PIF | PET GAZETTE | 23
VIEWPOINT
Nigel Baker , chief executive of the Pet Industry Federation , shares his views
here are some things
T
( actually many !) that I just don ’ t understand . For example , if I look out on a starry night , does the sky really go on forever and if it doesn ’ t , does that mean we are living in a giant bubble and therefore what ’ s the other side of the bubble ? However , although I can ’ t fathom out an answer to my universe question , there are things closer to home that that I think we can find answers to .
Rather bizarrely , Sainsbury ’ s and Asda are proposing a merger . Will this mean cost savings through fewer distribution centres , or fewer stores ? Or the weight of that buying power putting the screws on manufacturers ? The assumption of course is that the manufacturers are making such huge margins that they can afford to give away more margin . I am not convinced the latter is true and if they give up margin to the new JS / Asda group then Tesco will want some of that too . As a person who was involved in manufacturing for many years prior to joining the Pet Industry Federation , yielding margin was not top of my list ; but reaching a compromise deal whereby my manufacturing business grew if I helped another business with their issues certainly was .
Take , for example , selling livestock in pet shops . As a trade association , we hear how difficult it is to do , and yet how many retailers ask their key food manufacturers to help them with a free supply of food and bedding in exchange for advertising that manufacturer on the side of the animal enclosure ?
As a manufacturer it would have given me competitive advantage in your store and as a retailer it would work for you as it would save you money . And it doesn ’ t have to stop at food and bedding . What about enclosures which could be partially sponsored by a manufacturer ? It ’ s time to think outside the box and for the manufacturers to provide greater help to retailers .
Whilst thinking about food and pet shop sales , there is potential upside to being seen in the USA for pet shops . A recent report states that in 2016 non-exclusive pet shop brands accounted for 17.8 percent of pet specialty ’ s pet food sales . That was dwarfed by the 60.9 percent share for brands exclusive to pet specialty in general ( including pet superstores ) — the exclusive brands increased 6.1 points . The only other growth from 2011 to 2016 was in private label brands , but they account for just 3.8 percent of pet specialty sales . If this were to translate to the UK , it would mean that pet food brands that are exclusive to pet shops will drive both volume and loyalty . And why wouldn ’ t that make sense ? If the only place the consumer can source that product is in the pet shop then they have no choice but to shop there . However , it will take a brave manufacturer to solely back that channel when all too often we have seen the pet shops grow and develop brands only to find them on sale in a pet superstore or supermarket a few years later . Perhaps pet food manufacturers should consider a two-channel approach and give the pet retailer what they need i . e . product / brand exclusivity , not ‘ own label ’. It ’ s worth a thought manufacturers !
One of the major debates echoing around at the moment is third party sale relating to puppies . This is about people who aren ’ t the breeder of the puppy but acquire the puppy from a breeder or import the puppies from overseas . There is a call to ban these third party sales and only allow puppies to be sold by the actual breeders or acquired through rescue homes . It ’ s a great idea , endorsed by 120,000 people of a government petition and is favoured by many welfare charities . On the surface it seems a very sensible thing to do , but just how big an animal welfare problem are we dealing with ? How many puppies come through third party sellers ? Are they all ill and suffering ? How many puppies are actually bred by UK breeders ? Would a ban work or would it just drive these sales underground ? And if there was a ban and it held , should manufacturers and retailers expect to see sales reduce ? With all these unknowns , PIF feels it makes sense to develop some concrete data and give the new Animal Activities Licensing Regulations coming in this October a chance to work before we ban something based purely on emotion .
www . petgazette . biz May 2018