Pet Supplies Hit $8.5 Billion, Study Says
The U.S. market for pet supplies has grown nearly 20 percent
since 2000, hitting $8.5 billion in 2004—and attracting
the attention of companies and stores not normally associated
with litter boxes, collars, flea powder, shampoo and the like.
Given the influence of global players, the growing presence
of pet products in both traditional and nontraditional retail
outlets, an ongoing surge of new premium products and the
industry’s success in playing up the human-animal bond,
U.S. retail sales of pet supplies could total $11 billion
by 2009, according to “The U.S. Market for Pet Supplies
and Pet Care Products,” a new report from Packaged Facts,
a publishing division of MarketResearch.com (New York).
”Everybody wants to get in the pet supplies act,”
said Don Montuori, acquisitions editor of Packaged Facts.
“One of the biggest market-altering forces is the entry
of more global players into the field, most notably Rayovac/Spectrum
Brands (which purchased United Pet Group and Tetra) and Sumitomo
(which acquired Hartz). Add to that the availability of pet
products in ‘alternative channel’ retailers, such
as T.J. Maxx, Home Depot, Ikea, and catalogs, such as Front
Gate, Ballard Design, L.L. Bean, Land’s End, and, of
course, the Internet.”
Additional consolidation within the U.S. pet supplies industry
is a given, with Central
Garden & Pet, Spectrum and Hartz leading the way. “All
three companies have publicly stated that they are actively
looking for deals, and these will be centered among smaller
companies with innovative properties and revenues in the $5
million to $50 million range, of which there are dozens,”
according to the report.
Despite the might of major retailers like PetsMart and Petco—which
increasingly call the shots for larger pet supplies manufacturers
just as Wal-Mart exerts tremendous pressure regarding product
development, pricing and returns over its mass-market suppliers—independent
pet stores have inherent strengths that could jibe better
with the consumer trends expected to drive this market in
the years ahead, including a growing demand for value-added
products and an appreciation for more personalized customer
service. “If service turns out to be a key luxury appeal
of the new millennium, there could even be a swing back to
smaller neighborhood stores,” the report said.
For details about the report, visit www.packagedfacts.com/pub/1070464.html
or www.marketresearch.com.
[October 2005 PET AGE]
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