The winners of the 2019 PetQuip UK Pet Retailer of the Year, Just for Pets, have had an astonishing change of fortunes since they went into administration just two years ago.

The future for the pet retail chain looked bleak in September 2017, until it was bought out of administration by Pedigree Wholesale. Almost immediately, the focus of the business changed to put the wellbeing of pets to the forefront – and some very brave decisions were taken about the future direction of the business.

Paul Lewis, General Manager, explained: “Our company strapline is ‘Passionate Pet People’ so we brought this to life in our stores.

“The other thing we did was to close our retail website in order to focus on the theatre and engagement within our stores to drive sales. As you will be aware this bucked the current trend of retail and was a risk - as we focused on bricks rather than clicks.”

This change of direction bought a new lease of life to the company’s 16 stores across the Midlands and Cambridgeshire. Staff were trained to provide support and advice around the premium products on sale, and shops were revamped to make them more engaging and inviting to customers, for example by placing large packaging-free natural treats ranges right at the entrance, creating a talking point and an inviting experience for pets and their owners.

Just for Pets is also looking to make some of its stores specialist shops, depending on the needs of the locality. The company is shying away from the one-size-fits-all approach practised by some other pet retail chains.

Paul said: “We see this desire to try new things as not only exciting for our customers and their pets, but our teams are constantly at the forefront of new initiatives. This makes their roles very interesting and engaging, making for a better overall customer experience.”

The experience of going into receivership was obviously a bleak one for the Just for Pets teams. But now they have pulled themselves up and are enjoying the new challenges and a brighter future.

The PetQuip Award judges said: “It was obvious to us that a significant investment of money, time and staff training had been made. To see a retail chain that is now back to sales growth, receiving positive customer feedback and offering market leading products and services to their loyal customer base couldn't be anything else but a winner.

“It was also obvious from a store visit to the site in Coventry that considerable expertise had been put to bear in the merchandising of the store, and there was a pride in the way that everything had been laid out.”

Paul said: “This award brings a huge sense of pride to the team, we are no longer the Just for Pets that went into administration…we are the Just for Pets that is 2019 PetQuip Pet Retailer of the Year. It is difficult to put into words how much that means.”