) for investments over the next 3 years.

Market expansion

In addition to improving delivery time for its customers, the new warehouse will strengthen Fressnapf’s position in Germany, as well as allow expansion to the Netherlands. 

“The Nörvenich warehouse will support our strategy to extend our e-commerce business into other markets,” a company spokesperson tells GlobalPETS, adding that other countries are expected to benefit from the warehouse in the future.

Sustainability certification

Fressnapf is also looking to obtain the platinum-standard sustainability certification from the DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council). This certification will verify that a building fulfills 80% of the sustainability criteria set by the DGNB.

To achieve this, the new warehouse will install a large-scale photovoltaic system to harvest solar energy, run a rainwater harvesting system and heat its halls exclusively using heat pump technologies.