Innovation is at the heart of Conad’s research also for PetStores, the absolute engine of the specialized market that requires novelty, avant-garde, new technologies to be able to present itself to the consumer in an ever-attractive way over time. Vincenzo Francioso, national responsible for Conad PetStore, explained: ‘Again this year, innovating could be essential to give a boost and decrease the negative impact that inflation risks having. In this sense, Zoomark International is a point of reference for all Italian and foreign sector operators, and, as with every edition, we are confident that it will not disappoint in terms of new products, trends, and more sustainable innovations’. Precisely for this reason, Conad will be present at the fair both as a Consortium and as a Cooperative.
Format
Conad PetStores were born in 2016 with the first two stores, with the desire to implement the pet food and pet care offer with specialized products off the supermarket shelves. In fact, this chain of specialized stores is designed to offer a wide and varied choice of branded and Conad-branded products. There are also a series of services such as a scale for weighing dogs and cats or the engraving of dog tags; furthermore, some stores have also introduced serviced grooming and self-grooming, as well as coin laundry for coats, cushions or kennels for dogs and cats.
Capillarity
There are 120 Conad PetStores covering the whole Italian territory, with an assortment that exceeds 11,000 references from simple or specific nutrition for pathologies, pet care products and accessories, and toys. Vincenzo Francioso added: ‘2023 will be a year that will test the resilience that has distinguished this market for years. We believe there may be a contraction in consumption in the specialized channel in favour of large-scale distribution due to the cost-effectiveness of the Euro/kg ratio. In the specialized channel, we expect a shift in volumes from the highest end to the mainstream or premium end. Accessories for dogs and cats could be the ones with the most pronounced slowdown’.
