Consumers still splurging on furry friends

01/19/2009 (2 h 31 m ago)

Shoppers may be holding back spending on themselves as the economy goes into recession but they are apparently still willing to splurge on their furry friends. The nation's largest retailer of pet products, Pets at Home, said today that it experienced strong sales growth over Christmas, at a time when other retailers were struggling. It sold more than a quarter of a million Christmas-themed cat and dog toys over the festive season and customers bought over 300,000 special Christmas stockings for their favourite animals. Overall the company, acquired by buy-out group Bridgepoint for £230m in 2004, said like-for-like sales were up 10.4% over the six weeks to January 8. As a result, for the financial year to date – the 41 weeks from March 28 – like-for-like sales are up 7.2% and total sales are up 13.4%. "While the economic environment is challenging for all retailers, the continued strengthening of our offer coupled with our store-opening programme and the exceptional talent and dedication of our people gives us confidence for the future," said Pets at Home's chief executive, Matt Davies. The cold winter has also seen strong sales of the company's wildlife range as homeowners worried about their local wildlife start stocking up their bird tables. Sales of foods rich in fat and protein that help birds combat the freezing temperatures have been particularly strong. Pets at Home Retail industry Private equity Recession Animals guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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