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It's reigning cats and dogs, and specialty retailers are taking a bite out of the pet supply market with personalized services and exotic products.
An upscale pet store in Denver sells a dog food gravy that comes in a wine bottle and is called Sauvignon Bark. Its comparable cat food gravy is called Meowlot.
Dog kennels around the country have private rooms with TVs and soothing music. Pet-supply retailers have added such services as professional photography, pet birthday parties, pet-sitting and photo-opp visits from Santa during the holidays.
Collars are studded with rhinestones (and sometimes with diamonds), pet clothing is branded and carry bags are made of genuine leather.
Local pet supply stores have become boutiques with names like Three Dog Bakery, Tails R Us, Bark-n-Bitches, Living Ruff, Pawparazzi and Barker & Meowski: A Paw Firm.
In an economy where expensive fashion items for humans are going unsold on shelves, pet owners seem to be pulling out the stops. Leashes, toys, harnesses and the rest have become high-end, trendy status items.
What’s happening to pet supply retailing is a reflection of the culture in general. As our population ages, empty-nest baby boomers are refilling their nests with dogs and cats, generally in multiple numbers, and indulging those pets in ways they used to indulge their children.
“It’s one of the fastest growing retail categories,” says retail designer and consultant Ken Nisch, chairman of JGA Inc. (Southfield, Mich.). “Every upscale mall has a specialty pet store. And it’s almost recession-proof. The last place people stop spending is on their children and pets.”
Local and regional pet supply retailers have been kicking up most of the dust. Nisch says the big national chains, like Petco and PetSmart, have tended to build their big boxes with a one-size-fits-all mentality. The mass merchants, like Walmart and Meijer – and even Lowe’s – have added pet sections. And all the supermarket chains have extended their aisles full of foods, treats, leashes and toys. “Those big box stores contain primarily open-sell gondolas with lots of assortment and value pricing but little editing and minimal information,” Nisch says. “Today’s pet owners are looking for more. They’re looking for guidance, information, nutrition advice and reassurance.”
Probably means that while pet consumers are more careful with their spending, they're still seeking out services of value and retailers are graviating toward those services that are less expensive to operate with higher profit margins. Self-service dog washes vs the labor-intensive doggie daycare service is a financial no-brainer. -Jonathan Berkowitz
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But while the stats showed that 18% of pet retailers considered themselves a pet boutique in 2005 only 9% did in 2009, the boutiques that have survived are evolving to focus less on fashion and more on pet health with the more successful boutiques positioning themselves as experts who can advise their customers about health and wellness issues and less about $50 dog collars. -Jonathan Berkowitz