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Friday, September 6, 2019
The PetsMart Essay Example for Free
The PetsMart Essay Introduction            This paper presents a brief background on PetsMart, identifies its vision and mission statement for the current timeframe, differentiates PetsMart’s current generic strategy from that of Camp Bow Wow, and completes a remote analysis by indicating the opportunities and threats for each remote factor in a table form. Background on PetsMart            PetsMart, established in 1989, is the number one retailer of pet food, supplies, accessories, and services in North America with 726 retail stores, of which 25 are located in Canada. Its retail store size ranges from 19,000 to 27,000 square feet, and sells over 12,900 items (Gilliard, 2005, p. 5). It employs about 30,300 associates, of which roughly 50 percent are full time (p. 7). It entered the international arena in 1996. Its major competitor is Petcoâ€â€both Petsmart and Petro overlap in some geographical locations of business operation (p. 2). Other competitors for these two largest stores are Target and Wal-Mart; other major sources of competition are from grocery stores. Its potential competitor will be Camp Bow Wow. Vision and Mission Statement for PetsMart               PetsMart’s vision is â€Å"to provide Total Lifetime Care for pets and build enduring relationships with its customers†(p. 6). Its mission is to lead the global retailing market of pet food, supplies, and services. PetsMart Strategy vs. Camp Bow Wow Strategy            PetsMart strategy is to capture and keep a group of identified pet owners or pet parents by being the â€Å"preferred provider for the lifetime needs of pets†(p. 6). To accomplish this, PetsMart carried out the following customer-focused initiatives: (1) expansion and efficient operation in existing and new multi-store and single store markets, to make its products and services more available to customers, and at the same time reach to out new customers; (2) reformat stores like specialty stores through organization of products by pet species, emphasis on pet services, and removal of high steel shelving to help customers navigate easily inside the store; (3) provision of pet services to build better relationships with customers; (4) training of associates to determine customer needs, and offer solutions to further develop customer loyalty; (5) development of brand identity through PetPerks savings card to create a sense of belongingness of customers in PetsMart and at the same time taking advantage of price savings. Petsmart uses a centralized information system to analyze customer shopping patterns, the results of which will be used for marketing and promotional materials.            Camp Bow Wow was conceptualized in 1994 to take advantage of the growing market and took off in 2000. It started a day care facility for dogs and later expanded its operations to include overnight boarding. It also takes care for puppies, older or sickly pets. It offers on-site grooming, vaccinations, indoor/outdoor play areas, climate controlled facilities, pools and play equipment (p. 11). It has a different strategy from that of PetsMart. It adopts franchising as a rapid growth strategy. It requires franchisees to provide excellent services to pet owners, maintain outstanding facility, and share its earnings to local dog charities. It offers franchisees operational and training support, research and development information, linkages to quality suppliers, and commitment to growth. Its owner has great plans and vision for franchising, such as (1) use consistent operations systems, and similar look and style; (2) develop and sale of brand dog food and biscuits, and human and dog sportswear at the franchise location; (3) develop services like mobile grooming, pet taxi services, in-home pet sitting, and poop scoop services; (4) develop and maintain operations systems, training programs, and marketing strategies to manage its brand name; (5) monitor company growth to allow profitability; and (6) build a non-profit foundation for national or regional dog charities (p. 12). Remote Analysis of the PetsMart Remote Factor Opportunities Threats Economic  ·Ã‚  The surge of consumer spending increases net sales.  ·Ã‚  The strategic alliance between PetsMart and Medical Management International, Inc. ensures sufficient supply of veterinarians, and efficient delivery of veterinary services to customers.  ·Ã‚  Good economic outlook definitely increases pet customers and their spending volume on pets and pet-related products and services.  ·Ã‚  Any dollar appreciation will shoot up sales on pets and pet-related products.  ·Ã‚  High inflation rate reduces consumer spending on pet accessories.  ·Ã‚  High unemployment rate lowers the number of pet customers and reduces consumer spending on pets and pet food, accessories and services.  ·Ã‚  Seasonal incomes provide fluctuations on spending pattern on pet accessories and services.  ·Ã‚  Shortage of qualified veterinarians limits offer of veterinary services, and reduces consumer spending on pet services.  ·Ã‚  Shortage of skilled employees to train and groom pets hampers service efficiency, and reduces consumer spending on pet services.  ·Ã‚  Limited capacity of local and overseas vendors gives no assurance of timely delivery of products, quality of product and labeling and packaging requirements, and volume requirements; and jeopardizes efficient customer-focused services.  ·Ã‚  Global expansion of international competitors restricts PetsMart global expansion plans, and consequently reduces consumer spending on its products in foreign markets.  ·Ã‚  Currency exchange rate fluctuations provide no steady or increasing international consumer spending pattern on pet products. Sociological  ·Ã‚  The demographic trendsâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å"growth of baby boomers, empty-nesters, couples with no children, and other people delaying marriage and children†â€â€increase consumer spending as numerous pet owners raised their pet status as members of the families and pampered them with luxurious pet products and services, like pet insurance, hotels, spa, pet frequent flyer programs, and pet toys.  ·Ã‚  The shift of this demographic trendsâ€â€e.g., aging of baby boomers, people decided to get married and have childrenâ€â€may affect consumer spending on pets and related pet products and services.. Technological  ·Ã‚  Diverse and innovative products induce consumer spending on pet-related products. PetsMart’s products are categorized as (1) pet food, treats, and litter category; (2) pet supplies and other goods category like collar, aquarium, bird cages; and (3) various pets, like dogs, cats, fish, birds, reptiles, and small pets.  ·Ã‚  New and innovative pet services that complement the products attract higher consumer spending. PetsMart services include grooming, pet training, boarding (PetsHotel), day camp (Doggie Day Camp), and on-site veterinary services.  ·Ã‚  Innovative products and services supports other complementary products in the market, like insurance and airline frequent flyer perks, which, in turn, has positive ripple effects on Petsmart.  ·Ã‚  E-commerce sales of pets and related products and services (www.petsmart.com) provide unlimited market place to a wider customer base within 24 hours at lower costs, and increase sales.  ·Ã‚  Innovative branded catalogues provide flexible and updated presentation of products and services attract customers, and thereby increase sales.  ·Ã‚  Product and service diversification opens multiple lines of competitionâ€â€creating opportunities for competitors to enhance existing pet-related product lines and introduce new products, which will eventually outmode Petsmart products.  ·Ã‚  Petsmart cannot reap the full advantage of its on-line pet store as its competitors also established and maintained similar innovation. Political  ·Ã‚  Loosening of regulations decreases monitoring and compliance costs.  ·Ã‚   Political stability supports global expansion.  ·Ã‚  Monitoring and complying in federal, state, and/or local regulations increases costs.  ·Ã‚  Tariff increases and other trade barriers reduce exports of pet products, and reduce import spending in foreign countries.  ·Ã‚  Compliance to employment regulations on minimum wage, working conditions, and staffing requirements increases costs and reduces profit level.  ·Ã‚  Compliance to laws and regulations on transporting, handling and selling of pets, may be difficult as they are governed by federal, state and local government. At the local level, they differ from one jurisdiction to another. Ecological  ·Ã‚  The establishment of PetsMart Charities has saved the lives of homeless pets by not leaving them astray. This increases animal welfare awareness, and customers treat PetsMart fairly for its concern on animals.  ·Ã‚  In addition to dog charity initiative, PetsMart may consider other line of business, like collecting, disposing, and conversion of animal wastes into fertilizer or energy.  ·Ã‚  Environmental regulations increase production costs and consequently reduce profits. These regulations affect pet facilities on the â€Å"generation, handling, storage, transportation, and disposal of waste and biohazardous materials†.  ·Ã‚  Any sickness or plague that attack on birds halts sales of pet birds.  ·Ã‚  Environment advocates might lobby on proper handling and disposal of wastesâ€â€which might hurt the sales in the short run. Source: Gilliard (2005). Conclusion            PetsMart experiences the fastest retail growth and profits, reflecting the overall trend of the pet industry. This attracts new entrants into the industry. And PetsMart should not be complacent and needs to continually guard itself from risks or threats at both the industry level and external environment to maintain its leading position. Its current strategy seems to work well so far. But in the long-run, considering significant changes in both industry conditions and external environment, shouldn’t there be strategy shift? Shouldn’t it adopt franchising as what Camp Bow Wow did to increase sales and enhance product quality? Reference Gilliard, D. J. (2005). The Pet Care Industry: From PetsMart to Camp Bow Wow.
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