Arcaplanet expands in southern Italy with 12-store deal
Bottom line
Arcaplanet is expanding further in southern Italy through the acquisition of Animal Store, a Calabria-based pet retail chain, adding 12 stores in the region and bringing 23 employees into the business. The company said the deal strengthens its network in Calabria, with locations in Reggio Calabria, Crotone, Cosenza, Gioia Tauro, San Marco Argentano, and Cinquefrondi. The move comes as Arcaplanet, which says it now has more than 600 stores and 2.8 million loyalty customers in Italy, continues to push for broader geographic coverage, especially in the south. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the expansion is another signal that pet retail consolidation in Europe is continuing to reshape where pet parents get food, accessories, and care-related products. A larger Arcaplanet footprint could give the company more influence over nutrition merchandising, wellness education, and referral pathways tied to retail-based services, particularly in markets where access to specialized pet retail has been thinner than in northern Italy. The acquisition also sits alongside Arcaplanet’s wider omnichannel and growth strategy, including a new partnership with Bricofer Group to place Arcaplanet stores and branded pet corners inside DIY retail locations. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
What to watch: Watch for how quickly Arcaplanet rebrands and integrates the Calabria stores, and whether it uses the Animal Store deal and the Bricofer rollout as a template for faster southern Italy expansion through 2026 and 2027. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
Arcaplanet is deepening its reach in southern Italy with the acquisition of Animal Store, a regional pet retail chain in Calabria, adding 12 locations to its network and absorbing the chain’s 23 employees. The deal gives Italy’s largest specialized pet retailer a denser presence in a part of the country it has identified as a strategic growth area, and it lands just as the company is also opening a second expansion track through a partnership with DIY retailer Bricofer Group. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
The acquisition fits into a longer growth story for Arcaplanet. The retailer has spent the past several years building national scale, and in December 2024, Fressnapf completed its acquisition of Arcaplanet, folding the Italian chain into a broader European platform. Fressnapf said at the time that Arcaplanet added more than 560 locations and more than €700 million in sales to its network, underscoring how important Italy has become in the European pet retail map. (presse.fressnapf.de)
Arcaplanet’s own recent messaging has pointed clearly toward the south. In May 2026, the company said it had more than 600 stores, over 2.8 million loyalty customers, and plans to keep strengthening its presence in southern Italy while investing in omnichannel retail, nutrition, and services. That context makes the Animal Store transaction look less like a one-off deal and more like a targeted regional play: buying an established local chain with existing customer recognition, rather than building every store from scratch. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
According to Arcaplanet, the acquired stores are located in Reggio Calabria, Crotone, Cosenza, Gioia Tauro, San Marco Argentano, and Cinquefrondi. The company described Animal Store as a longstanding specialist in pet food, accessories, and care products. A separate legal advisory announcement from McDermott confirmed the transaction closed on June 2, 2026, and said it forms part of Arcaplanet’s growth and consolidation strategy in the Italian pet care market. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
The company is also expanding through partnerships, not just acquisitions. On June 10, 2026, Arcaplanet and Bricofer Group announced a strategic agreement to develop the pet category inside Bricofer, Self, and Ottimax stores. The initial 12-month roadmap calls for 15 full Arcaplanet stores and eight branded Arcaplanet corners inside Bricofer Group locations, with broader network expansion planned for 2027. Arcaplanet CEO Guillaume Seneclauze said the strategy is about getting closer to customers in places they already visit. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
Industry reaction so far has been limited mostly to trade coverage and deal confirmations rather than outside analyst commentary. Still, the pattern is notable: Arcaplanet is using multiple levers at once, including M&A, store openings, and shop-in-shop partnerships, to build density and convenience. That suggests the company sees southern Italy not as a peripheral market, but as a meaningful next phase of organized pet retail growth. This is an inference based on the company’s stated expansion plans, the location of the acquired stores, and the Bricofer rollout. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, retail consolidation can affect the pet care ecosystem in practical ways. As large chains expand, they often gain more influence over what pet parents see first in nutrition, preventive care products, supplements, and wellness messaging. In regions where independent pet retail has been more fragmented, a scaled player like Arcaplanet may become a more important touchpoint for client education and product purchasing. That can create opportunities for better access and consistency, but it can also shift competitive pressure onto local retailers and potentially reshape referral relationships around services, diets, and follow-up care. (arcaplanetgroup.com)
What to watch: The next signals will be how quickly Animal Store locations are rebranded, whether Arcaplanet changes assortment or service offerings in those stores, and how the Bricofer partnership performs over its first 12 months. If those formats gain traction, Arcaplanet could accelerate southern Italy expansion further in 2026 and into 2027, with broader implications for how veterinary-adjacent pet retail develops in the region. (arcaplanetgroup.com)