Simona Ricci, owner of Animalmania, explained: ‘We will certainly be present as always at Zoomark International, with the hope and curiosity of being able to return from this experience with some new proposals that we can offer to our customers’. The brand, from Eur neighbourhood to the sea of Ostia, covers the area south of Rome with five specialized stores, including large ones, where it is possible to find everything that can be useful for pet owners. The smallest stores measure 250 square meters and are in via Elio Vittorini, via Duccio Buoninsegna, and via Canale della Lingua. The largest ones are near the sea, in via Pindaro, their measure is 400 square meters, while in via Ostiense there is the 700 square meter shop, with over 12,000 references.
‘I see a lot of uncertainty and instability in the near future, due to the sharp increase in prices and the scarce supply of raw materials. As we are in contact with consumers, we hear many complaints due to the continuous increases in prices of the products. Our margins are shrinking and the competition from the big chains is becoming more and more pressing in our area’. The hope is that the market will stabilize soon and we can plan medium and long-term local strategies again. It is certainly not a favourable period for big innovative product launches. ‘I don’t see major product innovations. The companies keep proposing to increase the assortment of products, but I notice that there are always the same things presented in other ways. From this point of view, a challenge for Zoomark International is to offer some effective innovations’.
Simona Ricci is proposing a personalized food developed for Animalmania, which she called Ultrabon. ‘It was specially designed by us, for now only for dogs, but it will soon be joined by another one for cats, Ultracat’. This food solution comes from experience, from years and years of reading labels to try to find the best for dogs. ‘To prepare it, we relied on one of the best feed mills in England’. This was done to have food cooked at 80°C and not at the usual 110°C.
Customer who need constant support
‘In our stores, we try to train our employees, who are all specialized and continuously take refresher courses on nutrition and parapharmaceuticals. For this reason, everything that is recommended to the customers in our store is the result of studies and in-depth analysis’. Unlike the big chains, even in the store with many references there is almost never free service, the customers are always supported in their choice. ‘We are becoming similar to the big chains in some respects, but we have the characteristics of a neighbourhood shop, we know all our customers personally, and our service is extremely personalized. That’s why we have 21 employees’.
