Controlled by American Fund, invests 80 million R$ in Petz 16 new stores

While the trade as a whole shrinks to face a crisis that has lasted two years, retail graphics products for pets remain on upward trajectory. "Sometimes it''s embarrassing at the meetings of the IDV (Institute for the development of retail): colleagues arrive with reports of closing shops, dismissal, salary reduction agreement and, we, without a doubt, we''re in a very different time," says Sergio Zimerman, President of Petz, the largest retailer of pet products in number of stores and second in the ranking of billing After the rival Cobasi.
In this scenario, reinforced by a horizon of more growth in the segment, Zimerman has decided to accelerate the expansion of the company. With 49 shops and 1800 employees, the company will invest this year 80 million R$ in the opening of 16 shops and plans to hire about 500 employees of.
Founded in São Paulo, in 2002, as Pet Center, the network just debut in the southern region, with a plant in Porto Alegre. The expansion plan foresees three more stores in the region until the end of the year and strengthening in the Southeast and Center-West. "Our project is to nationalize the brand and plan to reach the Northeast next year," says Zimerman. According to the businessman, the goal is to have 6 to 8 stores in the region, which should receive a distribution centre, probably in Recife.
Controlled by the American Fund Warburg Pincus, which in 2013 bought 54 percent of the company, also Petz to 2019 the opening of your capital in order to strengthen the financial muscle.
Last year, the network won 500 million R$, a nominal growth of 31%. For this year, because of the new units, the forecast a revenue growth of 50%. But, on the same basis, the advance should be less, of 14%, provides for the entrepreneur. "The historic average of company is a growth of 20% to 22% in the same shops. We felt a slowdown in 2016, but we''re still growing at rates too high, "says Zimerman.
Market. Last year, the physical retail pet products, both home improvement superstores as small, moved R$ 10.4 billion, with growth of 7.1% over the previous year, according to consulting firm Euromonitor. During the same period, the Brazilian retail sector as a whole had the worst performance in 16 years sales volume: fell 6.2%, according to the Brazilian Institute of geography and statistics (IBGE). Between 2011 and 2016, sales of pet products have increased, on average, 9% per year. And the prospect until 2021 is an annual advance of 1.7% per year.
'' Humanization ''. Zimerman assigns resistance in the segment to a worldwide phenomenon: the "humanization" of pets. "The pet out of the yard and went to the bed of the owner," says the Manager. In addition, in Brazil the use of premium items such as special rations and flea medication, for example, is very low.
Today, Brazil is the fifth largest market in sales of pet products, behind United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. The projection of the Euromonitor is that by 2021, the Country will exceed Japan and Germany and is consolidated as the third largest global market.
The good performance of the pet product sales declined, according to people in the industry, the stigma about this segment, treated often as second-line retail. The proof of this change is that the retailer has hired executives graduates of hypermarkets such as Carrefour, Walmart and Sugarloaf.
"We''re one of the only retail segments with a fairly consistent growth project. The others are divided among the retailers that are retreating and those who are looking to keep or grow a little bit. "