The “new beginning” of Arcaplanet and Maxi Zoo

The new pet retailer player has 489 pet stores and 2,700 employees. It aims to increase the number of points of sale, particularly in the south of the country, to 700 by 2025.

“We intend to open 200 new stores in various geographic areas, in which 1,200 to 1,500 more people will work. The planned investment, for the sole acquisition of the points of sale, is approximately €100 million over three years,” said Galante.

E-commerce and international footprint

To follow physical store growth, the Arcaplanet Group plans to invest €50 million in new technologies, recruitment of human resources, e-commerce, and social networks, as well as software and hardware development experts.

According to the figures, the company’s revenue for online sales reached €193 million in 2021.

The group is also looking to open new stores in neighboring countries, and Galante does not exclude the possibility of exploring new markets overseas.

“From next year (2023), we will begin to identify the foreign countries in which to grow. It will depend a lot on how Arcaplanet goes in the European countries it enters,” he said.

Selling stores

Arcaplanet and Maxi Zoo announced last March combining businesses to consolidate their activity in the Italian market and expand to new geographical areas.

The Italian antitrust authority ruled that both companies had to sell between 50 and 70 shops to avoid having a “dominant position” in the market.

Pet food manufacturer Cerere and retailer PDP bought 61 shops and recently launched a new pet retailer in Northern Italy.