Retail today and tomorrow

The first message given by Paula Flores, head of pet care at Euromonitor International, in her presentation to the International Pet Conference in Berlin was probably also one of the most important for many pet retailers across the globe: the sales figures for pet care products had risen worldwide in the last five years. A 10 per cent rise in sales figures was recorded between 2009 and 2014, along with incremental growth of USD 20 bn. Pet care sales for 2014 totalled USD 98 bn. The most important food categories were dog food and cat food, while the biggest sales growth drivers continued to be treats for dogs and cats. While dog treats exhibited a compound annual growth rate of 4.9 per cent from 2009 to 2014 in global retail value sales, this rate was as much as 8.3 per cent for cat treats. Flores also said that further consolidation of the premium and mid-price segment was generally to be observed in pet retailing, with these products accounting for 80 per cent of all dog and cat food sold. Regional diversity In spite of these global trends, however, Flores pointed to big regional differences with regard to the strong points in the respective ranges. Treats topped the sales growth in every region. In Asia, the top 5 categories with the fastest growth from 2009 to 2014 were dog treats (compound annual growth rate 5.1 per cent), supplements (5 per cent), cat treats (4.5 per cent), health care (4.2 per cent) and premium cat food (4.1 per cent). In Europe it was a different picture. The top 5 categories there were headed by cat treats with a compound annual growth rate of 27.1 per cent between 2009 and 2014, followed by premium cat food (8.9 per cent), mid-priced cat food (6.5 per cent), premium dog food (6.1 per cent) and mid-priced dog food (5.7 per cent). In Latin America, dog treats featured highest on the list with a compound annual growth rate of 9.7 per cent between 2009 and 2014, while in North America cat treats were out in front at 6.9 per cent. Slots two and three in Latin America were occupied by other pet products (9.4 per cent) and premium dog food (9.2 per cent). In North America dog treats came second (3.7 per cent) and cat litter third (1 per cent).

Pet care retailing landscape Where customers buy their products is not quite as regimented as the growth in treats in the…