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Navigating the Modern Retail Landscape with Pet Supplies Plus
Ever wonder how a pet supply company stands out in an overcrowded market? That's exactly what we're unraveling in today’s conversation with Erin DeAngelis and Betsy Weakland from Pet Supplies Plus. As a beacon in the pet industry, Pet Supplies Plus distinguishes itself through an uncommon approach that revolves around infusing local flavor and personal experiences. From shaping the company's ethos around community involvement to valuing customer feedback, Erin and Betsy pull back the curtain on their roles in the company, the strategies they implement, and how they drive the company's private brand products.
RetailWire is the retail industry's premier source for news, analysis, and discussion. With a focus on the latest trends, technology, and consumer behavior, RetailWire provides a platform for industry experts and thought leaders to share their insights and perspectives. Whether you're a retailer, supplier, or service provider, RetailWire is your go-to destination for staying informed and ahead of the curve.
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Welcome to the Retail Wire podcast, your go-to source for all things retail. Whether you're a seasoned industry veteran or just dipping your toes into the world of retail, our podcast is your one-stop-shot for the latest trends, insights and discussions that are shaping the future of retail. Just dive into today's episode. We're here, joined by Aaron D'Angeles and Betsy Weaklin from Pet Supply Plus. Very happy to have you on the show.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having us.
Speaker 1:There's something unique about Pet Supply Plus and I thought why don't we just dive straight into it? How is Pet Supply Plus different than other pet retailers in that category?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I think the biggest thing is that Pet Supply Plus focuses on local. So we are your neighborhood pet store and we create an experience that's much more personal than in the big box retailers. So we are corporate and franchise-based. The majority of that is franchise. So our owners really have a stake in their business and they want to make a difference in the community. So you'll see our stores participate in local events. You'll see a tent at an art fair or at a local high school football game passing out coupons, just really feeling part of that community, like I said, which a lot of bigger box retailers just can't execute that. So we have owners who are invested, who can take that time, and it's easier to coordinate when it's on a one-off basis versus trying to send something down corporately. So I think that's really where we win, because it makes our neighbors feel connected to our store and want to shop with us, versus the competition.
Speaker 2:Yeah to Erin's point. One of the things that we do is we refer to our consumers as our neighbors, because that's literally what they are. We are your neighborhood pet store and the folks who shop in our stores our neighbors to the folks who own and work in the stores. So it's a very local, very community-based feeling.
Speaker 1:I caught that word, but I didn't know who you were talking about. I heard our neighbors and I thought other people who live around the store. But yes, but you actually part of your company culture is you have different terminology for customers than other retailers.
Speaker 3:Yeah, because we put such an emphasis on our neighbors or customers. We couldn't be where we're at now today without them. So we think that we have a special loyalty with them. So just to call them a customer doesn't feel right. We just feel like there are neighbors, there are friends, there are people within our communities that it's just not a business interaction. We all have the best interests of their lives and their pet's lives, right? So we think neighbor is a perfect way to label a customer because we're going to be there for them when they have questions or need help with their pets.
Speaker 1:Have you seen that mindset really spread to the different franchise owners?
Speaker 3:Oh for sure, I think that's what attracts people to joining our pet supplies, plus family there's another word.
Speaker 3:Yep, the family neighbors. You're picking up a theme here, but that's just something that they want to be a part of and it makes it fun. So the pet industry is a fun place to be in the first place, but it's just taking it that next step further that they're not just in the daily grind of stocking their shelves, filling orders, checking out at point of sale, but they can do fun things to get outside of the store, even if it's just an event in the parking lot, to talk and interact and help make recommendations and help our neighbors find the best products for their pets. So it's definitely a great place to be and everyone who joins sticks around for a long time because, like I said, it's a family and we all love working together.
Speaker 1:Speaking of this, I hear a lot of local community involvement and I'm sure you're getting feedback about products. Is there a process that you've built into this that you can take that feedback from the different owners and make adjustments and make decisions?
Speaker 3:Yep, yep.
Speaker 3:So we have an internal communication system, so our owners are required to follow our planograms.
