Pet departments in garden centres offer huge potential
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Andy Reed, sales and marketing director for Crown Pet Foods’ two brands Royal Canin and James Wellbeloved, believes 2013 offers many opportunities, especially in garden centres...
“Ever increasing specialisation is the way forward," says Andy. "Being a specialist, an expert in everything a pet needs, is the pet trade’s outstanding asset, and as customers become more and more demanding specialists continue to be even better placed to meet their needs.
“In relation to specialisation, we’ve clearly identified small dogs and cats as a market sector where the pet specialist can have the edge, with new launches for both Royal Canin and James Wellbeloved. Nutritional needs drive our product development, but they also give the pet sector another way to differentiate themselves and make themselves invaluable to customers.
“For the garden centre trade, I think the pet element still has a huge amount of potential. Some outlets are doing really well, and are reaping the benefits of year round footfall and sales in what is traditionally a seasonal industry, and we are looking forward to working with others to extend the opportunities.”
When asked what challenges lay ahead for the industry, Andy replied: “Clearly the economic situation is one we are all keeping a very close eye on, but so far pet owners have remained very loyal to the specialist pet trade and we and our trade partners are not seeing any significant trading down, certainly in the food sector. I think this is because owners are more and more aware of the long-term benefits of the right diet for their pet, and once they’ve found a diet that suits they can see that their pet is thriving.
“The less than lovely weather in 2012 has meant a hard year for many garden centres, and one of the challenges for your industry is increasing year-round footfall – which is of course where a really good pet department comes in! Pet owners need to buy their pet food regularly, and while there they can take advantage of impulse purchase opportunities and services you offer such as cafes.
“A challenge for us all – manufacturers and retailers alike – is to make sure that pet owners understand the depth and breadth of what the pet trade can offer, and make sure we give consumers a reason to seek out our shops and our brands.
“This is something we constantly try and address, with initiatives like Ambition for the Specialist Trade, a complete package for participating retailers, and consumer activities like Royal Canin’s Summer of the Cat programme, where we go out into major shopping malls and really sell the concept of specialist nutrition to cat owners.”
Royal Canin has just launched Canine Health Nutrition, a range dedicated to small dogs, and the brand's first foray into wet dog food via the pet sector.
"It is something we have done very successfully via the vet sector for many years," said Andy. "This move brings the benefits of Health Nutrition – very high quality products, tailored diets to the needs of individual animals – to the wet dog food sector.
“Our Ambition for the Specialist Trade programme is about being as close to our customers as possible, so that we can grow the market for everyone – retailers, ourselves and even our competitors. The stronger the partnership, the better the result, so by dealing direct with our customers and delivering to them ourselves we can drive the growth of not just dog and cat foods but the pet sector as a whole.
“For me, this is a cause of great optimism. There is still, even today in 2013, enormous untapped potential for the specialist pet sector, and it is something we want to unleash so we can all – from pets to producers – share in the opportunities.”
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