ZOO.se acquires Tinybuddy and together the Group confirms its position as the second largest in animal food and accessories in the Nordic region
ZOO.se continues its expansion strategy and acquires the pure e-commerce player Tinybuddy. Tinybuddy currently has a turnover of SEK 120 million and sells online in Northern Europe. Through the transaction, Tim and Louise Jansson become co-owners of the ZOO.se group. Following the acquisition, the Group will include 14 physical stores in Sweden as well as e-commerce throughout Europe. Of the ten largest stores in Sweden today, five are owned by ZOO.se.
ZOO.se has also recently acquired a number of own-brand product companies whose sales are expected to increase rapidly. Over the past 12 months, ZOO.se has also expanded its e-commerce to Finland and Norway.
"We’ve had a clear strategy to build for scale while maintaining high customer value since we started the growth journey with ZOO.se three years ago. The fact that we have grown from what was then a store in Bromma, to today offering e-commerce in three countries via our own warehouse as well as 14 stores and three product companies, means that we have shown both the market and ourselves that our strategy works. Tinybuddy with their digital approach and entrepreneurial mindset is a perfect match for us and we will continue to process the market via two strong brands", says Christer Åberg, CEO ZOO.se.
In January 2022, ZOO.se brought in eEquity and Sampo as investors in order to be able to gear up the growth plan for the group. Since then, among other things, a solid management team has been recruited and all IT updated to enable a powerful scale-up of the business. The intention is to continue to open more physical stores, expand to more countries, launch more brands and continue to strengthen the customer offering.
Tinybuddy was founded in 2018 and today has a team of about 20 employees based in the office and warehouse in Gävle. In addition to traditional items for pet owners, such as pet food and accessories, their offer has also included gifts, interior design for pets and personalized items. Something that has been appreciated by their customers.
"We are very happy to add Tinybuddy to the Group and welcome Tim and Louise with staff into our team. Tim and Louise have in an exemplary way built their business with equal parts commitment and heart combined with data-driven processes and high tempo. By adding Tinybuddy to our group, we are further shifting our positions to reach out with our joint offering in a broader way in the market and in more European markets. With scalable structures and a high focus on quality at all stages, we will meet and help more and more pet owners", says Christer Åberg, CEO ZOO.se.
Tinybuddy will be part of the ZOO.se Group. Closing will take place as of March 31, 2023. In connection with the transaction, the founder couple Tim and Louise will continue to run Tinybuddy and as co-owners of the Group work for the entire group of companies' future growth journey.
"We see that our customer offering at Tinybuddy will be positively affected by being part of the ZOO.se Group. It will be a new and exciting journey for us and the entire team at Tinybuddy to become part of the larger team that today runs ZOO.se both online and in physical stores", says Tim Jansson, CEO of Tinybuddy AB.
The ZOO.se Group is estimated to have a total turnover of approximately SEK 800 million SEK in 2023, compared with SEK 500 million SEK in 2022.
For further information, please contact:
Christer Åberg, CEO ZOO.se, e-mail: christer.aberg@zoo.se, tel: +4670-390 61 00
Tim Jansson, CEO Tinybuddy, e-mail: tim@tinybuddy.se, tel: +4676-636 83 84
About ZOO.se
The company ZOO.se Trading i Norden AB is the parent company of a group specializing in companies that provide products and services for pets. President and CEO is Christer Åberg. The largest owners are eEquity, Sampo (Mandatum) and Seceda Invest AB.
ZOO.se, founded in 1989 in Bromma by the Hulthén family, is today a leading retailer in the pet industry with a rapidly growing e-commerce channel and opened its 14th store in Sweden in February this year. With a first-class customer offering and product range, the company has in recent years accelerated its growth curve through strong online expansion and strategic acquisitions of new store locations. The company was named DI Gasell for the fourth time in 2022. Visit www.zoo.se for more information.
About Tinybuddy
Tinybuddy AB was founded in 2018 by Tim and Louise Jansson and is based in Gävle. In a short time, the company has grown its business to become a name in the trade of articles for pets online. Tinybuddy inaugurated a new warehouse in Gävle in the autumn of 2021 and today offers e-commerce in Sweden via www.tinybuddy.se, in Denmark via www.tinybuddy.dk and to the rest of Europe via www.tinybuddy.eu. The company was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in Gävleborg County 2022.
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