Innovetive Petcare was featured in the August 2015 issue of Vet-Advantage magazine. Below is an excerpt from the article:
Innovative Petcare
Innovetive Petcare is focused on creating the nation’s premier network of veterinary specialty and emergency hospitals, says Mark Ziller, president and CEO. “Since we launched at the end of January, we have already successfully completed our first acquisition and we now have additional clinics going through due diligence. We are getting a very positive response from practice owners and we are pleased with our progress so far.
“Ownership allows us to invest in clinics and have a long-term vision – two things not possible in a management services model,” he continues. “Since that is a fundamental part of our value creation model, we do not offer standalone management services.”
That approach means that Innovetive is focused primarily on veterinary practices of three or more doctors, says Ziller. “We don’t want to just acquire practices, we want to invest in them, and bring them the tools they need to grow. And that necessitates practices of a certain size.”
Another fundamental part of the Innovetive strategy is to ensure that each of its clinics maintains its local identity, name and culture. “We support the veterinarians and their staffs with a suite of best-in-class business services in such areas as human resources, marketing, finance and accounting. We do not rebrand the clinics as ‘Innovetive Petcare,’ nor do we implement any type of national formulary.”
Innovetive has chosen to focus on specialty and emergency hospitals for several reasons, not the least of which are rising expectations on the part of pet owners regarding standards of care, says Ziller. “We love our pets. People want to know that if their dog gets cancer, they can take him to a specialist to receive the best possible care. And we see that continuing.”
The long haul
Innovetive is not seeking to create value simply by aggregating revenue or cutting costs, says Ziller. “Our goal is to effectively use capital and scale to invest in practices and help achieve long-term, sustainable growth. We partner with the veterinarians and staff at each local hospital to develop and implement a growth plan, and we invest in the tools and resources to help them achieve their goals.
“Our goal is to build a great business, with a strong culture and resources to help clinics grow and prosper. We believe it is more important what we build than how big we build it. The response from veterinarians has been very positive, and we anticipate strong growth, but our focus will remain on quality over quantity.
“Yes, we want to run an efficient business. But the bigger opportunity in our mind is the opportunity to grow, and we’re prepared to invest and take a long-range view of that. With a focus on growth, our goals align well with both manufacturers and distributors, allowing us a great opportunity to partner with like-minded companies.
