Loyal pooches and well-mannered cats got their reward this Christmas as animal gift-giving helped to boost revenues at Britain’s largest pet shop chain.
Catnip-flavoured advent calendars and brussels sprout-shaped toys helped to lift sales at Pets at Home by 9.6 per cent to £223.3 million in the last quarter of the year.
The company has more than 430 shops and 6,000 employees. It has been cutting prices to drive sales and selling grooming services and has heavily promoted its loyalty card, which has been adopted by about 66 per cent of its customers.
The strategy appears to have borne fruit. After a disappointing Christmas the year before, merchandise revenue rose by 9 per cent and the services division rose by 13.6 per cent. The shares rose 5.9 per cent to 192¾p.
Ian Kellett, chief executive, said: “In the year since we launched our lower pricing initiatives, we have seen a strong customer response.” Pets at Home said that it was closing Barkers, its upmarket dogs-only chain, because it was no longer profitable.