"A strong quarter"

The sales figures for Pets at Home in the period up to Christmas Eve were pretty impressive. The company sold nearly 80 000 sprout-themed products, 170 000 dog outfits, 24 000 Santa hats for dogs and 22 500 Santa hats for cats. Aside from these sales, the British chain performed well in the third quarter of its financial year in the period spanning 12 October 2018 to 3 January 2019. Compared with the same period in the preceding year, the company increased its sales by 5.5 per cent to £ 213.4 mio, including omnichannel revenue, which was up by 41.5 per cent to £19 mio. Retail like-for-like revenue growth was 4.7 per cent. During the third quarter, Pets at Home added three more stores, bringing the total to 451. The company's Vet Group increased its revenue in the same period by 13.6 per cent to £ 23.8 mio, including joint-venture fee income up by 2.5 per cent to £ 12.4 mio.
The like-for-like revenue growth of the Vet Group was 9.1 per cent. In the period under review, the net number of the veterinary practices was increased by 14 to 475, 317 of which are in-store and 158 standalone. Pets at Home also augmented the number of grooming salons in the third quarter by five to 314. 59 per cent of all stores now run a veterinary practice and a grooming salon, an outstanding result compared with other pet store chains internationally.
One reason perceived by Pets at Home to be behind the company's successful development is the growth in customer loyalty. "The number of VIP members purchasing products and a service has grown 16 per cent year by year," states the store chain. "VIP member visit frequency and spend is up." The company is also pleased with the "continued growth in revenue from pet care services, with associated growth in the number of subscription customers to over 670 000." And the development of the Vet Group is proving highly satisfactory: "Customer revenue growth across all joint-venture practices remains solid at 11.9 per cent and we believe mature practices continue to grow ahead of the market."

Peter Pritchard, group chief executive officer, refers in his commentary on the latest business figures to "the exceptional performance" of the omnichannel business, which is attributable to investment at the beginning of the financial year, for example in a new…