Page 33 - PET worldwide issue 03/2022

Market leader in Romania tionwide and is the undisputed
In Romania, Pet Network In- market leader in the small coun-
ternational operates 117 Ani- try.
max stores and seven Maxi Pet
branches. Animax was founded Under new management
in 2001 by Christian Pop with Pet Network International
a 185 m² shop in Bucharest. started the current year with
The entrepreneur had already a newly formed management
been operating the Pet Prod- team. It is headed by Timo Tervo.
ucts wholesale company since He has more than 15 years of re-
1998 and quickly built his pet tail experience, including a long
shop chain into the undisputed career with Lidl, most recently as
market leader before joining Pet regional director for the strategi-
Network International in 2018. In cally important Italian market,
June 2021, the first and to date followed by the position of coun-
only Animax store outside of Ro- try director for Finland at leading
mania opened in Vršac, Serbia. Scandinavian pet retailer Musti
Eight years before the take- Group. His team also includes Pet Network International was established in 2018 with the acquisition
over of the Animax chain, the Neda Vuk as CEO in Croatia, Ser- by the Rohatyn Group of four market leaders in four countries: Mr.Pet in
Slovenia (picture), Animax and Maxi Pet in Romania and Pet Centar in
first Maxi Pet branch had already bia and Bulgaria for the Pet Cen- Croatia and Serbia.
opened in the west of Bucharest. tar and Maxi Pet retail brands,
Three more are located in Varna, Adriana Mateescu as CEO in Ro- 2025, the group plans to open
Sofia and Plovdiv in Bulgaria. mania for Maxi Pet and Animax, up to 100 new locations. At the
“Our two-brand strategy in Ro- Borut Magister as CEO in Slove- same time, we are investing in
mania has proved to be the right nia for Mr.Pet and Martina Babic´ our digital platforms,” says Timo
choice, it is the perfect combina- as the group's previous CFO in Tervo in summary. n
tion of convenience and shop- an expanded position with re-
ping experience,” emphasises sponsibility for finance, human
Timo Tervo, CEO of Pet Network resources, IT and legal affairs for
International. In addition to food Pet Network International.
and accessory products, the “We are investing in all our op-
stores also offer advice from top erating markets. By the end of
veterinarians, pet pharmacies,
a Click & Collect service and an
online shop that offers same-
day delivery to meet the needs
of modern customers.
The launch of Pet Network In-
ternational in 2018 also saw the
acquisition of Slovenian special-
ist pet retail chain Mr.Pet, which
currently operates 22 stores na-

The foundation of Pet Network
International goes back to the Pet
Centar specialist retail group in
Zagreb, where the headquarters
are also located.

PET worldwide 3|2022 33

PWW2022-03_Buch.indb 33 12.07.2022 09:21:25