«A review of state and USDA inspection reports from more than 100 breeders who sold animals to the nation's largest
retail pet store chain revealed that more than 60 percent of the inspections found serious violations of basic animal care standards, including sick or dead animals in their cages, lack of proper veterinary care, inadequate shelter from weather conditions, and dirty, unkempt cages that were too small.
Not exact matches
The financial pressure on independent
pet retailers has never been greater with competition from big - box
stores, large hardware and farm
store chains, and the grocery segment.
The 2018
Pet Business Top 25
Retailers list shows that North America's largest
pet store chains continued to experience phenomenal growth over the past year — a trend that shows no signs of slowing.
The
pet specialty
retail landscape has changed pretty drastically over the years, and lines have been blurred by a number of factors, including the rise of online
retailing, overwhelming interest from the investment community and — probably most prominently — the meteoric growth of a dozen or so regional
pet store chains across the country.
D'Agnolo, who recently launched the Dogaholics
pet business consulting company after selling the brick - and - mortar
retail store to a national
chain, says scented candles, plug - in air fresheners and a focus on cleanliness can go a long way in creating an aromatically pleasing setting.
While the
pet industry has proven to be fertile ground for growing successful
retail chains, expanding a one -
store operation into a multi-unit powerhouse can be quite challenging — and risky — when you're working with limited resources.
Managing a comprehensive training program for a 360 -
store pet retail chain is no easy feat, especially when about half of those
stores are corporately owned and operated, while the other half are franchise locations.
Canadian
pet retailer Pet Valu has acquired the 32 -
store Jack's Pets
chain, as well as its online
pet product outlet, petsolutions.com.
The latest edition of
Pet Business» Top 25
Retailers list is populated with powerhouse
pet store chains that continue to grow by leaps and bounds.
As Michael Levy, president of
Pet Food Express, a 56 -
store chain in California, pointed out to me after reading the article, it is important that
retailers understand that simply having an MAP or MRP policy is no assurance that a manufacturer is doing enough to keep the playing field level for brick - and - mortar
retailers in their competition with online
pet food outlets.
Kriser's Natural
Pet Stores blazed a trail in natural
pet retail about a decade ago and has grown into a burgeoning
chain to watch.
Many industry experts agree that the recent acquisition of the 32 -
store Jack's Pets
chain by Canadian
pet specialty
retailer Pet Valu could be a sign of things to come.
The gulf between the haves and have - nots in
pet retail becomes even more stark when one considers the fact that the top three
chains — PetSmart, Petco and
Pet Valu — accounted for more than 50 percent of new
store openings on
Pet Business» Top 25 list.
And many of those puppies come from Petland, the Ohio - based company that has more than 70
retail stores across the U.S. «It is the largest
chain of puppy - selling
pet stores in the U.S.,» Summers says.
Lotus Dog Food is made by the owners of Centinela Feed and
Pet, a small
chain of high quality
retail,
pet stores in Los Angeles, USA.
Last year, the
pet store chain made the humane decision to stop the
retail sale of puppies, and today they reaffirmed their commitment by pledging to never sell puppies in the future.
In addition to the larger companies, smaller
pet store chains and independent
retailers are successfully increasing in the industry.
The products were distributed nationwide in both bulk and
retail packaging for sale in
pet food and
retail chain stores.
«We have the look of a high - end
retail store, but deep down, we are a neighborhood
pet store selling food for the same price as the national
chains,» Paul said.
In addition to the large
retail chains, more than 900 independent
pet shops around the country, including 35 in Texas, have voluntarily signed The HSUS» Puppy Friendly pledge not to sell puppies at their
stores.
It's an economic line that allows independent
retailers to compete with kind of mass - produced
pet products carried in big grocery
store chains with a profit range of around 30 percent.
These puppy
store demonstrations, which are really public information and educational activities, have been very successful in ending the sale of puppy mill dogs at a number of local
retail outlets in L.A. and Orange County and even contributed to a national mall
chain's decision to phase out
pet stores in their malls in favor of hosted adoption events by rescues and shelters.
You can find Zuke's Mini Naturals and Skinny Bakes at
pet supply
chains, independent
pet - product
stores, natural - food
retailers, and online.
In addition to most
pet stores, supermarkets,
chain stores, and large
retailers, such as Petco, PetSmart, Target, and Wal - Mart, many mail - order and online companies also carry our products at favorable pricing.
The Top 25
Pet Retailers in North America The 2018
Pet Business Top 25
Retailers list shows that North America's largest
pet store chains continued to experience phenomenal growth over the past year — a trend that shows no signs of slowing.
