there is a privileged breed of beings who are accustomed to the opulence of a five-star existence. from chauffeur-driven vehicles, lavish resort getaways and personal training sessions to diamond-encrusted accessories, daily massages and weekly rendezvous with eminent coiffeurs, no indulgence is too great and no luxury is overlooked. we see them frequently on the street and even pictured in the social pages. though these lucky lads and ladies are not people; they’re pets.
gone are the days when dogs were relegated to the yard and considered ‘outside creatures’. more and more often, we find them enjoying a place of privilege in the home and sharing a status on par with people. while there are still exceptions to the rule—especially in many rural areas where some pets fulfil the role of workers rather than companions—this lavish elevation of their status in developed societies is part of a wider trend that has radiated to the retail and hospitality sectors.
based on new south wales’ picturesque central coast, pet resorts australia is one of a handful of retreats offering stellar service and luxury getaways. for $79 a day ($85 in peak season), pampered pooches can bask in the comfort of a luxury platinum holiday package, which includes a private room with plasma screen, designer bed, room service and toys. a morning cuddle and bath are also thrown into the package together with a lagoon walk or a daily swim and pet resorts australia prides itself on offering cats a similarly indulgent experience.
we have witnessed similar developments in the retail sector, with premium products becoming staple trading items for many pet stores due to an enhanced focus on the wellbeing of our furry friends. these days, you will not be stretched to find gluten-free pet food or canine couture and if your beloved moggy is in need of a pedicure you won’t have to travel far to find one.
of course this begs the question of necessity and sceptics are sure to deride such deluxe products and services for venturing into profligate territory. though if pets and their parents are happy and healthy, it renders the issue somewhat redundant. with retailers catering to that ‘feel good’ factor and consenting customers making purchases of their own free will, we can view the premium pet market in the same way as any other luxury retail sector—as a celebration of quality, a symbol of status and a harmless little nod towards what we desire rather than what is strictly necessary.
sarah hartland from on all paws is one such retailer who identified this growing trend and launched her luxury online retail boutique in 2010 selling products so premium you could be forgiven for thinking they are intended for humans. on all paws’ products range from a modestly priced $6.95 packet of jollie carob chocolate chip dog cookies to an ornate $250 pet follie collar lined with silver italian leather and encrusted with swarovski crystals. at the summit of the boutique’s offerings is an opulent collection of roving woolens bobbi dog coats that fetch the princely sum of $400 each.
“you may have heard the phrase ‘fur babies’, i think this phrase perfectly describes the way people are relating to their pets at the moment,” hartland explains. “australia has seen an increase in people’s working hours, income and stress levels and as a result, more and more young couples are holding on tightly to their careers and social lives rather than starting a family and many of these couples will buy a designer dog instead. these lucky pooches will come from the highest pedigree and they will be treated like royalty, no expense spared, because mum and dad are officially a double income, no kids couple.”
it is this majestic side of life that on all paws caters to. together with her dream of one day opening an upmarket bricks and mortar store, one of hartland’s professional goals is to eventually become the go to pet store in australia for exclusive brands such as gucci and louis vuitton. for now, however, on all paws seems to be moving firmly in this direction and is earning a reputation for stocking a whole range of catchy products.
“one of our best sellers would definitely have to be the cain & able kissable dog toothpaste and toothbrush combo,” hartland says. “our alessi pet bowl range is also extremely popular as are the nina ottosson interactive dog games.”
games aside, in the year since launching her online retail store, hartland has secured an impressive database of loyal customers and receives a steady flow of orders from all over australia. as far as she can tell, her clientele generally fall into one of three categories: young couples without children who care for their pets like offspring, older couples or individuals with adult children who have left the nest, or high-earners with disposable incomes who are passionately dedicated to pampering their pets. as such, on all paws caters to the more indulgent side of life on four legs and eschews a focus on just the basics.“we don’t sell ‘pet food’ as such but we do sell a selection of gourmet, human grade treats,” hartland says earnestly. “our most popular treats would have to be our sweet chops bake-at-home doggy cupcake kits. we love the idea of owners baking delicious treats for their dogs at home, just like a mother would bake for her child. each kit contains everything you need to bake at home, including cupcake cases and frosting.”
if you are tempted to scoff at the idea of a canine cupcake kit and dismiss it as a one-off buy, think again. hartland reports that as one of the most affordable ways to pamper one’s pet, gourmet treats such as these have been one of the steadiest sellers since her website launched.
you won’t be surprised to hear this is a trend that’s echoed around the globe. but most interesting of all is the staggering rise in popularity of diet-conscious and organic pet foods in the us, a trend that’s slowly washing onto australian shores. according to the organic trade association, annual sales of organic pet food in the us increased tenfold between 2002 and 2009, hitting us$84 million.
