Plaček Group | Czech Republic
Starting from a dream almost thirty years ago, the Plaček Group today consists of a distribution centre and an extensive network of more than 200 pet retail shops.
The dream
Dušan Plaček started his company in 1989, during the Velvet Revolution in what was then Czechoslovakia. Dušan’s love of aquaria led him to start his own distribution company, which turned out to be a very smart idea.
Dušan’s dream at the time was to make this an established company. Now, almost thirty years later, he has quite clearly succeeded. The core of his success lies in the fact that he is a practical, principled entrepreneur who thinks things through carefully and also takes everyone involved into consideration.
Established business
The Plaček Group consists of a distribution centre and an extensive network of more than 200 pet retail shops. These provide the employment for 1,000 people and achieve a turnover of approximately €120 million ($140 million).
An important part of the corporate culture is ‘doing things from the heart’, love, fun and enjoyment! One of the highlights at Plaček’s distribution centre is its Customer Day. It is focused less on sales and obtaining orders, and much more on networking.
Plaček’s strength lies in its specialization in the Eastern European countries, which has given the company a powerful market position. Throughout the years, the distribution centre, combined with the retail shops, have developed considerable purchasing power, which has also made it possible to develop Plaček’s own private label programmes.
In addition to this, Plaček also has a number of strategic partnerships. The joint venture with Beaphar, which was established in 2003, has especially underlined the company’s prosperous market position.
Retail network
Plaček is expanding fast. A total of at least thirty new shops have opened in 2017. The Eastern European countries are developing well in terms of volume and value, but also in reaching a better professional level of shop, comparable with Western Europe. Plaček is expected to continue expanding in 2018 and after.
The speed of expansion depends on the maturity of the market. For instance, expansion in Poland is expected to be slower than in the Czech Republic. In each country, it is important to have a retail concept that is recognizable by the consumer. This means having shops under the company’s own management as much as possible, rather than managing them as a franchise.