The unique story of the Plaček Group

Dušan Plaček first combined his love for animals and his entrepreneurial spirit when he was just 16 years old. Back then, commercial businesses were not allowed in the Czech Republic. Bricks-and-mortar stores selling pet supplies were controlled by the state and carried an identical product assortment nationwide.

Because private trading was only possible on local markets, that’s where Plaček started his business, buying and selling aquarium fish.

The vision

When Plaček subsequently traveled abroad, in 1989, he saw pet shops overflowing with high-quality products and live pets inside the stores. Immediately, he had a vision of what he wanted to do in the years ahead.

He started importing goods that up until then had been unavailable to Czech breeders, especially at such previously unseen quality levels. He founded the Plaček company in 1991 and the group’s wholesaling chapter began.

In the following years, Plaček started recruiting like-minded people and the company expanded internationally to the wholesale markets of Slovakia and Russia. Later in the 1990s, the first Plaček company facilities were built in Poděbrady.

The start of retail

In 2004, Plaček’s dream of building a retail chain selling live animals increasingly started to take shape. The Super Zoo project was created in the Czech Republic, followed by the acquisition of the Dino Zoo company in Latvia.

In 2008, Super Zoo entered Slovakia. Then in 2014, the group acquired Poland’s largest pet retail chain, Kakadu. An online store was launched to get as close as possible to the end customers.

Adding brands to the mix

The organization’s product offering has evolved over the years. Whereas the business started out by sourcing the majority of products from foreign suppliers, Czech producers gradually joined the group. Today, the Plaček Group predominantly focuses on its own brands, including Elbeville, Ontario, Prospera Plus, Rasco Premium, Repti Planet, Nature Land, and more.

Fast-forward to today

In 2023, the Plaček Group operates more than 350 stores, with e-commerce activities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Latvia. In fact, it opened Europe’s first 24/7 pet supplies store. With more than 1,000 independent wholesale customers and over 2,500 employees, the group achieved total sales of over €260 million ($282M) in 2022.

For the coming years, the Plaček Group has ambitious plans, but it firmly believes that – with the help of customers and employees – it will be able to successfully add more chapters to its truly unique story.