part of your family - Business in Focus Magazine

PART OF YOUR FAMILY
PETSTOCK
A S F E AT U R E D I N B U S I N E S S I N F O C U S
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FOCUS ON: PETSTOCK
PART OF YOUR FAMILY
PETSTOCK
PETstock began with a dream the Young family had.
According to General Manager of Retail Operations Andrew Gibbs, in 1991 the Young family took ownership of
Ballarat Produce and after a short time realised that the
business needed to diversify. The family started with the
traditional stock and produce products, but expanded
to incorporate more domestic pet lines…
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FOCUS ON: PETSTOCK
Written by Jen Hocken
PETstock is a large franchise that services all
pets and their owners. It has expanded so thoroughly that virtually all pet needs can be met in
the store. PETstock has evolved by constantly innovating and listening to its customers, offering the
many benefits of its Member’s club, and providing a
wonderful store experience. This year marks the tenth
anniversary of PETstock, a milestone it has achieved
due to its high quality products, competitive prices,
top customer service and strong relationships with
local suppliers. It started out as a small business, yet
PETstock has grown to be a market leader in the pet
and produce industry.
“PETstock is known for having good
relationships with its local suppliers
and their staff members.”
It all began with a dream the Young family had. According to General Manager of Retail Operations
Andrew Gibbs, in 1991 the Young family took ownership of Ballarat Produce and after a short time realised
that the business needed to diversify. The family
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PART OF YOUR FAMILY
PETSTOCK
started with the traditional stock and produce products,
but expanded to incorporate more domestic pet lines
since there was incredible growth potential in that industry. After the move was made, the business suddenly
attracted a brand new group of customers because Ballarat was able to meet the needs of all different animals.
Inspired by this success, in 1997 the Young family purchased another produce store in Horsham and used the
same concept, and over the next four years the stores
continued to grow until reaching the point where the
domestic pet section was the main attraction. In 2001, a
third store opened in Warrnambool, which is when the
decision to start franchising was made. This was the time
to begin building a strong brand image, as well as sound
policies and procedures and logistical infrastructure, in
order to be more successful than competitor pet supply
operations. Rod McGregor, a staff member at Ballarat, is
the one who came up with the PETstock name; he felt
that PETstock captured everything about the business in
one, easy to remember word.
The business was then broken down into six different
groups; equine, canine, feline, bird & poultry, fish &
reptile and small animal. To create the logo, the P E T was
capitalised and bold-ed to illustrate the main focus of the
business, and the word ‘stock’ was added because it represents the history of the company and the large range
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FOCUS ON: PETSTOCK
of products. The colourful vertical bands reflect the
six different segments of the business. The next
step was to recruit others to join the franchise. PETstock was inaugurated in September 2002 with these
stores: Ballarat, Horsham, Castlemaine, Albion Park
Rail, Wollongong, Newcastle, Stawell, Gisborne,
Belmont and Coffs Harbour, and it has grown to be a
market leader today.
PETstock is known for having
good relationships with its
local suppliers and their staff
members. Shane and David
Young, the founders of PETstock, have always had strong
relationships with their business partners. Open and honest
discussion quickly built trust
and confidence in the company’s commercial relationships. With the mantra,
“PETstock is part of your family”, the company is
based on loyalty, trust and fun. These values have
been maintained for ten years because of the good
people throughout the entire company, who work
together to listen to franchisees and remain involved
in daily operational challenges, local events and as-
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PART OF YOUR FAMILY
sisting with individual and team goals. 2012 marks the
10th anniversary of PETstock, and this accomplishment will be celebrated by all the staff, franchisees
and members. According to Andrew Gibbs, “These occasions are a great way to reflect on our journey and
thank our customers for all their support.” At present,
there are 74 stores within Australia, and 750 cumulative staff members in the PETstock franchise.
“With the mantra,
‘PETstock is part
of your family’, the
company is based on
loyalty, trust and fun.”
