Zajac Zoo

The Zoo Zajac GmbH operates in Duisburg - Neumühl the largest pet store in the world. The approximately 12,000 m² shop area includes over 1000 aquariums, 70 pond basins, 500 terrariums, 40 aviaries, a cat enclosure, 150 enclosures for small mammals and what it claims is the most modern dog enclosure in Europe.

history

Norbert Zajac and his brothers Wolfgang and Manfred discovered their passion for animals as children. Since the parents could not finance this hobby, the brothers earned the necessary money by selling small animals they had bred themselves . The trade in budgerigars in particular flourished when Norbert Zajac had the idea of delaying their breeding business by withdrawing the nest box so that they were the only breeders to supply the local pet shops with young birds at Christmas. By raising the price and buying up all the budgies in the area, the 14-year-old made himself a monopoly in the Recklinghausen area in 1968 . When in 1970 the demand for fish exceeded the self-bred stocks, Zajac imported ornamental fish from Singapore and also made good sales with this.

In 1973 Wolfgang Zajac opened a pet shop in Gladbeck , where Norbert Zajac worked in his spare time. After completing his apprenticeship as a steel fitter, Norbert Zajac and his wife Jutta took over a pet shop in Duisburg- Meiderich that was for sale . The shop area, initially 65 m² in size, was enlarged to 500 m² in 2004 by taking over neighboring rooms and buildings. When this area became too small, Norbert Zajac had an empty production hall in Neumühl expanded according to his plans. This increased the business in 2004 to 6,000 m², and by expanding into additional halls and the outdoor area by 2012 to around 12,000 m².

On his YouTube channel of the same name (at that time still Norberts Welt ) Zajac reports regularly about his pet shop and has over 170,000 subscribers and 22 million views. On 12 July 2018 he published together with the author Mirja Holtrop the autobiographical book stories from Norbert's world with Mirja Holtrop in self-publishing .

expansion

The pet shop, which was taken over in 1975, was a full-range supplier, selling dogs, cats, rodents, birds, fish, food and accessories. The existing aquarium system also contained saltwater fish, which were still unusual at the time. Zajac increased the inventory through imports and achieved awareness through daily advertising of a small advertisement, the radius of which he gradually increased.

The company's first aquarium orientation catalog

Over the following years, the shop area also increased, as Norbert Zajac acquired adjacent areas in the rear building and in the neighboring house and covered the inner courtyard, so that the company finally covered 500 m². This allowed entry into the mail order business with aquarium accessories , including in-house developments in the field of water treatment and care, e.g. B. "Carbo-Plus", a method of water plant fertilization that uses coal instead of a CO ₂ bottle and thus reduces the emission of CO ₂ . With a series of full-page low-price advertisements in the three trade magazines of the time, Zajac beat the majority of its competitors out of the field and fought for a supremacy in the area of aquarium accessories with the company's own products. In 1999, mail order business accounted for 70% of sales, shop sales 5% and trade fair business 15%. Zajac's brothers were also working in the company with their wives. Due to the lack of space, the 140 employees had to work in two shifts. New construction plans and building applications got in the way of Basel II : Despite flourishing sales, the company received worse ratings from year to year, so that the approved loans were insufficient for the construction project.

When Norbert Zajac suggested in an interview with the local press in 2003 that he was looking for affordable property in another city, the Duisburg city council proposed several properties to him the next day, one of which was the hall in Duisburg-Neumühl, which he moved into in 2004. According to Norbert Zajac, sales have increased sevenfold since then and amount to 15 million euros per year. 70% of this is done by sales, 29% by shipping (catalog circulation: 200,000) and 1% by the other trade fairs. Over a million visitors come to Zoo Zajac every year to see 3,000 different species, a total of around 250,000 animals and special accessories. Around 200 species-specialized employees, four veterinarians, two biologists, four dog trainers and an engineer work as customer advisors and animal keepers.

measure up

From 1993 to 2001 Zoo Zajac organized the ornamental fish and aquarium division of the biennial Aqua-Fisch in Friedrichshafen . From 2003 to 2011, Norbert Zajac also organized the fishing and fly fishing areas here at the request of the exhibition management, and from 2003 to 2008 the Tier & Wir exhibition in Rheinberg . A change in managing director at Messe Friedrichshafen and disagreements over pricing caused Zajac to leave in 2011.

From 1993 to 1996 in the Duisburg Mercatorhalle and from 1997 to 2011 in the Duisburg power center, Zoo Zajac organized its own ornamental fish and aquarium trade fair . In 2005, Norbert Zajac also started the three-day fishing trade fair in Duisburg's Kraftzentrale and placed the date strategically before the two established trade fairs Jagd & Hund in Dortmund and boot in Düsseldorf , which also include fishing sectors. The number of visitors recently rose to 20,000, the number of exhibitors to 70. New exhibitors now have to be put on the waiting list.

In 2005, Zoo Zajac, as a cooperation partner of Messe Stuttgart , organized the terraristics and aquaristics sector at Animal . On the Essen Leisure Fair Home and Garden Zoo Zajac contributed the subregion "ZooLIVE" in a separate hall from 2006 in two days. From 2007 to 2011, Zoo Zajac also organized the International Cichlid Days on the subject of cichlids every two years in the Duisburg power center . From 1996 onwards, Zoo Zajac hosted the International Discus Championship every two years in the Duisburg power center . At the world's largest discus exhibition, the breeder of the most beautiful specimen was honored with a golden cup and prize money of 5000 euros. The championship took place for the last time in 2010. According to his own statement, Norbert Zajac was frustrated that German exhibitors were withdrawing, while the show and award winners increasingly came from Asia. In addition, the exhibitors from Asia offered their aquarium accessories so cheaply that there was a noticeable drop in demand at Zoo Zajac in the weeks after the fair.