Speaker 3:However, if there's something that maybe it's a certain flavor of food that we don't carry that someone's asking for, or a different color leash like maybe we carry the brand but we don't have it in orange there is a process where an owner or store manager can make a request and then the buyer reviews it and determines whether or not we're OK with them adding it into their assortment. So we're always keeping our ears open. That is actually one of the big ways that we find new products is listening to our store owners, because they're right there on the front line the owners, the managers, our team members. They let us know what our neighbors are asking for. And it's funny because a lot of times I'll see a request come through for a certain flavor and say, oh yeah, I was just talking with a pet partner about that. I think, yeah, I'll definitely consider that, or I will add it in the next reset. So I think we all are pretty like-minded. But it's always nice to get that reinforcement from the store teams that an item will do well.
Speaker 1:Before I go further, I wanted to ask a little bit more about your specific roles in the company, because I think that your role will have a unique perspective on what's happening here. And, erin, you're talking about merchandising and choosing products, and so, erin and Betsy, I just wanted to give you a chance to explain your role in the company.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I am a category manager. I manage cat food and litter, so category manager, buyer, kind of interchangeable Work on some higher strategic things. But overall, when you get down to it, it's finalizing the assortment for those categories for all of our stores, as well as pretty promotional plans in place.
Speaker 2:And I am our director of private brands, so my role here is to help develop strategy and guide the development process for the private brand brands that we carry and the individual products within them. And in addition to doing that, we work very closely with the merchants to make sure that the stuff we're developing works in their set, or if there's something that they are missing from their set that they really haven't been able to find from a national brand, that's an opportunity for us to build one of our own, and so we work really closely with them as well to develop all the private brand products that we carry in our stores.
Speaker 1:That sounds like a good segment. Both of you work together. What is that process when you hear requests from the store owners and you're hearing the neighbors? See what I did the neighbors are saying they want a certain type of product, and now your job is to find that. If you can't find, it is that when you look at doing private label or what are the, what are the strategies behind that?
Speaker 2:so a lot of times, some of the deciding factors as to whether or not we're going to bring in a branded product versus build our own private label product depends on Availability, depends on costing, depends on quality. If there are things out there but we're not super satisfied with the way somebody else is doing it, private label is an excellent opportunity for us to kind of take those reins and make sure that whatever product we're bringing in is exactly what we want it to be in terms of features and benefits, but also from a consumable side, in terms of ingredients and formulations and things like that as well. It's a great opportunity for us to make sure that we're really tapping into what the neighbors are asking for and and reacting to that feedback to provide them with the best possible product.
Speaker 3:Yeah, an example I can think of. So prior to managing cat food I was on apparel and a lot of times after each season we would get requests saying hey, we didn't you know why don't we carry dog dresses and size 3xl. Well, we didn't think that people wanted to put you know their rot-wilders and dresses. But okay, if you're getting requests like, let's, let's add that to the next season so that I think a lot of that comes into the seasonal play as well, where maybe we missed something, overlooked something, and then we can make sure again like getting that feedback from our neighbors that we have at the following season.
Speaker 1:What would be a difficult choice to put a private go, private label. It sounds like there's some times where it's an easy choice let's do it, but there are other times where it might be more difficult. There's a lot more involved.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. Sometimes it's a matter of reviewing the set as a whole and the merchants will kind of do some analysis to figure out If there are branded products that just aren't performing and if they have an idea as to why those aren't performing. And if we could, you know, essentially build a better mousetrap ourselves and put something in that slot that might be better performing. And and like you said, sometimes sometimes we weigh the options and it turns out branded really is the right way to go. So if there's a lot of thought and intention that goes behind Whether or not we we bring in a private brand item or or a national branded item, yeah, I think.
Speaker 3:Just one other thing I'd add to what Betsy said on the consumable side, we really need to consider the quality and you know the ingredients that is going into that product, right? So if we're just creating, you know, a bigger size of a dress or a different color of a ball, that's pretty easy to execute. But if we're thinking about what is actually going into A pets you know stomach like, you know how's it gonna affect their health there's definitely more of a process, more testing, and you know we're not gonna mess around with anything that's not the right quality. So if we don't feel like we are Are able to provide, you know, a superior option, then you know we'll pass on it and and lean on the branded side.
