Focus on premium products

When Ping Xi Wang established his pet store chain in 1999 and opened the first branch in Beijing two years later, it was on the basis of sound research. He travelled throughout Europe and the USA to look at the leading pet supplies chains, and above all he collected impressions and ideas that he could ultimately use to formulate his own concept. Eleven years after the first store opened, the Kudi Pets Group now operates 83 outlets in the east of China, employing 240 staff in all. 70 of the stores are in Beijing. By the end of 2013, the number of outlets is expected to rise to 120. Three stores have opened so far in Shanghai, and Ping Xi Wang is focusing on expansion in the port city in the coming year. All other fairly large cities in China are to get ten Kudi Pets stores each in the long term, although the entrepreneur is keeping an eye on how the economic situation develops so as to be able to react swiftly to it. Many of the stores have a grooming studio, and Kudi Pets also runs the “Kudi Pet Theme Park” close to Beijing, a sort of leisure and activity park for dogs, as well as the only dog and cat cemetery in China. An evolving concept The retail areas within the Kudi Pets Group range from 20 m² to well over 1 000 m² in size. Some stores are operated by franchisees, but most are controlled by the head office in Beijing. When asked about what he regards as the ideal size of retail area, Ping Xi Wang replies that he is still working on the perfect concept for his stores and is currently trying and testing a host of ideas. One thing that makes this more difficult, according to Ping Xi Wang, is the considerable variation in the demands made on the individual outlets depending on their geographic location. The typical customer in the heart of Beijing has entirely different requirements from the customer on the fringes of the city, not to mention customers in smaller cities. The level of awareness of the population with regard to pet owning is also still very varied. Ping Xi Wang emphasises, however, that the range in his stores is geared primarily to modern Chinese citizens with a higher income, who attach importance to higher-quality imported goods. Dogs and cats at the heart of things When it comes to the product range, however, dogs and cats are the undisputed focal point. There is a wide choice of food, treat and accessory products for these. Dog food accounts for 60 per cent and cat food for 40 per cent of overall sales of food products. The products…