Polski
Pet Retail Expansion vs. Marketplace Retreat: Two Faces of Trade This Week
This week shows retail and e-commerce from two completely different angles. On one side, there's a bold, multimillion-dollar expansion of a physical store network that keeps betting on new locations despite growing online competition. On the other, a retreat from a partnership model in e-commerce once it stops delivering full control over the customer experience. Let's take a look at what's happening in Poland's pet retail market and France's grocery trade, and what both cases teach industries represented at franchise trade fairs.
01 · Retail Expansion
Maxi Zoo doubles down on aggressive network growth in Poland [1]
German pet retail chain Maxi Zoo, part of the Fressnapf group, isn't slowing down. With 186 stores already open across Poland, the company plans to open nearly 100 more over the next three years. That's a scale that places Maxi Zoo among the fastest-growing specialty chains in Poland, and it shows that the pet segment still has an appetite for growth even as many other retail categories reach saturation.
The way the chain is approaching this expansion is also worth noting. Rather than sticking to a single format, Maxi Zoo is developing two parallel models: classic 300-400 sqm stores placed in shopping centers, and smaller urban locations closer to customers' everyday routes. This approach lets the brand build recognition through large retail venues while also offering shopping convenience within the dense urban fabric — a strategy worth watching from the perspective of franchise networks planning expansion into smaller cities as well.
The backdrop to this expansion is just as telling: Poland's pet product market is estimated at around PLN 10 billion a year, meaning there's still considerable room for growth. Notably, e-commerce already accounts for 12% of the group's revenue, showing that even chains investing heavily in physical locations can't afford to ignore the online channel. This combination of aggressive offline growth with a rising share of online sales is a model worth watching — and one that illustrates well where specialty retail is heading today.
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02 · E-commerce
Amazon pulls back from its partnership with Monoprix and Chronodrive in France [2]
While Maxi Zoo is growing through physical expansion, Amazon, on the other side of Europe, has decided to scale back one of its business models. The company is shutting down the marketplace stores it ran jointly with Chronodrive (owned by Auchan) and Monoprix (part of the Casino group). The official reason given is an inconsistent customer experience resulting from differing delivery terms offered by each partner — something the global platform could no longer accept in a category as critical to it as groceries.
That doesn't mean Amazon is withdrawing from the grocery segment in France — quite the opposite. The company is now betting on its own, direct same-day delivery service, which already operates in 15 French cities. The scale of this effort is impressive: in 2025, Amazon delivered more than 170 million grocery items this way, showing that the company isn't giving up its ambitions in this category — it's simply changing how it pursues them.
This is a signal for anyone building strategies around third-party platforms — even e-commerce giants are willing to drop partnership models when they don't provide full control over the supply chain and quality of customer service. In an era of growing competition over delivery speed, control over the last mile is becoming a higher priority for platforms than the breadth of an offer built through external partners. It's an important lesson for smaller players considering partnerships with major marketplaces, too.
03
Two models, one lesson
The stories of Maxi Zoo and Amazon, though they involve different markets and different industries, share one thing in common: success in retail increasingly depends on skillfully combining physical presence, control over the customer experience, and a flexible approach to sales channels. Some are building a network from scratch, combining large and small formats to get closer to the customer. Others are revisiting existing partnerships once they stop delivering the expected control over service quality.
If you're interested in case studies like these, along with expansion strategies and sales model development, join us at Franczyza Expo — the International Trade Fair for Proven Business Models. It's there that you'll meet representatives of retail chains, e-commerce businesses, and franchises who deal with decisions like these every day, sharing proven growth models and ways to avoid costly mistakes. See you at the fair!
Invitation
Wondering how to effectively scale a retail network, or when it's time to walk away from a partnership that doesn't give you full control? You'll find answers at Franczyza Expo — the International Trade Fair for Proven Business Models, where you'll meet leaders from franchising, retail, and e-commerce sharing proven growth strategies. See live, working business models in action — and avoid the mistakes that have cost others millions.
Franczyza Expo 2026Footnotes
[1] BiznesINFO.pl — https://www.biznesinfo.pl/niemiecka-siec-rozpycha-sie-w-polsce-powstanie-blisko-100-nowych-sklepow-ki-wks-021026[2] LSA Conso — https://www.lsa-conso.fr/distributeurs-alimentaires/casino/monoprix/amazon-va-fermer-les-boutiques-de-monoprix-et-chronodrive-sur-sa-marketplace-pour-imaginer-dautres-formes-de-collaboration.RDMNEFU47NEZBAL676KOBLUCKA.html
This review was prepared by the Ptak Warsaw Expo editorial team.