1954 – The beginning

A Polish immigrant arrived in New Zealand and started a small pet business. He shortened his name Grenoski to Green, and his company, R Green Ltd, was established and offered 100 basic pet items.

1961 – The Wootton family acquired R Green Ltd

When the Wootton family acquired the company it was re-branded from R Green Ltd to Masterpet to reflect its broadening range of activities and its vision for the future.

1971 – Wayne Wootton joined his father John's pet supplies wholesaling company Masterpet, at the age of 21

Wayne Wootton (Operations and Finance Director) had already been in business for himself, selling exotic fish from home before opening his own pet store in Wellington.

Wayne saw an opportunity to overcome the effects of strict import controls by developing locally made pet accessories – everything from plastic bowls to worming tablets. Wayne developed a nationwide network of suppliers who could match the quality of imported products. Masterpet also developed joint ventures with suppliers to invest in plant such as plastic moulding equipment, enabling it to significantly expand its range.

1980 – Wayne's brother Brent Wootton joined – expansion continued

The Kaiwharawhara headquarters became a Wellington landmark with the two-storey murals of cats, dogs and other pets.

Late 1980s – Launched into the grocery trade

Masterpet launched a selected range of products into the grocery trade to cater for basic pet needs. To protect the traditional trade, Masterpet developed the VitaPet brand, which today enjoys 76 per cent of the grocery market.

1997 – Masterpet purchased 50 per cent of Australia's leading pet accessories company, Pets International Australia

The brothers were behind the infamous Winston Peters and Paul Holmes dog toys in 1997, after Mr Peters was referred to in the NZ Parliament as "dog tucker". Unveiled in Parliament, the toys received national media coverage and 25,000 Masterpet-branded toys sold out in two days. Their success spawned Pauline Hanson, Kim Beazley and John Howard equivalents, launched through Pets International on the eve of the 1998 Australian election.

1998 – Distribution centralised in Wellington

In August the company purchased one of the largest warehouse complexes in Wellington, a vast headquarters in Gracefield with industry-leading electronic stock management distribution systems.

1999 – Masterpet became 100 per cent automated

In conjunction with the move to the new Gracefield headquarters, Masterpet established a 100 per cent automated system, from the point of contact in the store through to warehouse ordering and delivery. This delivery system was, in turn, fully integrated into a central computer that combined financial systems, warehouse operations, sales information and operations, which was custom-made for Masterpet and its customers' unique requirements.

Masterpet also introduced industry-leading radio frequency technology so that everyone in the distribution centre had a computer terminal and scanner. This removed the need for paper, ensured data integrity and minimised the error rate.

2000 – Masterpet took over distribution of Iams and Eukanuba

Masterpet was selected to have the exclusive distribution rights for the Iams company for New Zealand.

2002 – Full acquisition of Pets International Australia, renamed Masterpet Australia

Masterpet grew further with the full acquisition of Pets International Australia, the leading national distributor – renamed Masterpet Australia. Pets International was formerly owned by Alan Whelpton, who had close associations with Masterpet NZ and regularly travelled with the Wootton brothers to trade shows and factories.

When Masterpet NZ acquired Pets International they sold the existing 2500 square metre warehouse and relocated to a 12,000 square metre facility on a two-hectare distribution site, and introduced the latest computer technologies and modern logistics.