The price war intensifies

One factor that clearly distinguishes the Dutch market from others is the considerable importance of the speciality trade as a distribution channel. Experts assume that 60 per cent of all sales are transacted in speciality pet stores, garden centres, DIY stores and agricultural stores. Large-format pet product stores of the kind found in France and Germany are seldom seen in the Netherlands outside the conurbations of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Depending on the definition, the number of speciality pet stores varies between 1 500 and 2 000, and this number decreases year by year. 60 to 70 per cent of all Dutch speciality pet stores, it is estimated, are independent and do not belong to any franchise or cooperative. Their market presence exhibits correspondingly little structure. Many pet shops are located in neighbourhood shopping centres, termed "winkelcentrum" in the Netherlands. These smaller shopping centres are encountered mainly in well-frequented suburban areas of large cities. Most of them boast ample car parking, making them very attractive to consumers.Garden centre groups like Intratuin, for example, are one of principal distribution channels in the Netherlands.One reason why large-format stores still tend to be a rarity in the Netherlands can be found in the restrictive building codes that set strict limits on the establishment of large stores. This is the reason, for example, why the speciality discounter Jumper, a cooperative partner of the Fressnapf speciality chain, has resorted to setting up a second distribution channel "De Dierenwereld" in addition to its own stores. Pet product departments are being established under this umbrella in garden centres and DIY stores. And the Malenstein Group (which includes "Pet's Place", Dierenland, VNK, Petlog, CINK) has been adding pet departments to the 80 Boerenbond stores it acquired as well as to Welkoop outlets over the last two years.The speciality discount chain Jumper is every bit as aggressive as the supermarket chains when it comes to pricing.The diversity in the Dutch speciality pet product trade is enormous. Many of the traditional pet shops are organised in the trading groups Faunaland and Discus. Pet's Place, Pets Family and Jumper also have a high profile in the Dutch pet product sector, and the 200 or so ambulant shops providing a personal service in the main brands of common dog and cat food to consumers such as senior citizens or the handicapped should not be forgotten either.Garden…