MedicAnimal has been saved from administration after getting into difficulty following aggressive expansion. Retail Week profiles the etailer.

  • Pet product etailer MedicAnimal was founded in 2007 by former Goldman Sachs employee Ivan Retzignac and veterinarian Andrew Bucher.
  • Retzignac first spotted the opportunity for the retailer after working at Goldman Sachs with an American venture fund that invested in an online pet business called 1800PetMeds. He says it was inefficient in its business model because it “alienated vets and did not partner with drugs manufacturers”.
  • The founders launched the website in June 2008 after borrowing £1m from 40 family and friends.
  • MedicAnimal’s income rose from £1.1m in the 2007/8 financial year to £75m in 2013. It has not yet revealed its financial results for 2014.
  • Private equity firm Iris Capital invested £5m in the company in 2010, which helped it with its European expansion.
  • MedicAnimal raised £10m in funding in a round led by Balderton Capital in 2012.
  • MedicAnimal used the financing rounds to acquire rivals. It bought BestPet.co.uk in April 2011, PetSupermarket.co.uk in October 2011 and Petmeds in August 2012.
  • The MedicAnimal website is available in five languages, including Spanish, French, German and Dutch.
  • Prior to new owner Forward Dimension Capital taking a 100% stake in the business to save it from administration, about 40% of the company was owned by the management team. It also operated in a similar manner to the John Lewis Partnership, with everyone receiving an equity stake when they joined.
  • MedicAnimal’s best-selling product is therapeutic health food that helps dogs with arthritis
  • The average spend per customer transaction is £40
  • The most unusual animal MedicAnimal caters for is a degu, a small furry rodent

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