TL;DR
Fressnapf | Maxi Zoo opened a second urban store in Germany on 29 October and plans further sites in major cities, including Vienna from 2027. The expansion comes as Arcaplanet partners with DIY retailer Bricofer and Jollyes opens inside an Asda supermarket, showing different approaches to growing physical pet retail. Further store openings are planned, but the companies have not disclosed full schedules or investment figures.
Fressnapf | Maxi Zoo opened a second urban-format store in Germany on 29 October and plans to extend the compact format into more European cities, including Vienna from 2027. The 130-square-meter shop adds to a growing set of retailer experiments aimed at reaching pet owners through smaller city stores, supermarket locations and partnerships with other chains.
Get pet supplies delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
The new German shop is in Munich, following the concept’s debut in the city’s Schwabing district in August. It sells selected products for dogs, cats and other pets, with expert advice, digital services and merchandise the retailer says is tailored to local needs. Fressnapf told GlobalPETS that the compact, modular format is designed for city living, with smaller food packs and a wider choice of snacks.
The retailer says it plans to open additional urban locations in Munich and Paris by the end of the year. Preparations are underway for its first urban stores in Vienna in 2027. In Germany, it has named Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart among cities where it wants to expand the concept, but has not provided a complete opening schedule.
The format is part of a wider European push to reach customers through different physical retail arrangements. Italy’s Arcaplanet has opened a standalone store next to a Bricofer DIY outlet in Spilimbergo, the first step in a plan announced earlier this year for 15 standalone stores and eight branded shop-in-shop corners. In the UK, Jollyes opened a 250-square-meter store inside an Asda supermarket in Sheffield in October. The opening took its network to 128 stores, according to the report.
City Stores and Retail Partnerships
The developments show pet retailers testing ways to add physical access without relying solely on conventional large stores. Fressnapf’s smaller urban shops target customers seeking a nearby specialist retailer; Arcaplanet is using an existing DIY network to support expansion, while Jollyes is placing a pet shop within a supermarket setting. These are distinct approaches, not evidence that one format has proved more successful than another.
For shoppers, the approaches may mean more locations and different levels of service, from specialist advice and curated ranges to pet products alongside routine grocery or home-improvement shopping. For retailers, the formats offer possible routes to reach customers in city neighborhoods or established retail destinations. The source material does not provide comparative sales, profitability or customer-traffic data, so the commercial results of these strategies remain untested publicly.
Products Worth Considering
Shark Pet Cordless Stick Vacuum, Up to 40-Minute Runtime, Lightweight, IX141
PetSafe Electronic Pet Door with Collar Key Sensor, Large
Whisker Feeder-Robot Automatic Pet Feeder, White with Smoke-Grey Hopper
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How Fressnapf Built the Format
Fressnapf launched its urban-store concept last year, with initial locations in Paris and Copenhagen. It later added a 233-square-meter shop in Warsaw in June and another location in Lyon earlier this year. In September, the group opened a Paris store that the retailer described as its 500th location in France and 3,000th across the group.
The company says its urban shops combine personal advice and digital services with a more focused range than a larger store. It has expanded the non-food selection to include premium and design-oriented products, including items developed with start-ups. Stores also have dedicated sections for pet health and veterinary-related products, and use regularly updated seasonal displays. These descriptions come from the retailer; independent performance figures for the format were not included in the report.
Other reported plans point to different uses of partnerships and shared locations. Arcaplanet’s Bricofer agreement includes branded corners managed by Bricofer as well as separate Arcaplanet shops staffed by its own employees. The companies have said they aim to extend the formats across Bricofer’s wider network in 2027. Jollyes, meanwhile, has said it wants to grow its UK network to more than 250 stores over five years and has identified more than 160 potential locations, according to GlobalPETS.
“Integration within Bricofer Group stores allows us to optimize investments across the territory and accelerate growth with privileged access to customers seeking not only convenience but also quality for their pets.”
— Alessandro Strati, Arcaplanet CFO and COO
Opening Dates and Results Remain Open
Fressnapf has not published exact addresses, opening dates or store counts for its planned expansion in Munich, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart. Its Vienna plans are for 2027, but the number of stores and their timing have not been disclosed. The company’s comments on customer preferences are attributed statements, not independent measures of demand or store performance.
The available report also provides no like-for-like sales, costs or profitability comparisons among urban shops, shop-in-shop corners and supermarket locations. Jollyes’ stated target of more than 250 stores over five years is a company plan, not a confirmed outcome. The report’s information on Pet Service Holding says a second BudgetPets shop was due to open in early December, but does not establish whether it has since opened.
Planned Openings Will Test Demand
The next stated milestones are additional Fressnapf urban-store openings in Munich and Paris by year-end, followed by preparations for Vienna locations in 2027. The retailer has also named several German cities as expansion targets, though it has not given dates for those markets. Arcaplanet and Bricofer have said they aim to extend their store and corner formats across the wider network in 2027.
As those plans progress, store openings and any later disclosures of network growth or trading results will show how widely the formats are adopted. For now, the confirmed development is a second German Fressnapf urban store and a series of announced expansion plans; how those formats perform against larger traditional stores remains unclear.
Key Questions
What is Fressnapf’s urban store concept?
It is a compact, modular pet shop with a selected product range, personal advice and digital services. The retailer says the assortment includes smaller food packs, a broader snack selection and products adapted to local shopping needs.
Where did Fressnapf open its second German urban store?
The store opened in Munich on 29 October, after the concept’s German debut in the Schwabing district in August. The report gives the new shop’s retail area as 130 square meters.
Which other pet retailers are testing new store formats?
Italy’s Arcaplanet is partnering with DIY retailer Bricofer on standalone stores and branded shop-in-shop corners. In the UK, Jollyes opened a store inside an Asda supermarket in Sheffield.
When will Fressnapf open urban stores in Vienna?
Fressnapf says it is preparing its first urban stores in Vienna for 2027. It has not announced their addresses, number or specific opening dates.
Do the new formats have proven commercial results?
The report does not provide comparable sales, profitability or investment figures for these formats. Retailers have described their plans and intended customer benefits, but their performance against traditional stores is not established in the available information.
Source: globalpetindustry.com
