Enthusiasm for pets increasing

Ace Hardware, the largest hardware franchise company in the world, operates around 5 000 stores selling DIY products and building materials in over 60 countries. In the USA alone, the company claims to have over 4 600 outlets. In addition to products for DIY and gardening enthusiasts, many Ace Hardware stores stock food and accessories for pets. Market opportunities for DIY stores Ace Hardware isn’t alone in this regard. The number of home improvement stores including cat food, toys for small animals and dog leashes in their ranges is growing continuously. The reasons for this are pretty obvious: many DIY store operators want to counter the argument that, in spite of women’s liberation, their clientele is still made up largely of men. As a result, more and more “women’s” products have been introduced into DIY store ranges in the last few years: accessories for the home, decorating products, garden accessories – and also pet products. This move makes sense, for women all over the world have the main responsibility for feeding and looking after pets. DIY store managers reason as follows: When out doing the family shop, why shouldn’t women be able to get their pet requisites in the DIY store while their husbands are trying out drills a few departments away? But it’s not only women who can be enticed into the DIY store with pets; kids are the customers of tomorrow and when it comes to shopping, they are often the real decision-makers in the family, even at an early age. And kids are enchanted by pets. In many DIY stores they get their money’s worth, because it is far from unusual nowadays for DIY stores to sell pets too. The pet departments are usually located in or close to the gardening section in DIY stores, and with good reason: many people with gardens also own a pet. It’s convenient, therefore, if they can purchase dog treats and pond food in their chosen home improvement store alongside plants and soil. For the store operator, this offers an opportunity to tie these customers to their store in the long term. The wider the range of goods they find in the DIY store, the more frequently they will visit. DIY store operators enjoy good market prospects especially in countries where the pet supplies trade is as yet unstructured. Owing to their normally limited retail area, small, independent pet shops are not able to display ranges such as aquarium sets or bird and small mammal cages, which take up a lot of space, on a grand scale. Even the presentation of…