Fressnapf, Jollyes, and ZU expanded their European store networks this summer and fall

Fressnapf, Jollyes, and ZU expanded their European store networks over the summer, according to GlobalPETS, as specialty chains added physical locations while US retailers also opened new stores in the same period.

The European store count and where it landed

Fressnapf | Maxi Zoo added seven Maxi Zoo stores across France in September: La Rochelle, Paris, Rouen, Amiens, Mulhouse, Concarneau, and Mazamet. The openings followed the planned launch of the group's 500th French outlet and 3,000th European outlet in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, near Paris. The company also opened a 340-square-meter Future Store in Ottensheim, Austria, 15 kilometers west of Linz, featuring around 10,000 products and an expanded focus on supplements and veterinary diets. In July, it added a 175-square-meter site in Lyon's Presqu'île district, and in early August, Maxi Zoo Denmark opened a 115-square-meter city store in Vesterbro, Copenhagen.

Jollyes, which is on track to add 160 potential target locations as part of its five-year UK expansion plans, launched three stores in September and October: Seaham, North East England, on September 11; Sheffield, South Yorkshire, on September 25; and Mansfield, in the East Midlands, on October 6. The retailer also opened two superstores in Evesham and Derby in August, alongside its 126th branch in Great Yarmouth. All of the new and upcoming sites are outside London.

ZU, the pet retail brand of Portuguese multinational Sonae Group, acquired nine commercial spaces across Portugal in the Porto and Algarve regions, increasing its Portuguese network to 84 stores, including 24 with integrated veterinary clinics. The retailer also opened 10 stores organically in Portugal so far this year. According to the company, the expansion is part of its strategy to accelerate growth following the acquisition by Musti Group last December.

Other European retailers added stores during the period: pet food manufacturer Ziggy opened a boutique store in central Bordeaux, France; Das Futterhaus launched a 550-square-meter store in Zeltweg, Austria; Ukrainian specialty retailer MasterZoo opened two stores in Kyiv and Brovary; Sweden-based Arken Zoo added its 10th new location of 2026 in Stenungsund; Pet Service Holding opened its first budget pet store in the Netherlands; and ZooRoyal expanded into Düsseldorf, western Germany.

The US store count and what it does not show

Six new stores opened in the US during the period: Sparkle Grooming's first location in New Jersey; a Petsense by Tractor Supply store in Theodore, Alabama; Petco's second store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Puptqe's first location in Georgia; a new Hollywood Feed store in South Carolina; and PetSmart's new location at Emporia Pavilions in Emporia, Kansas.

The US figure is a count of openings, not a net-new store total. It does not account for closures, relocations, or the timing of previously announced builds. The European figures carry the same limitation: we know what opened, not what closed or what the chains' total store counts were at the start of the period.

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The density math for a brand trying to win shelf space

More doors means more SKU slots, but it also means the chain has more leverage to demand better terms as it scales. A brand pitching Jollyes when it had 100 stores is pitching a different buyer than the one sitting across from them when it has 160. The second buyer controls more volume and can negotiate harder on margin, payment terms, and promotional support.

For an independent store owner, the expansion matters if the chain is opening in your market. If Jollyes is entering Seaham and you are in Brighton, the news does not change your week. If Jollyes is entering Seaham and you are in Seaham, the news changes what you stock and how you price it, because the chain is coming for traffic you currently capture.

The European expansion pace suggests the retailers see physical shelf space as the winning format in pet, even as DTC brands chase online margin. The chains are backing foot traffic, the customer who buys on the way home from work, and the margin a store can hold when it controls the last mile. Whether that holds depends on whether the customer still shops that way, and the data here does not settle that.

What the store formats say about the expansion

Fressnapf's Future Store format in Ottensheim carries around 10,000 products and expands the focus beyond core pet food and accessories to include supplements and veterinary diets. Maxi Zoo Denmark's city store in Copenhagen runs 115 square meters. Jollyes' new branches provide products and services for cats and dogs, including chilled and frozen raw food, as well as exclusive Uber Eats delivery. ZU's acquired spaces include 24 with integrated veterinary clinics.

The format variation suggests the chains are testing different approaches within the same physical-expansion strategy. Fressnapf is pushing a broader assortment and a wellness angle, Maxi Zoo is testing smaller urban footprints, Jollyes is adding delivery as a service layer on top of the physical store, and ZU is integrating veterinary services as a traffic driver. None of those approaches are mutually exclusive, and all of them require the physical store to work first.

For a store owner, the format shows what the chain thinks will pull traffic. If the chain is opening a 115-square-meter city store, it is counting on convenience and proximity, not assortment depth. If it is opening a 550-square-meter store with 10,000 SKUs, it is counting on selection. If it is integrating a veterinary clinic, it is counting on the customer who wants to consolidate trips. The format is the hypothesis, and the store count is the capital behind it.

Our read on the expansion pace and what it predicts

The European chains are opening stores in markets where e-commerce penetration is as high or higher than in the US. That suggests the physical store still holds margin power in pet, or at least that the chains believe it does.

The risk is that the chains are building for a customer behavior that is already shifting. If the customer who used to stop at the pet store on the way home now orders online and picks up curbside, or orders online and skips the store entirely, the new stores become expensive real estate with thin traffic. The chains are counting on that behavior not having shifted that far, or on the store being able to pull the customer back with assortment, service, or integration the online channel cannot match.

For a brand, the expansion creates opportunity and risk in equal measure. More doors means more distribution, but it also means the chain has more negotiating power and can demand better terms. Get in early, before the chain has 200 stores, or get squeezed on margin later when it does. For an independent, the expansion means the chains see your market as worth the capital, which means they see traffic you currently capture. Sharpen your assortment or your service differentiation before they arrive, because once they do, you are competing on their terms.

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