Every story we've run.
303 stories on the business of pet retail. Browse by section.
Standlee Wants Hay Merchandised Like a Supplement
The company is positioning forage around education and quality. That creates a specific economics question for independents.
3 min read · Aug 4
A 130-Decibel Leash Has a Shelf Placement Problem
The merchandising call: leash aisle where it competes on price, or impulse zone where the safety story can actually land?
3 min read · Aug 3
PetAg Went Into 2,000 Tractor Supply Doors With Your Endcap Set
The brand you built your puppy nutrition set around committed inventory to 2,000 chain doors. There is a call to make.
3 min read · Aug 3
Do Occasion SKUs Earn Permanent Facings or a Seasonal Endcap?
The Honest Kitchen launched bake mixes. The real question: do occasion SKUs earn permanent facings or seasonal rotation?
3 min read · Aug 3
Petco Put an Off-Price CFO in Charge of Its Audit Committee
Jeffrey Naylor's resume is off-price retail and inventory discipline. That's not the hire you make for growth, it's the one you make when the board wants tighter margins.
4 min read · Aug 3
One Percent of Every Bag Goes to the Red Cross. Run the Margin Math.
The donation model gives you a cause story without negotiating your own charity partnership or sacrificing margin.
3 min read · Aug 3
Terriers Are Selling in 11 Days and Your Small-Breed Logic Is Dated
Pets4Homes data shows working breeds overtaking doodles for the first time in years, and the SKU mix that worked in 2023 stops working now.
4 min read · Aug 3
Charterhouse Bought 150 Animal Health Brands, Dental Among Them
Charterhouse bought Animalcare Group and took it private. The playbook that kept those SKUs stable has flipped.
3 min read · Aug 3
Subscriptions Hit 15.3% at Pets at Home. Product-Only Is the Decline.
The UK's biggest pet chain expanded clinical staff to drive subscriptions. A single-location store still has a version of this.
3 min read · Aug 2
The $580M Manufacturer Behind Your Private Label Is Betting on Lickables
i-Tail's treat segment surged 36.5% while wet food grew 4-5%. The margin gap most US specialty buyers are missing.
4 min read · Aug 2
What the Functional Ingredient Premium Actually Buys You
Postbiotics, medicinal mushrooms, microalgae, insect protein, the premium is real. The question: does the retail lift justify the space?
6 min read · Aug 2
You Flew to the Show. The Brand Rep Ghosted Your Appointment for an Influencer Shoot.
Three visits to the booth. Zero minutes with the rep. And pricing you overheard that doesn't match what you were quoted.
5 min read · Aug 2
Pet Supplements Added $237 Million. Joint Health Is Not Where It Sits.
Joint health leads the category, but it's not where the acceleration is. The velocity sits somewhere else.
4 min read · Aug 1
BetterBone Built a Fetch Toy Out of Its Chew Material
The company's betting one SKU can replace two. The float feature is the tell, and the fall launch gives you time to watch returns.
2 min read · Aug 1
If You Cut Supplement Facings in Q1, Swedencare's Q2 Says You May Have Been Early
Swedencare posted 4% growth after a slower start. If you trimmed the category earlier this year, the signal has changed.
4 min read · Aug 1
Austin and Kat Are Hedging CBD With Five Mushroom SKUs
The Seattle brand that built on premium CBD sourcing added five mushroom SKUs. The format question decides whether it works.
3 min read · Aug 1
A Subsidized UK Delegation Is About to Walk Your Aisle at SuperZoo
PIF is organizing a SuperZoo delegation and a Global Pet Expo pavilion. The real story is the position these brands are in when they show up.
3 min read · Aug 1
Dog Owners Did Not Cut Back. They Changed Where They Buy.
APPA's new data shows dog spending held while the channel mix shifted underneath it.
4 min read · Aug 1
Ecofurball Built a Free Product Education Library Retailers Actually Use
An independent site explains pet product materials. Retailers are using it to answer the questions brand sell sheets skip.
4 min read · Aug 1
Petsport Is Replacing Button Cells With USB-C Across Its Light Toys
The company is ditching button cells for rechargeable power, which touches your shelf and your battery order.
2 min read · Aug 1
90 Years, Two Product Lines, One Bet: Why Jolly Pets Picked a Food Distributor to Push Dog Toys
VDB added Jolly Pets to its food-first distribution network, opening a new ordering path for stores already on the truck.
3 min read · Jul 31
Hollywood Feed's Eighth South Carolina Store Is Density, Not Growth
Eight stores in one state isn't expansion. It's density. And density is a different play with a different risk.
3 min read · Jul 31
Gimborn Bought the Plant-Based Litter It Used to Source Outside
The Biokat's maker acquired the Italian specialist it used to source from. First in-house plant-based production in 171 years.
3 min read · Jul 31
An ESOP Doubled This Feed Store's Share Value in Three Years
West Lebanon Feed's share value doubled in three years after converting to employee ownership. The retention math is the point.
5 min read · Jul 31