This is the English version of an article first published in Polish: read the Polish original. It refers to source material: Wiadomości Handlowe. The text is our own commentary, not a translation or copy of that source.
At ul. Sarmacka 4 in Miasteczko Wilanów, a Maxi Zoo store in a completely new format has been running since April 23. It is the brand's first urban store in Poland, a smaller, compact outlet designed for quick shopping close to home, rather than a large, standalone retail pavilion like the chain's other locations. Wilanów was chosen as the place to test the new concept belonging to the German company Fressnapf Holding.
The store sells food and accessories for dogs, cats, small rodents and birds, along with products for aquariums, terrariums and garden ponds. The range is narrower than in standard Maxi Zoo stores, limited to essential first need products, but customers can order everything else from the full online range and pick it up on site through the Click and Collect service. The store does not sell live animals, in line with the whole chain's standing policy. It is open Monday to Saturday, from 10 to 21.
Test passed, a second store in Praga
At the April opening, customers found a few extras waiting for them. Dog behaviourist consultations ran on April 23 and 24, from 14 to 18, and the Maxi Zoo app offered a 20 percent discount on purchases of two or more products, from April 23 to 26. On the opening weekend, April 25 and 26, there was face painting, temporary tattoos and balloons for children, together with advice from a pet nutrition specialist from 12 to 14. The first fifty customers each opening day received a gift.
Half a year later, the company calls the test a success. The Wilanów store keeps attracting new customers, and the number of transactions is growing, according to Maxi Zoo. On that basis the concept moved forward. At the end of August a second store in this format opened in Praga, on ul. Żupnicza. The whole chain plans further growth, including in smaller towns, with a target of approaching 270 stores by the end of the decade. For residents of Sarmacka and the surrounding estates, it is, alongside Vis à Vis and Alto, another place for everyday shopping within a short walk.