Speaker 1:How do you compare when you're selecting products? How do you end up comparing to some of your competitors? You mean how we select the products, or when you're looking at your own selection versus others, is there a certain lane that you're in versus them? I you know. Yeah, I would say a little different.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say, and you know, when it comes to the branded side, we like to look for those independent brands, things that you're not gonna find In mass retailers. Like, don't get me wrong, you know, we have those brands that you're gonna see everywhere, but when we're looking for newness, we're looking for things that you know could be a differentiator, that you're not gonna see everywhere, and then we like to work with those brands and then help them grow and then they, in turn, you know, become really important To our, to our owners, to our team members and to our neighbors. So that's Definitely a big factor that we consider, whereas I think, you know, some of the competition kind of just goes after things that are already blowing up. They're already, you know, in Many doors and are already proven winners, and we're not afraid to and I don't want to say take risks, but, you know, take a chance on a brand that might be lesser known, because we know that it'll, in the end, be a differentiator for us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and to Aaron's point, that's actually one of the One of the retail benefits of having private label as well. In addition to being able to control the quality and the assortment ourselves, it also builds loyalty with our neighbors, because our private brands Are technically standalone brands, they're just more like house brands, and so when the neighbors fall in love with a Private brand dog food or a private brand cat food or something like that, people tend to be very loyal to the brands of food that they feed their pets, with good reason, and we love that, because then they have to come back to Pet Supplies Plus stores to get those brands and it really helps us out in terms of building that community and that sense of trust and loyalty with our neighbors.
Speaker 1:The classic way was well, we were the generic brand right.
Speaker 2:Like.
Speaker 1:I remember growing up it was like Target had the generic brand and now it sounds like there's this advantage that you've tapped into when you make a quality private label brand. It builds loyalty because there's nowhere else that these neighbors can buy the product.
Speaker 2:That's right. Yeah, and we've actually had people, neighbors, and we've gotten feedback that they don't necessarily even realize that it's a private brand, because it looks like a fully fleshed out brand with marketing and with imagery and merchandising, and the ingredient listings are comparable, if not better, than the national brands, and so they don't even necessarily realize that it's a private brand until they try to find it in another store and then they have to come back and they're like I looked all over for it, I can't find it. Really. That's right.
Speaker 1:That's where you'll find like in Google search terms. Who'd be like? Is this brand owned by? And I'm guessing those would be more custom fit for your exact type of customer as well.
Speaker 2:They are. Yeah, I mean, we definitely. We do a lot of research about who our target demographics are and who our neighbors are. It's certainly not everybody. There certainly are people who just prefer to shop at those big box stores or who don't have time to go to a specific pet store and just shop at a mass store for their pet food or whatever. But we have found that our neighbors tend to be people who are really focused on their pets and who treat their pets like family, and their pets are part of the community too and part of our neighborhood, so they tend to be a little bit more involved and a little bit so we like to gear our private brands toward those neighbors because we have an idea of what they're looking for. But we also have the advantage of having a really close-knit communication channel with our store owners and the people who work at the stores, the team members, so that if there is anything that the neighbors are still asking for, we can react to that as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and we know that there's not a one-size-fiddle option, especially when it comes to food for our neighbors, right? So we've developed a few brands to make sure that we have something for everybody, and that has really served us well. So we have our more opening price point brands, like in Cat, for example, that's like our Mittens morsels and Mittens pickens. And then we have our more natural brand for natural food customers and that's our Redford Naturals. And then we recently launched, in the past year, Optin Plus, which is like a functional, science-based dog and cat food and, you know, just to give option to those neighbors who are focused more on those functional benefits. So, again, like keeping the neighbor first, we're not going to force them into any one lane. So we want to make sure that we have a well-rounded assortment so you know there's something for the type of food or even the price point that someone's looking for and they can give a quality product to their pet.
Speaker 1:Those are three very clear segments.
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah, yeah, I mean that's kind of what we've seen, you know, kind of pop in terms of the way that our neighbors are shopping.
Speaker 3:So, you know, as we've seen different categories grow, we just want to make sure that we're playing on, you know, the private label side. I mean we'll always have those amazing branded options, but we just want to make sure that, as we're growing our private brand, that we have, you know, the different price points of what we see people looking for and again, the different solutions that I mentioned and it's worked very well, like they've all been very successful in terms of launches and it's been fun to see the brands grow and our store team members get behind it and, you know, the neighbors, you know, eventually become really loyal as well. So I think we have a really nice balance between our private label and our branded product, which, you know again, I think is a nice way or a nice differentiator to the competition, because we don't want to have a year too heavy either way, because we don't want to force the neighbor to choose what we think they should choose. We know that ultimately, it's their decision.
