Fressnapf Tiernahrungs GmbH is a german franchise

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

 company for pet food. With over 1100 stores and 8000 employees in 12 european countries it is the largest european pet food company.

History

Aged 24, Torsten Toeller founded his first store for pet food and pet supplies in Erkelenz

Erkelenz

- Geology :The Erkelenz Börde is the northernmost extent of the Jülich Börde and is formed from a loess plateau that has an average thickness of over eleven metres in this area. Beneath it are the gravels and sands of the main ice age terrace, laid down by the Rhine and the Meuse...

, Germany. Inspired by similar american pet superstores, he adapted the concept for the european market. From 1992 on, franchise stores were developed. In 1997, the first stores outside Germany were founded. Since then, the company has been awarded several prices in Germany, ranking the franchise system among Burger King

Burger King

Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...

 and McDonalds.

Franchises

Today, Fressnapf has markets in twelve european countries. The highest number of markets is in Germany (777), followed by Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 (90) and Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 (52). The company is also present in Switzerland, Belgium, France, Hungary, Denmark, Italy, Luxemburg, Ireland and Spain.
In many non-german speaking countries, the chain is called Maxi Zoo, with the exception of Jumper in the Netherlands, Zoomart in Belgium and Fressnapf in Hungary.

See also

Pet Food Express

Pet Food Express

Pet Food Express is a Northern California chain of retail stores that offers premium, holistic, and organic pet food, as well as many other pet supplies, as well as self-service dog washes....

, a similar retail store in the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

 of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.