Is Zooplus profitable in 2026?

Zooplus reported trailing twelve month revenue of about 2.02 billion euros with a small net loss of 5.38 million euros as of June 30, 2026, per market data. New CEO Lionel Desclee, appointed September 15, 2025, was brought in specifically to restore profitability after a 2025 internal valuation write-down by owners.

Who owns Zooplus now?

Zooplus has been jointly owned by private equity firms Hellman and Friedman and EQT since they took the company private via Zorro Bidco at 480 euros per share in a deal finalized October 24, 2021. The company delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in early 2022 and converted from AG to SE in February 2022.

Could AI replace Zooplus's shopping experience?

Zooplus's core business, reordering commodity pet food and litter, is exposed to AI shopping agents that could bypass its storefront entirely. The company runs a zooplus Repeat auto-reorder subscription as a defense, and as of April 2026 discussed using AI and data for customer experience personalization, but no quantified impact has been disclosed.

Who is Zooplus's biggest competitor?

Amazon is the largest threat, outpacing Zooplus and rival Fressnapf on pet product page views across the UK, Germany and France as of late 2024. In Germany specifically, Fressnapf, Europe's largest brick and mortar pet chain which took full ownership of Italian chain Arcaplanet in 2024, is the historic rival.

Has Zooplus changed leadership recently?

Yes. CEO Geoffroy Lefebvre departed at the end of November 2024, and Lionel Desclee, former CEO of Very Group and Walmart Japan's Seiyu, took over as CEO on September 15, 2025 to fix profitability. A new CFO and COO, Steffen Schuller, joined the management board around the same period.

Is Zooplus growing or shrinking?

Zooplus reported group revenue of 2.678 billion euros for FY2023, its last disclosed audited figure before going private. Third party estimates for 2025 diverge widely, but UK organic search traffic reportedly grew 52 percent as of May 2025 while the broader UK pet supplies category stayed flat.

E-commerce and marketplaces · subsidiary of Zorro Bidco (Hellman & Friedman and EQT joint venture) · Germany

Zooplus

zooplus.com ↗

European online marketplace for pet food and supplies, private equity owned since 2021.

Losing its protection

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from 2026-2027 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Hellman & Friedman and EQT decide whether to sell, refinance, or hold Zooplus

The call

Zooplus keeps shipping pet food across Europe while its owners weigh an exit, and Amazon keeps taking a bigger slice of the category.

Zooplus sells pet food, toys, and supplies online across Europe and operates its own warehouses and customer data. It is not hard to copy because Amazon already sells pet products and dominates in traffic, and Fressnapf (a bigger rival) also operates online; plus, new AI shopping assistants that automatically reorder common items like pet food could cut out the need for Zooplus altogether. The company barely makes money and is owned by a private equity firm that bought it in 2021 for €2 billion but has already written the value down. Within the next year and a half, watch whether the new CEO can turn the business into real profit, and whether the private equity owners decide to sell it or refinance it, because those moves will tell you if the business can survive long enough to matter.

Why

AI pressure: Amazon's AI shopping agents (Rufus, Alexa+) and AI marketplace search. AI reorder agents could auto-pick the cheapest pet food or litter, routing repeat buys away from zooplus.de entirely. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Amazon and Fressnapf. Amazon already leads pet category traffic in Europe, and Fressnapf is buying rivals to expand online reach in Germany. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. Its own European logistics network and years of first party pet purchase data still support repeat subscription orders.

What would change this call

Hellman & Friedman/EQT announce a sale, refinancing, or write-down of Zooplus within 12-24 months. Would show the PE turnaround failed and joiner equity is at risk.
Zooplus posts two consecutive quarters of revenue growth and margin expansion under new CEO Desclée. Would show the profitability turnaround is genuinely working.
Amazon or Fressnapf announce new AI-driven reorder or subscription features for pet food/litter in Europe. Would show commodity reorder demand shifting away from Zooplus's storefront.

Key numbers

FY2023 revenue €2.678bn (2023-12-31)
2021 buyout at €480/share, ~€3.7bn (2021-10-24)
Owners marked down internal valuation (2025-09-22)

Named risks

Private equity owners marked down internal valuation in early 2025 signaling profitability concerns. Severity: high
New CEO Lionel Desclee has an unproven turnaround record, having exited Very Group in under two years. Severity: medium
Thin to negative margins in a commoditized category with no strong structural moat versus Amazon or Chewy. Severity: high
AI shopping agents could disintermediate storefront reorders for commodity items like food and litter. Severity: medium
PE hold period approaching typical 4 to 7 year exit window raises risk of distressed sale or refinancing. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Amazon	losing to	Amazon far outpaces Zooplus on pet product page views across UK, Germany, France as of late 2024
Fressnapf	contesting	Fressnapf took full ownership of Arcaplanet in 2024, expanding omnichannel reach against Zooplus in Germany
Chewy	losing to	Chewy operates at vastly larger single-market scale than Zooplus's European storefronts

Questions people ask

Is Zooplus profitable in 2026?: Zooplus reported trailing twelve month revenue of about 2.02 billion euros with a small net loss of 5.38 million euros as of June 30, 2026, per market data. New CEO Lionel Desclee, appointed September 15, 2025, was brought in specifically to restore profitability after a 2025 internal valuation write-down by owners.
Who owns Zooplus now?: Zooplus has been jointly owned by private equity firms Hellman and Friedman and EQT since they took the company private via Zorro Bidco at 480 euros per share in a deal finalized October 24, 2021. The company delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in early 2022 and converted from AG to SE in February 2022.
Could AI replace Zooplus's shopping experience?: Zooplus's core business, reordering commodity pet food and litter, is exposed to AI shopping agents that could bypass its storefront entirely. The company runs a zooplus Repeat auto-reorder subscription as a defense, and as of April 2026 discussed using AI and data for customer experience personalization, but no quantified impact has been disclosed.
Who is Zooplus's biggest competitor?: Amazon is the largest threat, outpacing Zooplus and rival Fressnapf on pet product page views across the UK, Germany and France as of late 2024. In Germany specifically, Fressnapf, Europe's largest brick and mortar pet chain which took full ownership of Italian chain Arcaplanet in 2024, is the historic rival.
Has Zooplus changed leadership recently?: Yes. CEO Geoffroy Lefebvre departed at the end of November 2024, and Lionel Desclee, former CEO of Very Group and Walmart Japan's Seiyu, took over as CEO on September 15, 2025 to fix profitability. A new CFO and COO, Steffen Schuller, joined the management board around the same period.
Is Zooplus growing or shrinking?: Zooplus reported group revenue of 2.678 billion euros for FY2023, its last disclosed audited figure before going private. Third party estimates for 2025 diverge widely, but UK organic search traffic reportedly grew 52 percent as of May 2025 while the broader UK pet supplies category stayed flat.

Timeline

2026-06-30TTM revenue reported at 2.02bn euros with 5.38m euro net loss per market data
2025-09-15Lionel Desclee becomes CEO, tasked with restoring profitability
2025-09Steffen Schuller joins as new CFO and COO on management board
2025-03Owners mark down zooplus internal valuation amid profitability struggles
2024-11-30CEO Geoffroy Lefebvre departs the company
2024Fressnapf acquires full ownership of Italian chain Arcaplanet
2023-12-31FY2023 group revenue reported at 2.678bn euros
2022-02Legal form changes from AG to European SE
2022-01Zooplus delisted from Frankfurt Stock Exchange
2021-10-24EQT and Hellman and Friedman finalize take-private deal at 480 euros per share

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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