More sales with more pets

As in the rest of Europe, Scandinavia has its economic and social problems. Unemployment and lower salary increases mean that consumers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland too are buying less and are keeping a closer eye on prices. Nevertheless, plenty of money is evidently still being spent on ensuring the welfare of pets, which have long since been regarded as members of the family in all the Scandinavian countries. And in spite of all the features that the pet product markets in the respective Scandinavian countries have in common, there are still quite a few differences between them.DenmarkThe pet product market in Denmark grew last year by approx. 1 per cent to DKR 1 101.8 mio (€ 196.884 mio). Compared with the previous year, growth in the pet food segment at 1.1 per cent was slightly stronger in 2004 than that of pet care products, sales of which increased by 0.7 per cent. With 75 per cent of sales, dog and cat food accounts for the lion's share of the total market. Since the level of coverage of ready food in Denmark is only 50 to 55 per cent, according to current industry data, considerable market potential still exists. As Euromonitor has found, there is a growing trend in Denmark above all towards premium products.Although food for ornamental fish and birds and small animals exhibited a stronger increase than dog and cat food, with growth of 2 per cent over the previous year, it still only accounts for a small share of the market as a whole. Sales of these products in 2004 came to DKR 71.2 mio (€ 9.569 mio).With regard to pet care products, cat litter is the most significant product with a share of 50 per cent of the segment. The trend was comparatively good for this product last year, with sales growing by 2 per cent. Growth was less dynamic in pet healthcare and dietary supplements, according to Euromonitor.The population figures for pets, which increased again last year, bolster hopes of a promising future. The number of dogs and cats in Denmark increased by 6 per cent between 1999 and 2004. Not including ornamental fish, the number of pets in Denmark is estimated at 1.921 mio. Cats are the most popular pets, with a population of 653 000, followed by dogs (590 000), small animals (355 000), ornamental birds (224 500) and reptiles (99 000).Number of pets in Denmark 1999 - 2004 (in 100 000)(download pdf-file)Pet product market in Denmark 2004 (in € mio)(download pdf-file)SwedenSweden tops the list of consumers of industrially manufactured dog…