Michael Levy, founder of Oakland, Calif. - based
Pet Food Express, a 54 -
store chain of independent
pet food and supply
stores in California, will receive the National
Retail Federation's Giver Award on Jan. 11, 2015, in New York at the NRF's inaugural gala, The List of People Shaping
Retail's Future.
Retail giants such as Sears Roebuck sold puppies in their
pet departments and
pet store chains were born.
And unlike big - boxes like Petco and PetSmart, these
chains have the look and feel of a locally owned
retailer, complete with the high level of service that customers have come to expect from a neighborhood
pet store.
A 20 - plus - year - old
chain that operates 19
stores in the Twin - Cities region of Minnesota and five
stores Denver, Colo., Chuck & Don's was selected by the
Pet Business Editorial Advisory Board and staff because of the success that it has achieved in
pet product
retailing, as well as its unwavering commitment to serving the communities surrounding its
stores.
Claudia Loomis, co-owner of Cherrybrook, a three -
store pet retail chain in northern New Jersey, began tagging U.S. - made products with red, white and blue paw - print stickers about a year ago, and for Independence Day, the
stores curate assortments of domestically made items to display on Made - in - the - USA endcaps.
Despite the increased focus that non-specialty
retailers are placing on
pet products, as well as the continued growth of Petco and PetSmart, Merar says that regional
pet specialty
chains are proving to be the more formidable competitors for single -
store retailers.
«Regional
pet chains absolutely are a threat to single -
store retailers — more of a threat than any Petco or PetSmart would be,» he says.
During a panel discussion at last year's
Pet Fashion Week, Michael Dagne, president and founder of Moochie & Co., a
pet specialty
retail chain with
stores in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, said something that really brings this point into focus.
No longer confined to
chain pet stores,
pet beds are sold in mass
retailers of all stripes, supermarkets and even drug
stores.
The vice president of operations at a major
pet retailer told me several years ago that his
chain had a 40 - percent annual turnover rate with
store managers.
This trend bodes well for the larger
pet superstores and the mass
retailers and could potentially hurt the independent
chains and mom - and - pop
stores.
Both feel that the real point of differentiation that independent
pet specialty
retailers — whether they are single -
store operations or 21 -
store chains — should focus on is their ability to deliver a high level of service.
This approach to
retailing has paid off handsomely for
pet store chains across the U.S. and Canada.
Whether you are talking about 10 -
store single - state operations, 20 -
store regional
retailers or 1,000 - plus -
store national big - box behemoths, it can not be overestimated what these
chains have meant to the world of
pet specialty
retailing, particularly as the channel has faced increasing competition from mass
retailers over the past several years.
Company founder Rich Rivlin has 40 years of experience in the
pet industry, including running a six -
store pet retail chain on Long Island, N.Y..
-- Mike Dange, president and founder of Moochie & Co., a mall - based
pet retail chain with
stores in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
When GfK works with
pet specialty
retailers, we can analyze the customer database for an entire
chain or just a single
store and assign the people within to one of six categories, which include: • Privileged
Pet — Representing nine percent of consumers, these higher - income
pet owners prefer smaller
pet shops and are willing to spend a lot of money on their dog or cat.
The Scarborough, Ontario - based distributor, which services
pet retail outlets across Canada, including independent
retailers,
pet chain stores, farm feed
stores and veterinarians, received the award at this year's Global
Pet Expo, held March 24 - 26 in Orlando, Fla..
Bentley's acquisition - fueled transformation into one of the most prominent and fastest - growing
pet store chains is just one example of a broader trend that is playing out in
retail.
This is illustrated perfectly in the 2016 edition of
Pet Business» Top 25
Retailers list, which ranks
pet store chains based on their number of locations in North America.
He explains: «A
pet retailer can put a red main drive aisle through the
store, similar to what the Target discount
store chain does to help move their customers smoothly.
Retailing Right On the one hand, the fact that
pet travel products are increasingly moving into the public's awareness is good news for
pet retailers; on the other hand, the trend has also made the category more attractive to non-
pet-related
retail chains and even automotive
retailers, says Tibor Siklosi, director of marketing and new product development for Bergan, located in Monkey Island, Okla. «[These
chains] are understanding the preferences of the
pet owners already shopping their
stores,» Siklosi says.
Kriser's Natural
Pet, a 26 -
store pet retail chain with
stores in Chicago, Southern California, Houston and Denver, has received a growth capital investment from River Hollow Partners.
«That was a scary event for people,» says Susie Bower, owner of End of the Leash, a two -
store pet -
retail chain in Wisconsin.
That confidence may be the chief reason for the success of the 24 -
store pet retail chain over the past two decades.