Speaker 1:I'm curious about the trends that you've seen over the years. When you first started, what was wildly different than today? Is there anything? Consumer behavior or the way that people are shopping?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think the biggest thing for me so I've been with the company a little bit longer than Betsy, so I've been here about eight years and I think it's really in the way that the neighbor shops has been the biggest change. I mean, you're always going to see, you know different food brands or different toys. You know go through peaks and valleys, right. But I think the biggest change now is you know the different way the neighbor wants to shop. So you know, before, like when I first started, our website was just kind of a place where you could browse but you couldn't do anything in terms of commerce. And now we have buy online, pick up in store and we have delivery from store, and I think that that's been a really big win for us.
Speaker 3:We were able to kind of launch that right when the pandemic hit and it really helped us stay competitive during that time and we did really well. And now even you know that. You know that's well behind us, but people may still choose to shop that way. You know our people don't want to spend time browsing the store and you know they just they want to have that order ready for them. So again, kind of going back to what I was saying about the brands or the type of you know foods that we have. We're not going to force the neighbor to shop a certain way. They now have options. So I think that's really great and that's probably the biggest change that I've seen. I mean, we're still primarily, you know, an in store retailer and that's where the majority of our businesses, but I think it's great that we have that option for our neighbors.
Speaker 1:That is really good to have the option, even with a franchise model. Yeah one of the things that we've talked about at retail wire is you know, while it's great to have the all the options, you know there's this you always want people walking in the store because there's discovery of new products. Is there any ways that you've counteracted that and to find ways to still help your neighbors? I'm like I'm going to get brainwashed into the cult.
Speaker 2:It's fun.
Speaker 1:Lean in. It's great, yes, so anyways, that you can help those neighbors discover the new products.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure you know we'll have things highly on our website. But for those for pickup, orders are in deliveries. Sometimes we'll do things called a surprise and delight, so it might be already like.
Speaker 1:I already like this.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So that'll be things, you know.
Speaker 3:We'll work with our pet partners and get samples.
Speaker 3:So maybe they'll get a, and every order that has dog food in it will they'll get a sample of a dog treat, or maybe it's a tennis ball, or sometimes it'll be a coupon for you know, a new product or something that we want them to come back in for. So that's kind of a fun way for them to hopefully get inspired to say, oh hey, I didn't ask for this, but this is a cool treat, like I want to go check this out and buy this the next time. Another fun thing that we do, which I forgot to mention in the beginning of our chat in terms of kind of our local aspect, is that for every pickup order, our store managers leave a handwritten thank you note, just for a way to still get that connection. So even though that person is, you know, maybe doing their shopping online and running in and grabbing their bag, there's still that local, personal connection and we our hope is that that makes that neighbor want to come back in and spend some time, because it's a fun, friendly place to be.
Speaker 2:Yeah, another thing that's a huge part of our business model that really drives folks into the store is that we A huge majority of our stores have in-store dog wash machines, where neighbors can bring their dog in and wash them in our bathtubs and use our blow dryers and our shampoo and everything, so they don't make a mess of their bathroom. And then a lot of our locations also have grooming services. So those are two things that you can't do online, and so those two service options for our neighbors tend to bring a lot of folks into the store and especially with the grooming, a lot of people while their dog is getting groomed, they just wander the aisles because what else are you going to do. So it's a really great way to get folks in the store as well and an opportunity for us to get some great signage and some great deals in front of their eyes while they're just there, and we have like a captive audience. It's great.
Speaker 1:You were fully prepared for that question. We didn't even plan that. No, yeah, to get people into the store, there's so many things you can do. We're seeing that as a trend as well. Is that retailers are popping up services that are related and just trying to serve their full journey?
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely and like the one thing you know, going kind of continuing on this topic of getting people in the stores and tying it back into the local piece, we will try and do events monthly. So you know we're getting the holiday season, so all of our stores have assets to set up pictures with Santa, so you know we can have Santa and people can come bring their pets and, you know, get a picture of Santa. And we've done costume contests. My personal favorite as the cat buyer is in May we do an event called the go-day meow and it's very focused on the cat because sometimes I think you know the cat neighbor gets ignored a little bit. So it's just like an attest.
Speaker 3:So we got to have something for Betsy, right? So, yeah, it's just, you know, we'll have demos focused on, you know, cat food or different cat products and really showing that cat neighbor some love, and it's just like a fun way to interact with the product and come into the store.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm sure the individual owners love that too. Yeah, so you're able to provide those ideas and materials and basically the whole plan to make that event happen for each of the local sites.
