Rinaldo Franco celebrates 70 years of activity dedicated to the evolution of pet care

Rinaldo Franco celebrates its 70th anniversary, a historic milestone for one of the absolute pioneers of pet care in Italy.

The roots of the Milanese company go back to 31 October 1956, when founder Rinaldo Franco started the business together with his wife Lina. What began in offices near the Duomo, growing and expanding over the decades thanks to the second generation, with sons Claudio and Dan, now has Dan Franco, supported by the third generation—Linda, Davide and Monica—at the operational helm. A cohesive governance that combines established experience with the innovative drive of the new generations, preserving the speed of decision-making and the values of family management, supported by a solid commercial and logistics structure present throughout Italy and abroad.

A 360° partner for contemporary retail

Rinaldo Franco's distribution architecture stands out for an balanced omnichannel presence: from its historic proximity to independent specialist shops and chains, to its established collaboration with mass market l and its presence across online channels.

For its customers, the company acts as an integrated operational partner, offering:

• Tailor-made layout and merchandising: design of display solutions developed to encourage shelf rotation.
• Logistics reliability: careful stock management and punctual deliveries to prevent stock-outs.
• Private-label expertise: development of dedicated distributor-brand lines for the market's leading banners.

With an offering exceeding 6.000 catalogue references, the company's commercial strategy is structured around precise brand segmentation: the historic brand Record, a benchmark for the specialist channel and independent pet shops, with complete coverage of hygiene, cosmetics, accessories, leads and collars, bedding and snacks; as well as Best Friend, a brand dedicated to modern distribution and designed to respond to consumers' purchasing dynamics in mass-market departments. These are joined by vertical brands such as Cat&Rina for the cat-litter sector and Acquafriend for the aquarium sector.

The comment

“Seventy years of history represent an important milestone, but above all an ongoing stimulus to look ahead,” says Dan Franco, president of Rinaldo Franco. “Throughout this journey, the pet-care sector has changed radically, moving from a specialist sector to a central segment in families' emotional dynamics. Our strength has been to accompany this change with a long-term vision: constantly adapting logistics, sales models and the range, while keeping customer focus and the spirit of the family business that have guided us since 1956 firmly rooted. Celebrating 70 years means honouring our roots by proposing concrete solutions to tomorrow's challenges”.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.