Читать книгу Careers with Dogs - Kim Campbell Thornton - Страница 7

The Pet Industry in America

The rise of the pet industry started in the 1960s, when dogs and cats began making their way into our hearts as more than mere animals on whom we spent only what we had to. Signs of this cultural change included the advent of mass-merchandised convenience foods and premium diets for animals, the introduction of more advanced training techniques, and the emergence of publications dedicated to pets and their care. Pet-related companies that got their start in the 1960s were at the forefront of what would become a multibillion-dollar industry.

Today, the pet industry encompasses food, veterinary care, supplies, nonprescription medications, and pet services such as grooming and boarding. Researchers estimate that pet owners spent $45.4 billion on their animals in 2009, up from $43.2 billion in 2008 and $17 billion in 1994. All this recent spending occurred during one of the biggest recessions this country has ever seen. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the pet industry is now the seventh-largest retail segment in the country, ahead of the toy industry and the candy industry. Pet-supply sales are increasing—5 to 7 percent annually—while sales of baby supplies are decreasing.

What’s Fueling the Growth?

What’s fueling the explosion in the buying of pet services and products among consumers? Several factors, including the time constraints that are experienced by two-income families, more disposable income among empty nesters and childless couples, and a desire for high-tech and high-end products and better animal health care.

At the PetSmart grooming salon in Woodhaven, Michigan, Emily Meadows bathes a customer. Grooming and other pet services are in high demand among dog owners.

Less Time, More Disposable Income

Baby boomers with empty nests and young married professionals with no kids and lots of disposable income drive the spending on pets. Dual-career couples have a two-pronged motivation for their pet-spending habits.

First, purchasing treats, toys, or other special items for their animals brings the owners pleasure. Second, many of them work long hours and are not able to spend as much time with their pets as they would like, so they pay other professionals—such as pet sitters and dog walkers—to ensure that their animals get the necessary exercise and companionship. Dog owners also spend their money on services such as grooming, boarding, massage, and yoga.

High-Tech Gadgets and High-End Products

Thanks to pet owners’ interest in and concern for the well-being of their animals, products for companion animals now extend far beyond traditional necessities. Among the high-tech items for pets are computerized ID tags, GPS tracking devices for lost pets, and programmable feeding and drinking systems. High-end pet supplies include decorator daybeds and designer collars and clothing by such companies as Coach and Burberry. Companies known for catering to people—Paul Mitchell, Omaha Steaks, Origins, Harley-Davidson, and Old Navy, for instance—also offer lines of pet products that include shampoo, treats, clothing, and toys.

These brands don’t slap their names on just anything. The Omaha Steaks Steak Treats for Dogs and Cats, which resemble the beef jerky the company produces for people, are made from the same premium Midwestern beef as the human version, minus the high levels of sodium and certain spices that might not agree with a dog’s or cat’s digestive system. The John Paul Pet company, which was created by the cofounder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair-care products, tests its shampoos and conditioners on people first to ensure that they won’t irritate the sensitive skin of pets. Harley-Davidson’s pet collection includes denim and leather jackets, riding goggles, bandanas, and spiked leather collars for dogs who ride shotgun in a sidecar or a motorcycle dog carrier.

A canine biker sports a Harley-Davison jacket and cap. People are clamoring for high-end brand-name pet apparel.

The most stylish pets—or at least the ones with the most stuff—have carryalls for their paraphernalia, which can include a blanket, a folding water dish, a water bottle, and poop-pickup bags. Coat wipes and air fresheners keep pets and cars (as well as homes) smelling clean. Some automobile manufacturers even design optional dog-safety features for their cars and SUVs. Car harnesses, seatbelts, and car seats for dogs have proliferated.

The Best Animal Health Care

Many dog owners want to ensure that their animals get the best health care available, from high-end diagnostics to pain relief to complementary therapies such as acupuncture and chiropractic. To help pay for it, they’re turning to pet health insurance.

Online veterinary pharmacies meet pet owners’ needs by providing home delivery of medications, usually at lower prices. With these trends in mind, more and more veterinary practices offer levels of care approaching that for people.

Pet-Friendly Environments

Businesses not traditionally pet-related are getting into the act, as well. Hotels across the country, including luxury resorts, not only have adopted pet-friendly policies but also are actively courting pet owners. They are offering special meals, dog walking, pet sitting, and spa services for the animals of guests. Similar trends in pet-friendly environments include restaurants with outdoor seating areas for people with pets, walk-up windows at Starbucks so dog lovers don’t have to leave their pets outside when they order, and shopping centers that welcome animals, such as Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, Virginia, and Fashion Island in Newport Beach, California.

More Sources for Pets and Products

The growth in sales of specialty foods, toys, luxury items, and convenience accessories comes from passionate pet people who seek selection, style, and originality in the items they choose for their animals. They want products as good as those they’d purchase for themselves and ones that will match the style and décor of their homes, whether they live in a Colonial saltbox, a California bungalow, or a New York high-rise exuding global chic. No wonder pet products can be found not only in traditional pet-supply stores but also in discount, warehouse, home improvement, and lawn and garden stores as well as in freestanding independent pet boutiques that sell specialty items and treats.

The dot-com bust of the 1990s was a mere bump in the road for online pet suppliers. They include not only the major players, such as PETCO and PetSmart, but also small businesses that focus on one product or a collection of unique products. The Web sites of these suppliers have increasingly sophisticated design and usability.

Bill and Jack Kelly: Brothers with a Passion for Nutrition

Two brothers and World War II army vets, Bill and Jack Kelly of Medina, Ohio, established Bil-Jac Foods in 1947. The first product the company introduced was Bil-Jac Frozen Dog Food, which boasted fresh meat sources and little processing. For more than sixty years, the company has remained family-owned and–operated, and the company’s credo remains “making pet food is our only business, our life’s work, and our passion.” Bil-Jac has built its business on investing in putting more quality ingredients in the bag and fewer dollars into marketing. The company claims to have revolutionized the dog-food industry with its “exclusive nutrient protection technology,” which involves how high-quality proteins are pasteurized and vacuum-dried to preserve the integrity of the amino acids needed for proper nutrition and digestion.

As pet adoptions have increased, so too have the avenues for acquiring a pet. Prospective pet owners are no longer limited to breeders or to animal shelters in their immediate areas. With the advent of pet-adoption Web sites and rescue Web sites for individual breed and all-breed rescue groups, as well as informative Web sites created by breed clubs, people have more alternatives and opportunities for acquiring a dog.

It’s much easier now to find a good breeder through a breed-club Web site or to find exactly the type of dog you’d like to adopt because of the greater access provided by the Internet to many different shelters and rescue groups.

What does all of this mean? It means that pets are more than companions; they’re big business. Target, Wal-Mart, Costco, and IKEA are among the big-box retailers catering to pet owners by expanding their selections of pet products and offering products stamped with their own labels. Colgate-Palmolive and Nestlé entered the field by purchasing pet-food manufacturers Hill’s and Ralston-Purina, respectively. Industry analysts expect the amount of money spent on pets to increase.

Saturation will happen at some point in time, but experts believe that the pet industry is still at the low end of the growth curve. This means that opportunities abound for people who are interested in careers in this wide-open field.