Pets At Home: Owners continue to pamper their pooches despite price hikes

Pets At Home seem to have braved the doggy dog world of inflation, with the retailer announcing market share wins this morning after revealing customers are spending more than ever on their furry friends.

The largest pet supplies retailer in the country posted an underlying profit before tax of £144.7m for the whole year, trumping analyst expectations of around £141m.

The company, which has more than 450 stores, has had a successful few years, with more and more Brits buying cats and dogs as their pandemic lockdown buddies.

And unlike a lot of firms, Pets At Home appears to have sustained this momentum, and expects profit in the fiscal year 2023 to be in line with market expectations.

“The pet care market remains robust and in growth, with registrations into our Puppy & Kitten club continuing well ahead of pre-pandemic levels and growth in customer spend maintained across all categories and channels,” the company, founded by British entrepreneur Anthony Preston, said this morning.

Indeed, despite pet product prices surging 7.7 per cent, items like pet food seem to sustain against the rises. The firm confirmed that it was confident it could manage the rising prices.

Commenting on the results, Hargreaves Lansdown Equity Analyst Matt Britzman said: “The UK pet market’s grown 4% per year on a compound basis over the past 5 years and continues to look strong as the pandemic fuelled surge in pet ownership doesn’t look to be going anywhere.”

“Inflationary pressures are lingering in the background, but Pets at Home looks relatively resilient in face of those challenges with a large portion of goods sourced locally and costs initiatives in place easing the pressures”.

Lyssa McGowan is set to step into the CEO hotseat at the end of May, with Peter Pritchard stepping aside after an 11-year stint.

Shares were up nearly ten per cent this morning for the retailer.