Speaker 3:Exactly, yeah, we'll provide, you know, best practices for them to follow how the day should run. We also support at a corporate level the marketing behind it. So you know we'll have templates. You know, if they want to print out posters or send emails from their account or post something on their individual Facebook page, we do all that heavy lifting for them, so you know they just have to make it happen. But we make it easy to bring these things to life at their store.
Speaker 1:Are there any future trends that you're starting to see the hints of Any anything coming up that you know others in the category would be interested to hear about, or maybe just general retailer trends that other retailers would be interested to hear about?
Speaker 3:You want to take that one.
Speaker 2:I don't know what you guys are looking at in terms of product development.
Speaker 3:It's like do we want to share that?
Speaker 1:I hear, cats are psychic too.
Speaker 2:So I think one thing that we're noticing is that recently and everybody is noticing this, of course inflation is a word that's on everybody's lips, and so one thing that we have done as an organization is to really try to make sure that our price points are as sharp as they possibly can be, and doing a lot of private brand.
Speaker 2:We have a lot of control over that as well. We're in the driver's seat in terms of how these things are costed and making sure that we're delivering quality products at a great value to our neighbors, and it's something that, again, because of our model given our model, we have a lot of control over the costing of a lot of our goods, and we're able to be really mindful of that and make sure that we're providing value products for our neighbors as another way to show them that we are aware of the things that are going on for everybody, and we're sympathetic to it, and we're doing what we can to make sure that they can still get the high quality products that they're used to and that their pets deserve at a price that won't break the bank.
Speaker 1:That's really important. You're right. It is on everybody's minds, especially in the food and grocery. It's often forgot about that. Pet food would also be impacted by that.
Speaker 3:Let's see if you want to talk a little bit about what your team is working on now, because you're right in the thick of developing already for next year right, I mean seasonal, yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're actually wrapping up our Holiday 24 programs that we're putting together. We typically run a development cycle that's approximately nine to 12 months ahead of when it's going to hit stores. So we are working on Holiday and we are wrapping up Halloween and fall as well, so it's all the fun stuff. This is the most fun development that we get to do all year and we are really focusing next year on trying to make sure, like I said, that we're delivering those values but that we're using still high quality fabrics for the apparel and that we're really leaning into some design elements that make things look like they're a great value. So a little bit higher end look, but maybe not a higher end price tag that goes along with it. We're leaning into tough materials for dogs that are heavy tours. We're leaning into high quality catnip for our cat friends, and so trying to make sure that all of that comes to life for our neighbors so that everybody can have a happy holiday season again without stressing their wallets.
Speaker 1:It's great that you've been able to take the feedback and put it right into your plans, and I bet you're patiently waiting for that stuff to release.
Speaker 2:That's right, absolutely no-transcript.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just always find it so interesting that you know, I think that people who aren't in retail I'm sure everyone who's listening is used to it. But it's just crazy to me that you know we're working on holiday 2024 and you know it's not even Thanksgiving yet. So it's always just kind of fun to think ahead, and there are some days where I'm working all day and I think it's 2024 because I'm already thinking so far ahead. So it's a pretty unique thing about retail, I feel like.
Speaker 1:You're lining up with what you're living through right now and then putting that into plans next year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure. I've absolutely told people that you know we're in November of 2024 and they just kind of look at me 23, 23. It's 2023.
Speaker 1:I'm sure many people can relate to that. I'm sure, yeah, this has been so great. I think that I've learned a lot about your unique position and I think a lot of retailers listening would be able to hear this and maybe apply it to their category, because you had so many great ideas that came out. We didn't have a lot of bullet points planned here. We knew that we were getting to some stuff and I think that we found a lot of golden nuggets, of lessons to take away Great.
Speaker 3:Awesome, it's been really great talking to you Definitely.
Speaker 2:Thank you again so much for having us on. This has been fun.
Speaker 1:Same here. This was so fun and I'm glad I could be. Am I in the neighborhood?
Speaker 3:Of course. Yeah, you're a neighbor, you're an official neighbor.
Speaker 1:Okay, cool, I'm going to have to get some toys for my daughters.
Speaker 2:Perfect. The dog toys do double really well as child toys. My son sleeps with a bunch of our dog toys. It's fine.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they have. I'm sure if we walk in they're going to find a pet that they want.
Speaker 2:That's right, they certainly could.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. It's been so great. I appreciate you coming on the show.
