Quality before price

"We continued to win new customers after a great first quarter (October to December 2018), where like-for-like sales rose by 4.7 per cent and Ebitda increased by 8 per cent to £3.52 mio on the previous year's same quarter," points out CEO Dean Richmond. The pet retailer, which has been trading since 1968, started this year with the opening of its 150th store in Cobham, around 30 km south of London. The company forecasts an increase in turnover to £58.2 mio and Ebitda to £8.7 mio by the end of the financial year in September.
Pets Corner aims to stay ahead of its retail competitors by focusing more and more on natural products. The company has just introduced Yora, a sustainable dog food, which is made using black soldier fly larvae. Another string to its success is Dogwood, an in-house natural pet grooming spa, which features in nine of its stores. "Over the next five years, we plan to open Dogwood grooming spas in 60 locations at a cost of £2.7 mio," says Dean Richmond.

The company wants to continue its concept by building on further innovations to encourage customer loyalty and increase sales. Examples of this are Puppy Hour, a free club for puppies to make friends, and the new ROR range of raw foods. "We believe that despite the competition posed by online shopping, pet owners will always want to visit stores that can offer them expert advice as well as wanting to take advantage of services that cannot be provided online," adds Dean Richmond. In fact, 98 per cent of sales take place in store at Pets Corner, not online. The company has no intention of changing its concept in the next few years.