A truly modern company, PETstock maintains a comprehensive and user-friendly
website, with information on the large range of store
services available including pet training, ID engraving,
pet grooming, veterinary consultations and services,
aquarium testing service, do-it-yourself dog wash,
and the pet adoption program. These services can all
be found in-store, which differentiates PETstock from
PETSTOCK
other competitors and gives people even more reasons
to shop at PETstock. The pet training, for example, is
an extensive training program with highly qualified
staff. There is also information available on pet care
for all different animals, directly from PETstock veterinarian Dr Rod Sharpin. Another bonus of shopping at
PETstock is the Member club. Members are provided
with tips and advice on caring for pets, plus exclusive
catalogue offers, events and promotions. Members
also get access to the frequent feeders program where
every eleventh bag of premium food is free. PETstock
has always been a leader in terms of the quality of the
products offered on the shelf, but to be mindful of the
current economic environment, prices are very competitive and there are some incredible sales. Since
people are more selective with their spending now,
the Member club has become very popular, with over
720,000 members at present. It should be noted that
stores do not sell puppies or kittens in store.
The Pet of the Month is another interesting element
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FOCUS ON: PETSTOCK
of the PETstock website. There are past photos to look
through and enjoy, and visitors can submit photos
directly on the website, from whence they are then
uploaded onto the PETstock Facebook page for the
18,000-strong community to vote on.
“At present, there are 74 stores within
Australia, and 750 cumulative staff
members in the PETstock franchise.”
The company’s online store can ship products to addresses within Australia, and PETstock anticipates that
this tool will only grow as consumers continue to test all
shopping mediums. The in-store experience, however,
remains the preferred option for many customers
because of the friendly staff and special events. For instance, PETstock has an “Up To 100% Off Sale”, where
customers have the chance to receive their entire
purchase for free. In store, customers get to engage
more with the staff and benefit from their experience
and high levels of training. These are just some of the
benefits to in-store shopping, because there is always
something exciting to do at PETstock.
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PART OF YOUR FAMILY
There is, of course, a lot of competition for customer
attention; therefore marketing methods are very important. PETstock understands this and chooses to
access the public in as many ways as possible. Most
marketing is done through above the line media including TV, Radio, Press and catalogue drops for
sales events. The PETstock Facebook page is really all
about the community, used as a forum to celebrate
pets and keep fans engaged with what is happening
at the store. This includes competitions and giveaways, Q & A’s with industry experts, and customers
are also asked for their feedback on products and
promotions, which the company then takes to heart.
The future of PETstock promises to be bright. The
four divisions of Marketing, Supply, Retail Operations and Accounting & IT are always looking for new
projects to set the company apart. PETstock is now
focusing on reviewing the brand to ensure it stays as
relevant as possible to its main customers and to continue creating connections with them. There are also
plans to ensure that PETstock is positioned to service
as many Australian families as possible.
“The PETstock Facebook page is
PETSTOCK
really all about the community, used
as a forum to celebrate pets and keep
fans engaged…”
It is obvious, with the large amount of different services, that pets are more than just a business idea to
the PETstock company. It is very clear that the staff
themselves are animal lovers and they do whatever
they can to help customers and their pets. The com-
pany’s generosity is illustrated through the PETstock
Foundation, which is a charity arm of the business
that aims to strengthen the bond between humans
and pets through support to relevant organisations. According to Andrew Gibbs, PETstock has to
date raised over $360,000 for beneficiaries including Assistance Dogs Australia, flood and bushfire
relief programs, and Monash University’s “Animals
as Therapists” program.
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FOCUS ON: PETSTOCK
“It is obvious that pets are more than
just a business idea to the PETstock
company…”
Gibbs, the dog wash is, “Just like washing your car – only
more fun and you can put an extra wag in their tail with
a treat or toy.”
All aspects of caring for pets are taken care of by
PETstock, and it is easy to trust the advice and high
quality products on offer. To save more money and
have access to fun events and promotions, join the
Member club, or bring your dog when going shopping
and visit the do-it-yourself dog wash. According to Mr
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PART OF YOUR FAMILY
PETSTOCK
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PET STOCK
1/300B GILLIES STREET
BALLARAT, VIC 3350
PH: (03) 5335 5499
FAX: (03) 5336 3308
www.petstock.com.au
675 Victoria Street | Abbotsford VIC 3067
Phone: 02 8412 8119 | ABN 93 143 238 126