A dynamic market

"A rising tide lifts all boats," is a saying that seems perfectly apt for describing the 2018 Pet Business Top 25 Retailers list, which reveals extraordinary growth among North America's largest pet store chains as the pet care market grew to reach an estimated $69 bn in sales in 2017. The total number of stores (6 232) represents a 679-store (12 per cent) increase during a period of a little more than 12 months. Of course, PetSmart and Petco maintained their positions as no. 1 and no. 2 on the list. Interestingly, however, the two big-box chains continue to account for a smaller and smaller percentage of the total number of stores operated by the top 25 retailers overall. For example, while almost 58 per cent of the stores represented the on list in 2014 were operated by PetSmart or Petco, that number dropped to 56 per cent in 2016, 54 per cent in 2017, and now 52 per cent in this year's edition. The implication, it seems, is that the rest of the field is slowly but surely catching up to the top two players in the pet speciality channel.

PetSmart defended its position as the no. 1 chain on the Top 25 Retailers list again in 2017 by continuing to grow in diverse directions. While the company made a big splash in the world of e-commerce with the acquisition of Chewy.com early in the year, increasing the number of physical locations it operates (currently more than 1 600 in all) remains a priority for industry's big-box leader. "Continuing to expand our brick-and-mortar footprint is an important part of our strategy to be the most convenient, best-in-class pet retailer," says Brian Amkraut, PetSmart's executive vice-president of store operations, services, supply chain and real estate.
Pet Supplies Plus (PSP) has been a fixture near the top of the Retailers list - at no. 4 in this year's edition. North America's largest pet store franchise has cemented its position by adding more than 50 locations over the past year. This represents the latest in a series of increases in PSP's growth rate over the past several years: the chain averaged 13 new store openings annually in 2012 and 2013, before adding about 23 new locations each year in 2014 and 2015, and 44 locations in 2016. "Over the short term, we're looking at adding anywhere from 55 to 65 new locations annually," CEO Chris Rowland says. While the chain has traditionally been split evenly between franchise and corporate locations, Rowland says that PSP's recent growth is skewing more toward…