Pets at home continues to grow

The UK pet supplies chain Pets at home increased its sales by 14 per cent to £ 404 mio. in fiscal 2008/2009, which ended on 26 March. Sales on a comparable store area grew by 7.5 per cent compared with the previous year. Earnings before tax rose by 29 per cent to nearly £ 40 mio. The speciality group, which is owned by the private equity firm Bridgepoint, stated that the trade in its private label lines “Complete”, “Purely” and “Wainwrights” (all in the food segment) along with “Boutique” and “Willows” (in the accessory segment) had developed well. 208 new products were introduced in the last financial year alone. During the year Pets at home opened 19 new stores, bringing the number of outlets it now operates to 232. The company has also increased the number of aquarium centres in the stores by six to ten. The chain has opened nine new veterinary practices in stores too, increasing the total number to 51.