Page 34 - PET worldwide issue 03/2022

Distribution

“From a current view-

point, it was absurd!”

Fritz Gerke has been active in the pet sector for 40 years.
He now draws on the wealth of knowledge and experience he

has accumulated to give advice to pet product companies.

Fritz Gerke entered a pet store for scorpions, tarantulas, snakes, nalled the premature end of my
the first time on 12 July 1982. It geckos and mealworms, rusty course, even if I continued my
was the beginning of an unex- cages with budgerigars, canar- marketing studies subsequently
pected and exciting period in ies and a variety of parrots. The at the distance learning univer-
his life, a journey through widely store also housed hamsters, rab- sity in Hagen.
varying areas of the pet sup- bits, mice, kittens playing in the The circumstances of the shop
plies business - starting from a shop window and a host of other couldn’t have been better. The
small pet shop in the west of Ger- small pets, too. Shelves crammed rent was very low and the build-
many via working as a franchise into the shop were laden with ac- ing was directly behind a large
partner in a 900 m Fressnapf cessories and food for every spe- bus terminal from where buses
2
branch to an export manager cies of pet, along with countless travelled all over the surround-
operating at international level. bird cages hanging from the ceil- ing area. More than 160 paying
1982 was the year in which ing 4.2 metres above. customers frequented the shop
Helmut Kohl became Chancellor “Four employees were strug- on average on a daily basis, al-
of Germany, Nicole won the Euro- gling to look after the pets, oper- though it was always hectic, as
vision Song Contest with “A Little ate the till and serve the stream they were always afraid of miss-
Peace” and the Walkman was in- of customers, all on a retail area ing their bus.”
vented. When Gerke first entered of just 60 m . There was no office This marked the beginning of
2
the pet shop on the Hansaplatz or staffroom. All the shop had was 40 years in the pet supplies busi-
in the small town of Soest that a cramped toilet and small wash- ness, which brought Gerke grow-
year, he had already completed basin in the rearmost corner. This ing delight over the years. Even in
two-and-a-half years of a course was where I would spend the first nationwide “group practice”, as
in retailing. He was in the fourth four weeks of my vacation, but he calls it, he was able to amass
term of his business administra- promises must be kept. And so a lot more vocational experience
tion course. there was no going back. after 1983.
For whatever reason, this Following a makeover and
All in 60 m 2 strange, bazaar-like atmosphere complete reorganisation, the
A whole new world now opened fascinated me. I quickly began to shop in Soest recorded sales in
up to him: smells that were unfa- develop my own ideas of how to excess of DM 630 000 in 1985 on
miliar, birdsong, chirping crickets, transform the chaos into a mod- the same retail area in the same
screeching parrots. Not only that, ern, organised retail store, es- location. The highlight of that year
but also dozens of aquariums pecially as I had been given the was 312 customers standing in a
with a film of algae and featuring opportunity to take over the busi- 30-metre queue outside the shop
bright fish species from all over ness. It thus not only became a on Christmas Eve. For anyone
the world, tiny terrariums with summer holiday job, but also sig- who wasn’t around at the time,

34 PET worldwide 3|2022

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