Leading pet retail boss Dean Richmond says he has no plans to retire even though he has been honoured by a PetQuip Lifetime Achievement Award. “They can’t get rid of me that easily,” he said. “I love the industry and I love working.”

Dean, the managing director of PetFamily whose brands include the Pets Corner chain of stores, was speaking after his Lifetime Achievement at the prestigious PetQuip Awards last month.

What does receiving an industry Lifetime Achievement Award mean to you?

I am extremely honoured to receive such an award from my industry peers.

Were you surprised by it being awarded, bearing in mind you’re only 46 years of age?

Haha, yes I was and comments from friends have been similar.  They suggested it might be the trade’s way of saying that they’ve had enough of me!

So there are no plans to retire yet?

Certainly not. I love the industry and love working.

Pets Corner is known for being a champion of animal welfare, has that always been the case?

The real change happened when I became manager of our Brighton store in 1992. It was our third opening and I implemented many industry firsts there including sealed, air regulated animal units, birth certificates and breeder checks. Lucy, our head of training, has taken this legacy and made us the industry leader in welfare. We lose money selling pets because of our welfare policies.  https://www.petscorner.co.uk/difference/#selling-pets-the-right-way

What are the other brands you’ve introduced into the PetFamily business?

Great & Small is our accessory brand and has been for many years. Dogwood, our Natural Grooming Spa, was started a few years ago, as well as McAdams, the world’s first pet food made from whole chicken. The most recent addition is Yora, which took us five years to develop. It’s been a real challenge, which makes me even more proud of it. I want this unique product to be for the independent trade and I hope they embrace it as it gives the trade something truly unique with which to fight the corporates.

You must have received offers for your business in the past, have you ever been tempted to sell it? 

I get offers all the time but I am not interested in selling.  When the time comes for me to final retire I’d hope the business will be bought by the staff and the business will remain family orientated as it has been for the past 51 years.

What motivates you every day?

Creating new brands, improving people’s lives by giving them a business that allows them to develop and grow, and turning ugly, desolate buildings into attractive, productive places of work.

What sets your brands apart from the rest? 

Each of our brands has a unique message and most of them have been world firsts. All are best and better and enhance pet health.

What do you like about the pet industry? 

I don’t like the pet industry, I love it!  I like the fact that we are selling to pet owners who (mostly) do it for love.  Buying for your pet is not a chore.  I also think that this positivity means that generally people working in the industry are nice, decent people – that certainly that is my experience and I have many friends in the trade whether retailer, supplier or manufacturer.

In the citation announcing Dean Richmond’s Lifetime Achievement, Amanda Sizer Barrett, director general of PetQuip, said:

“The winner of this year’s PetQuip Lifetime Achievement Award has lived less than half of what we hope will be a long and happy working lifespan, but he has already packed a lifetime of achievement into his career to date!

The winner works in a company that can trace its roots back to 1968 and today it employs a workforce of around 950 and operates as far North as Newcastle and as far South as Weymouth.

The privately-owned, family business achieves sales of over £50m annually and is investing £9m currently in new stores.

The chief executive believes that in a world where online shopping is increasingly important, there is still a place for businesses on the high street and via retail outlets where service still matters.

His career may not have appeared initially to be auspicious. He attended a business course at his local College, but left after six months, then worked as sales adviser then manager in his parents’ shops for 10 years before buying the business at age 25.

In a recent interview, he said: “I look at where I am now and sometimes cannot believe it. I was always very ambitious. I have never had any strategy, except to make each shop work, and go on to open the next one.”

When asked whether, when he had made his first million, did he want to slow down?, his response was:

“That figure did not make me feel any different. I could not slow down because I love working and we only had 61 shops at the time.“

He says the secret of his success early on was just sheer determination and hard graft. A typical day would start at 6.30am loading the van with stock then working in the shop until 6 or 7pm. “I would carry on working at home until late on projects to move the business forward. I used to get paranoid that my competition would be working when I wasn’t and forge ahead. I still do. I’m proud that our company leads our industry on promoting animal welfare, and improving how pets are sold and cared for.

“I hated school and as far as I could remember I just wanted to work for myself. I used to make bird-feeders in my bedroom and sell them at school, pet shops and garden centres, delivering them on my bike. I think my lack of academic ability early on was made up for by the sheer number of hours I worked.”

He intends to carry on working “until I drop” because he gets bored when not busy and would miss the stimulus of work.

He believes In giving something back to the community. Many of the company’s staff started with the firm very young and almost all of the senior management team has come from the shop floor and some of them had difficult starts in their lives. They give 2 per cent of the firm’s profit to charity, in particular Canine Partners, which trains assistance dogs. In addition, they give more than £100,000 worth of food and products to local charities each year.

In addition our winner is planning to support young people from underprivileged backgrounds to start their own businesses.”