Sales growth still only modest

The pet product market in France was worth a total of € 3.149 bn in 2004, it was revealed in the latest survey by Promojardin/Prom’Animal. It is noticeable that the individual pet groups have developed very differently. The dog and cat segments, which account for 84 per cent of the overall market, only grew very slightly in the period under review compared with the previous year. Sales of food and accessories for dogs in 2004 came to € 1 530 bn, equivalent to modest growth of 0.6 per cent compared with the previous year. The cat segment fared even worse, achieving an increase of just 0.1 per cent over the previous year, with total sales of € 1.111 bn. Sales of aquarium products totalled € 192 mio in 2004, likewise constituting only low growth of 0.6 per cent compared with 2003, but the remaining segments in the pet product sector showed more pleasing development. The small mammal (€ 134 mio) and bird (€ 130 mio) segments grew in the review period by 5.4 and 4 per cent respectively, while sales of garden pond products rose in 2004 by 5.2 per cent to € 52 mio.
In view of the price competition in the supermarkets, sales of pet food remained static in the review period at € 2.324 bn. The hygiene and care sector did better, growing by 3 per cent compared with 2003 to € 300 mio. Sales of accessories also increased by 3 per cent to € 525 mio in the period covered by the survey.
With regard to distribution channels, the supermarkets continue to lead the way, with a market share of 59 per cent and sales amounting to € 1.853 bn, although their share has fallen from 61 per cent in 2003 and as much as 65 per cent in 2002. In the speciality trade, the agricultural trading organisations and veterinarians are among the principal beneficiaries. While the agricultural retail trade grew by 8.2 per cent in 2004 to € 247 mio, sales by vets rose by 7.8 per cent to € 357 mio. The agricultural trade increased its market share from 6 per cent to 8 per cent and the vets’ share went up from 10 to 11 per cent. Garden centre chains also performed exceptionally well in the review period, increasing their sales by 6.6 per cent to € 338 mio, equivalent to a market share of 11 per cent (2003: 10 per cent). The organised speciality pet product retailers saw a 6.9 per cent increase over their sales the previous year to € 102 mio in 2004, giving them a market share of 3 per cent, the same as the DIY store sector, where pet product sales grew by 6 per cent to € 82 mio. Only the independent pet…