while the terms ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ are loosely applied, sales of these gourmet offerings are expected to grow at three times the rate of regular pet food until 2015, according to a report by david lummis at the packaged facts market research company. lummis estimates that natural and organic pet food will experience a robust annual growth rate of approximately 12 per cent each year, reaching us$2.8 billion in 2015. by contrast, he anticipates the regular pet food market will only grow a humble four per cent in the same period.
for sharon mccarthy, founding owner of paddo pets, catering to the gourmet tastes of sydney’s local eastern suburbs fauna comprises a big slice of her business. “treats, once pigs’ ears, were the number one seller, though now it is a beef pizzle, a bag of chicken breast fillets or kangaroo fillets or cubes,” she says. “in the last couple of years there has definitely been far more of a variety of exotic treats available on the market for your furry kids.”
nevertheless, mccarthy has taken the strategic step of streamlining the burgeoning number of gourmet brands on offer at paddo pets, focusing instead on supplying a variety of delectable treats and offering her clients a personalised ordering system. “when we first opened we offered almost every premium food on the market, however, each premium brand is constantly extending their range, which from my personal experience puts a substantial amount of pressure on a small business,” she explains. “for this reason we recently chose to only stock one brand of super premium dog and cat food on our shelves, which means that we order special customer requests for other brands of food twice weekly.”
personalised customer service is what mccarthy does best. as a result, paddo pets has become a local beacon renowned for its hands on approach and the minute you set foot in the vibrant store, chances are both you and your pet will be warmly greeted by name. mccarthy spared little expense when undertaking the original fitout in november 2005 and as a result, paddo pets has stood the test of time. contemporary, eye-catching and fun, its vivid signature orange and enlarged pet portraits in the store’s windows have placed it firmly on the map.
“we opened our doors with a very clean, simple, elegant website full of beautiful black and white images of local paddington pets,” mccarthy smiles. “it is our loyal, local and diverse customers and their furry little friends who make it all worth while. many of our customers are dragged in by their dogs on the way back from the park to say hello and others from all over sydney make a special trip in their car to see us on saturdays or sundays.”
since throwing open her boutique, mccarthy has steadily added a convenient assortment of services to supplement her in-store product range. in april 2008 she took the talents of a local mobile groomer under her wing and introduced a dog washing service that operated outside her shop with roaring success. by june that same year, surging customer demand enticed mccarthy to purchase a hydrobath and dryer, and a mere two months later in august she renovated paddo pets to incorporate a state of the art space dedicated exclusively to professional grooming and dog washing.
mccarthy also established a puppy school to transform boisterous and playful pooches into well mannered dogs, which kicks into gear on thursday evenings after paddo pets shuts for trading. it is this local focus and interactive service-based approach that distinguishes paddo pets from your average pet shop and supplements mccarthy’s in-store product range.
you can find everything on offer at paddo pets from a $2 bag that allows considerate owners to hygienically clean up after their dogs, to a $300 dog house with sumptuous, locally made bedding. on the services side of mccarthy’s business, a small dog wash and blow dry is priced from a comfortable $25, while a full body groom for a larger dog fetches a handsome $95.
the retail scene is not the only sector in australia exploding with products and services as devoted owners strive to give their pets the very best that money can buy. many quiet, unassuming wholesale businesses have also experienced a surge in recent years.
launched five years ago by hazel clark and her husband joe, online pet supplier hamish mcbeth operates from a warehouse in bundall, a mere stone’s throw from the sunny queensland coast. although hamish mcbeth also offers a retail channel through its website, the vast majority —70 per cent—of the company’s sales are wholesale. the regional spread of these wholesale orders sheds light on the geographic hot spots and illuminates exactly where the trend of luxury pet products has taken hold with gusto.
“we sell a lot online to rural areas but our wholesale customers are predominantly metropolitan based,” clark says. “we have more retailers in metropolitan areas than rural regions.”
hamish mcbeth specialises in products that carry a distinctly british flavour and the clarkes pride themselves on offering tradition and quality. “we operate in the discerning pet owner market—people who are brand and quality conscious—we are experiencing continued growth in this area,” she says.
while sales of luxury pet products and services may have contracted during the global financial crisis, the pet sector seems to be moving from strength to strength regardless, with many consumers barely batting an eye at a three-figure price tag and regularly splashing out to pamper their pooch or furry friends. the emergence of holiday retreats and pedicures, crystal collars and canine couture point to a single certainty—luxury goods are no longer exclusively reserved for two-legged beings. instead, they are falling into the domain of all creatures, great and small.
