Even an award-winning pet store like Not Just Pets in Bath has a battle on its hands during challenging economic times but it consistently finds ways to stay successful. Here's what owner Janine Tozer has to say about winning the battle for customers...

What have been the successes of 2013?

The successes this year for us have been all our awards – PetQuip, National Pet Month and meeting Theo Paphitis at the #SBS Winners Event in 2013 – plus, surviving!

What are the challenges still facing the industry?

The challenges are definitely online retailers and all the other supermarket and department stores such as John Lewis, Tesco, Poundstretcher, Amazon and the like, taking on pet product and pet food ranges. There are many manufacturers whom independent retailers supported when they started out and who promised never to go into supermarkets and have sadly backtracked on those promises and have forgotten who helped to get them to their current level of success.

What are the opportunities going forwards?

Opportunities going forward include really good support from high quality food manufacturers providing excellent nutrition for pets and who won't sell to all and sundry, including the likes of Gentle, Pure, Canagan, etc. Combining services with vets, groomers, etc in-house can all help to lift the profile and establish the independent pet retailer as part of the local community.

Getting involved and communicating with other local businesses and organisations and collaborating is another way of winning the battle. Concentrating on excellent customer service is key and providing a destination and shopping experience for customers. Making good use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest - these can all provide new avenues of revenue and attract new customers. Another opportunity is joining up with MyHigh.st, a virtual local high street for customers and using the 'click and collect' concept on websites. 

What are the reasons for optimisim?

The economy is said to be on the turn again so hopefully people will have more money in their pockets and will go back to spending more on their pets again, including those extra accessories and treats and bigger set-ups and aquariums. It will be a while coming, possibly, but if we can provide the products and the service, hopefully customers will keep coming back.