Pets At Home increases store count and expands services

Pet supplies retailer Pets At Home has reported increasing revenues in the quarter ending July 16, a period marked by store openings, vet service launches and new grooming salons.

In the first quarter of its current financial year (beginning March 27), the Cheshire company opened three more Pets At Home stores, four Groom Room salons and six new veterinary practices.

The company’s chief executive officer, Nick Wood, said: “Our core strengths in Advanced Nutrition, vet and grooming services have continued to deliver in the first quarter, underpinned by our VIP loyalty club.”

During the 16-week period, Pets At Home saw its VIP club membership grow to 3.6m from 2.4m at the same point in 2014.

Nick continued: “We have been particularly pleased with such strong VIP membership signup and swipe rate of the card at tills. Following strong Health & Hygiene product performance in the prior year, we experienced a particularly challenging season this quarter, which alongside a short period of very hot weather in July, created a significant impact on Group revenue performance.”

Pets At Home, which is headquartered in Wilmslow, saw year-on-year growth of 4.3% in its merchandise revenue, which rose to £200.7m in the quarter. On a like-for-like basis, the figure represented an increase of 0.9%. Meanwhile, the company’s total revenue grew to £224.2m, a year-on-year rise of 6.4%.

Speaking further about the performance results, CEO Nick Wood said: “We expect new store and services openings to remain second half weighted and are confident in our rollout targets for the full year. Our full year outlook remains in-line with market expectations.”