Kiwoko, the largest Spanish pet store chain with nearly 60 establishments, has just acquired its main rival, Míster Guau (17 stores), which will give a major boost to its business in a highly fragmented sector that generates around €2 billion between food and accessories.

Kiwoko, which expects to close the financial year ending in March with sales of “€45 million”, 55% more, will add another “€10 million” in revenue with the acquisition of Míster Guau, “a company that was facing financial difficulties”, as explained by Kiwoko’s co-founder and CFO, Javier Osa, in an interview with Expansión. Following the acquisition, the new group “will have just over 3% market share in the pet business, with more than 600 employees”, and will strengthen its position in Catalonia, where Míster Guau has most of its stores.

Osa, who founded Kiwoko in 2017 together with two other entrepreneurs and current company executives (Emilio Goyanes and Álvaro Gutiérrez), states that, due to the high fragmentation of the sector, the company “has significant room for further growth, which will be achieved mainly organically and through company-owned stores”, as it rules out franchising. Osa states that Kiwoko’s revenue “has grown by more than 50% over the last three years” and expects to maintain this pace for at least another two years.

The group, which expects to exceed 100 stores in less than two years, also has “36 veterinary clinics, which currently account for 10% of revenue and represent a segment with growth opportunities.”

There are 4,000 specialised pet stores in Spain

The executive explains that there are “around 4,000 specialised pet stores in Spain after approximately 800 closed during the crisis, although revenues have remained stable.” Supermarkets and large retail chains are also present in the business.

In the face of competition, Kiwoko’s head of expansion aims to enhance the potential of the brand and its stores, which range between 600 and 1,200 square metres, so that customers clearly associate them with animal care. “We want to be the Decathlon or the MediaMarkt of pets,” he states. Osa explains that the crisis has provided them with good real estate opportunities to acquire and open new stores, most of which are located in retail parks. The executive does not rule out international expansion, although he adds that “the priority is the Spanish market.”

The private equity firm Corpfin Capital controls 70% of Kiwoko’s capital, with the remainder held by the founders and the firm PCP.

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Corpfin Capital y Kiwoko – Europapress.es