The Belgian retailer signed an agreement with investment company Verlinvest for the acquisition of a stake in the chain.
The investment agreement has yet to be approved by the authorities. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
“With the support of this new shareholder, we will be able to actively participate in the consolidation of the sector through acquisitions and thus achieve our ambition to become a leader in the European market”, stated CEO Thierry Le Grelle.
Tom&Co aims to be a “strong European challenger” and will be looking to accelerate its expansion beyond the Benelux region in the coming times. At present, the company has 129 stores in Belgium, 49 in France, and 2 in Luxembourg.
The current management team will continue as Verlinvest won’t be active in the company’s daily operations.
More shops by 2026
COO Maud Leschevin said in a recent interview with GlobalPETS that their ambition is “to increase the number of shops to 250 by 2026”. This growth will mainly occur in France, where the company plans to buy smaller chains and open about 10 new stores every year.
The company began developing an omnichannel strategy 2 years ago and aims to accelerate this during 2022. “We are going to become more aggressive online in both food and non-food,” highlighted Leschevin.
Tom&Co also aims to further develop its 5 private label brands and digital footprint.
The Belgian pet shop chain has achieved record results in 2021, with a sales increase of 10% to €264 million ($283M). A company source told GlobalPETS that they see a positive sales trend for 2022 but that they prefer to remain cautious due to the current market circumstances.
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