Serving the customer when they want, where they want

Buddy is a recent arrival on the Iberian peninsula’s pet retail scene. It was born in 2020 through the merger of 2 companies: retailer Miscota (formerly Maskokotas) and e-commerce company Pet Care Retail Group (Petness, Animalear, and Vetality). Buddy has grown rapidly within a short time. In 2020, it had just 45 stores. During 2021, the retail chain expanded to 73 stores, and it is projected to have 150 stores by the end of 2022. This will include its first stores in Italy.

The Buddy e-commerce stores get over 20 million visits, supplying products to more than 140 countries worldwide from warehouses in Spain and Portugal. The 2 retail channels have a total turnover of around €60 million ($68M), with revenue growing at 30% annually over the past 3 years.

Knowing your consumer persona

Ignacio Serrat became general manager of Buddy in July 2021, having worked extensively at Nike in different geographies. His last role there was as VP General Manager for EMEA South. He believes his background will prove invaluable in his new position at Buddy. The digital acceleration and omnichannel transformations that he’s seeing now at the pet retailer are similar to what he experienced in the sports industry.

The lessons he learned at Nike are equally applicable to the pet retailing sector. “There is the same need to develop a business that is very consumer-centric – serving the customer day in, day out – and to know every detail of your consumer persona.”

Truly omnichannel

At Buddy, 60% of revenue currently comes from online sales and 40% from retail. As its number of stores grows, Serrat believes that it will be 50-50 by the end of 2022.

Serrat regards e-commerce as a major source of growth, as part of an overall omnichannel retail concept. He says: “Omnichannel capabilities enable a pet retailer to serve the customer when they want and where they want. But this means more than just providing online retailing.”

He goes on to say: “Lots of companies claim they have a strong omnichannel approach. But for many, that just means launching an e-commerce website. Because of the merger of the 2 companies, both e-commerce and retail are at the heart of Buddy. We have a large IT team. We’ve developed our own app and data warehouse so, because of that, we’re one step ahead of the game.”

Big cities and small neighborhoods

Buddy plans to conquer all the big cities in Spain, Portugal, and Italy by focusing on neighborhoods and connecting with communities. “We will develop an effective omnichannel strategy in those cities, with a digital platform that comes to life in the customer’s own neighborhood,” Serrat says. “Today’s consumer mindset is ‘I want it now – I want it to be easy.’ The Buddy offering will be: click to order, and delivery within 24 hours in the major cities.”

He adds: “Our supply chain partners will make the delivery process even smoother, for example, delivering during specific time slots. With some partners, there will be 2-hour delivery. This requires a lot of investment and organization to make it happen. If you don’t do it right, people will go to another retailer.”

Serrat believes that omnichannel success benefits both the customer and the business, pointing out: “Where we have a physical presence, our digital business grows faster in those cities as well. The familiarity of the experience with the retail stores makes customers trust the brand more. It increases loyalty too. Omnichannel customers are twice as loyal as online-only customers.”

Digitally led expansion

Outlining Buddy’s long-term plans, Serrat states that the company “will not try to become the biggest, but to be the best.” Over the next 3 years, it wants to become the best player in southern Europe. Buddy aims not just to grow, but also to become more profitable, having learned from the rapid physical growth of previous years. According to Serrat, the company will “focus on opening stores with the best products, services, and experiences. Always digitally led to serve consumers.”

Buddy is planning to open more stores in Spain and is targeting further international expansion with plans to move into Italy, while serving other countries via e-commerce. These growth plans will result in the creation of a company that will pass the €250 million ($280M) revenue mark within 3 years.

Successful interaction

Knowing the customer is crucial to ensuring this success, both nationally and internationally, Serrat states: “Our key target market consists of female millennials who live in that omnichannel world. And we want to make sure that every time we interact with a consumer, that interaction is great. This is our definition of success.”