Absolute Pets Achieves 99% Task Completion While Streamlining 198 Store Operations 

About Absolute Pets

Absolute Pets is South Africa’s largest specialist pet care retailer, with nearly 200 stores across the country and operations in almost every province. Since its founding, the brand has focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences through knowledgeable staff, curated product ranges, and a commitment to animal welfare. Known for its customer-first approach, Absolute Pets has become a trusted destination for food, accessories, and healthcare products, while playing an active role in pet communities nationwide. 

The challenge: Scaling with small, autonomous teams 

Absolute Pets operate with lean, autonomous teams, often without a traditional managerial hierarchy. Staff members were managing multiple tasks, including compliance, reporting, and store appearance, in addition to serving customers. 

Before implementing StoreForce Retail Operations Management, Absolute Pets used various tools to track operational tasks.  However, these tools lacked: 

– Visibility of who was completing tasks 

– The ability to assign deadlines and track completion 

– Engagement between stores and the support office 

These gaps created inconsistencies in execution and made scaling difficult during a period of rapid store growth. 

Eugene Rochoy, National Operations Manager at Absolute Pets, said: 

“Because we had small teams and we didn’t have a typical structure, employees were required to manage tasks and deadlines themselves. We didn’t want to burden stores with admin; we wanted them to focus on customers, focus on their stores, and focus on appearance.” 

The solution: Driving efficiency through centralized task management 

StoreForce Retail Operations Management introduced a centralized, scalable system that made task completion reliable and measurable.  This included: 

– Clear task allocation with deadlines across all stores. 

– Real-time visibility for leadership, enabling quick support and issue resolution. 

– Knowledge resources and streamlined reporting, reducing administrative burden. 

– Focus on customer experience and store appearance, freeing staff to operate efficiently. 

Eugene Rochoy said:  

“We were on a huge growth path at the time. Stores were coming online pretty quickly, and the question was: how do we improve our communication to those stores, how do we send out tasks, and how do we get them to engage back with support office? That’s essentially the journey we started with StoreForce.” 

Results: 99% Task completion translates to operational efficiency 

Implementing StoreForce delivered measurable and qualitative improvements: 

Key outcomes include:  

– Reliable task execution: Every store knows what to do and when, eliminating overlooked or half-completed tasks. 

– Improved efficiency: Staff spend less time on admin and more time on customer service and store upkeep. 

– Reduced managerial burden: Leaders focus on coaching and operational strategy instead of chasing compliance. 

– Scalable consistency: Nearly 200 stores operate at the same high standard, regardless of location. 

Eugene Rochoy sums up the impact: 

“We wanted to focus on customers, focus on stores, and focus on appearance. StoreForce helped us do exactly that without adding administrative burden.”  

Operational excellence that fuels retail expansion 

“At the time, StoreForce ticked all the boxes in terms of what we wanted to achieve. Over time, the reporting got better and the system grew with us.” – Eugene Rochoy 

By making task completion measurable, reliable, and visible, Absolute Pets has turned operational consistency into a competitive advantage. The 99% task completion rate ensures that stores operate efficiently, standards are met across the board, and teams are empowered to deliver exceptional customer experiences — all while scaling to 198 locations.