Pet wars: Woolies unleashes big move with Absolute Pets acquisition

Woolworths has fired its first salvo in the pet wars with rival Shoprite, with its announcement on Tuesday that it plans to take control of Absolute Pets and its footprint of more than 150 stores.

The acquisition of an initial almost 94% stake in the 18-year-old company is widely seen as a move to take the fight to SA's biggest retailer, Shoprite, which itself is aggressively rolling out its standalone PetShop Science stores across the country.

Woolworths has previously hinted at results presentations that it was looking to expand more significantly into the lucrative multibillion-rand petfood and accessories space without giving much detail. Weeks before this announcement, Woolworths also unveiled its WPetInsure, a comprehensive cat and dog insurance offering it debuted in mid-August.