The enormous expansion of the business when moving to Duisburg-Neumühl in 2004 was the reason for Norbert Zajac to largely withdraw from the trade fair business and instead to build up a shop concept with trade fair flair. Many manufacturers and suppliers took part in the concept of an “adventure pet shop” with their own presentation stands. The available space was used for the construction of large animal enclosures, which are intended to show that all animal species are kept in a more needs-based manner, including animals that are otherwise not likely to be found in the zoo trade. Lecture rooms, a small canteen, library and seating have made it possible for the company to hold conferences in-house, mostly on aquatic topics.

Special animal species

At Zajac Zoo there are also dormice , sloths , meerkats , caimans , albino sturgeons and tarantulas . A rare pair of scorpions and lizards now lives in the Berlin Zoo Aquarium . Two zoos are already applying for three young ravens currently being reared at Zoo Zajac.

Common raven cub at Zajac Zoo, outside area

Zajac also equips television programs such as The Incredible Animal Quiz , Jungle Camp or Adventure Living With Small Animals . The store also houses a fuleco - banded armadillo -Pärchen, official mascot of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Extra trained already from 17 o'clock to wake up and eat from a bowl, the animals are to predict their decision for a food bowl, who each game wins.

Three-banded armadillo curled up at Zajac Zoo

The dog sales started in 2012 aroused protests on the part of animal rights activists. Dogs have not been offered in German pet shops since 1991. Norbert Zajac relies on the approval of the veterinary and regulatory authority in accordance with Section 11 of the TierSchG and sees his dog facility as the most modern in Europe due to over-fulfilled husbandry guidelines. The 35 m² boxes are u. a. equipped with underfloor heating and solar protection glazing. Two dog trainers and a veterinarian ensure age-appropriate and species-appropriate employment. Prospective buyers are put through their paces in several discussions, and in individual cases they are also rejected as buyers.

Prizes and awards

2003: Rhein-Ruhr Prize "in recognition of services to the interests of aquaristics", awarded by the Association of German Associations for Aquarium and Terrarium Studies

2005: Entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest pet shop in the world

2009: Norbert Zajac is appointed to the Economic Senate of North Rhine-Westphalia by the Federal Association of Medium-Sized Enterprises (BVMW), the state association of North Rhine-Westphalia, due to his entrepreneurial achievements .

2010: Norbert Zajac is named Entrepreneur of the Year by BVMW .

2010: Elke Rusch and Thomas Kaliebe, breeders of aquarium plants in Müncheberg, dedicate their new Echinodorus breed to the Zajac family by calling them "Zajac".

2012: The international discus championship is posthumously awarded "for special services to the discus cichlid" with the "Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod Honorary Award ”.

Web links

literature

Stories from Norbert's world by Norbert Zajac & Mirja Holtrop (self-published)
Who is Who in the Federal Republic of Germany: Zajac Norbert , Verlag für Personenenzyklopädien, 2002.
Pickardt, Mareike: Zoo Zajac - a Duisburg success story in Duisburger Jahrbuch 2007 , Mercator Verlag.
Hucklenbroich, Christina: Earning money with animals in The Animal and Us: Insights into a Complex Friendship , 2014, Karl Blessing Verlag.
Annual report 1999, City of Duisburg: Highlights of Duisburg .

Individual evidence

[1] ttp://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-4000/largest-pet-store-/

[2] Anne Horst Meier: Zoohändler Norbert Zajac told stories from his world. July 23, 2019, accessed on February 1, 2020 (German).

[3] Zajac Zoo. Accessed February 1, 2020 (German).

[4] Norbert Zajac presents his first book. Accessed February 1, 2020 .

[5] ttp://www.bild.de/news/2010/duisburg/zajac-groesstes-zoogeschaeft-der-welt-in-duisburg-12319604.bild.html

[6] ttp://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duisburg/nord/die-groesste-aquarien-schau-der-welt-id1388413.html

[7] ttp://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duisburg/nord/angler-kochen-auch-gerne-id1285239.html

[8] ttp://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duisburg/groesste-angelmesse-deutschlands-im-landschaftspark-duisburg-id7469215.html

[9] ttp://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duisburg/nord/ploetzlich-war-da-noch-ein-faultier-id1965803.html

[SPON-810471-10] Puppy sales in Duisburg: Got the dog. In: Spiegel Online . January 20, 2012, accessed June 10, 2018 .

[11] ttp://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duisburg/tierschuetzer-stellen-zoo-zajac-gutes-zeugnis-aus-aid-1.3650164

[12] ttp://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duisburg/warum-zoo-zajac-zwei-verkaufte-welpen-zuruecknahm-id6476785.html

[13] ttp://www.derwesten.de/staedte/duisburg/nord/duisburger-zoo-haendler-norbert-zajac-ist-unternehmer-des-jahres-id4036164.html

[14] ttp://www.zierfischforum.info/becken-ab-251-liter/69131-our-new-passion-juwel-rio-400-gesellschaftsbecken.html

[15] ttp://www.vda-aktuell.de/index.php/component/content/article/139-uncategorised/636-verleihung-des-dr-herbert-r-axelrod-ehrenpreises-waehrend-der-aqua-expo -tage-2014-in-dortmund