Close Menu
Pet Business World
  • Trade News
    • Distributors
    • International
    • Legislation
    • Manufacturers
    • Other trades
    • Retailers
  • New Products
    • Birds
    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Small Animals
  • Features
    • Industry Experts
    • Retailer profiles
  • Aquatics
  • Columnists
    • Newshound
    • Reptile Trade Views
  • People
  • Magazines
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
  • Classifieds
  • Trade Directory
  • Advertise
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe
Facebook X (Twitter)
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Free Magazine Subscriptions
X (Twitter) Facebook
Pet Business World
  • Trade News
    • Distributors
    • International
    • Legislation
    • Manufacturers
    • Other trades
    • Retailers
  • New Products
    • Birds
    • Cats
    • Dogs
    • Small Animals
  • Features
    • Industry Experts
    • Retailer profiles
  • Aquatics
  • Columnists
    • Newshound
    • Reptile Trade Views
  • People
  • Magazines
    1. May 2025
    2. April 2025
    3. March 2025
    4. February 2025
    5. January 2025
    6. December 2024
    Featured

    PBW News – May 2025

    By David ReesMay 13, 2025
    Recent

    PBW News – May 2025

    May 13, 2025

    PBW News – April 2025

    April 24, 2025

    PBW News – March 2025

    March 11, 2025
  • Classifieds
  • Trade Directory
Pet Business World
Retailer profiles

Shop talk: Dickies Pet Centre – Quarter of a century young!

Rachel WoodBy Rachel WoodApril 10, 20197 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Shop talk: Dickies Pet Centre - Quarter of a century young!
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Dickies Pet Centre in the seaport and market town of King’s Lynn in Norfolk celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and owner Richard Ellwood looks back at its history and talks about the changes he’s seen

Richard Ellwood started in the pet trade 25 years ago and today, the family owns two pet shops in East Anglia, but with a slight difference from many family businesses. While Richard runs the shop in King’s Lynn, son Luke runs the other shop in Wisbech – but both shops are run independently, so have autonomy over ordering and business decisions.

Richard said: “Luke was 10 years old when Catherine and I started, and he was working for me for a while. But he wanted his own business and when he was 21, we opened the Wisbech shop. It’s now 13 years old and he has his staff while I have mine. Sometimes we swop over, just to keep on top of each other’s business, and we sometimes share orders, but generally, they’re separate businesses.”

The Wisbech shop carries the same name, Dickies Pet Centre, but is smaller than the shop in King’s Lynn. Customer demand is also different and Luke sells for example some different brands of dog food and horse feed. Richard added: “We can bounce ideas off each other, and he will sometimes say he is selling something new and it’s doing well, and I will give it a try.”

Built up from scratch
Richard used to be a haulier delivering sugar beet in the region, but always wanted his own business and took the plunge by setting up a stall in King’s Lynn old cattle market selling pet products and food. Moving into pets was a natural progression as his family had always kept pets, and his parents also had ducks, geese and some cattle. His wife Catherine helped him out, but has kept her part-time job in the local hospital – though she also looks after the accounts and admin work for both shops.

width="570"
Unit is housed in a retail park and has loads of space

“We were there for 10 years,” he said.  “I started off small and we extended twice and then we bought a plot on the market. Just over two years ago we moved on to a retail park, and then we moved again in October to this unit. It’s about the same size as the other unit, but it’s in a much better position and more pleasant – it’s more prominent and visible as it’s on the main road.”

Luckily both units are owned by the same landlord and Richard had a two-month crossover – the move was done mostly by him and his staff, involving wheelbarrows, trolleys and pallets! And of course all new deliveries were directed to the new shop.

“We built this business up from scratch over the years, and at different times, the whole family has been involved,” he said. “When we first started, both mine and Catherine’s mums would pop in to help for a couple of hours here and there.”

width="570"
Toys are neatly lined up on display

Growth of natural
The biggest change over the years has been the growing demand for natural pet food, he said. Green Pantry is a strong seller, and although he’s always sold raw – from the time when ‘raw’ meant tripe – he says demand has grown ‘quite a bit’ and he’s had to double his original three freezers to six, including two uprights, stocked with Natures Menu, True Instinct and Cotswold Raw.

Following on with the natural theme, treats like Pet Munchies are in strong demand.

Top seller is, however, Autarky adult chicken, which he says is a ‘good priced dog food’. “We have a lot of working dogs around here, a big gundog and field trial population. We are surrounded by a lot of villages, and people come from all over the area.”

width="570"
Royal Canin has seen an uplift in sales since the store moved to a more prominent location

Other brands that also sell well include his own label, Skinner’s, Judge’s Choice, with an emphasis on bulk bags. For some reason, since he’s moved to the new location, Royal Canin has also picked up in sales.

“It’s like people have suddenly discovered there’s a pet shop here,” he said.

As with many retailers across the country, wild bird does very well, while cat and small animals ‘ticks along’. “We’re not big into hamsters around here, but do okay with rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets – there are a lot of working ferrets here,” he said.

width="570"
Beds is another strong seller for Richard

And he does stock a fair amount of supermarket brands because ‘people still come here to buy it’. “It’s probably more convenient for them as we have parking directly outside,” he said.

He’s also willing to branch into other products such as carrots for the many horse owners in the area, dishwasher salt, a bit of fencing…and a fair bit of fish bait as there is lots of fishing in the area, both river and lakes.

width="570"
Own label has a loyal following

Dickies Pet Centre is located on King’s Lynn’s major retail park, between a large Tesco and Sainsbury’s, with a Screwfix around the corner. Also on the park is a Pets at Home, Jollyes, Dobbies, Range and B&M. Yet despite all this competition, ‘we are okay’, he said. “We are in the right price range.”

He admits to being anxious when Pets at Home first arrived. “However, it made  people more aware that we are doing a good job and our trade actually picked up,” he said. “When Jollyes and the others came, trade became a bit harder. But we’re holding our own.”

width="570"
Many customers keep poultry

Although they do not offer their own loyalty card, they do carry schemes from various manufacturers including Vitalin, Burns Pet Nutrition, Fish4Dogs, Royal Canin and James Wellbeloved.

Doing what works best
Nowadays Richard only visits wholesaler trade shows, like those hosted by Pedigree Wholesale and Happy Pet Products. “The Happy Pet Products show is very well run and is a good jolly,” he said.

width="570"
Treats occupy a decent amount of shelf space

The PATS shows are just that bit too far to get to comfortably, he said, and such a long drive cannot be justified when the deals on offer at the show are pretty much what can be got through rep visits, who also keep them informed as to what’s new on the product front. “We do sometimes go the BETA show as it’s at the NEC in Birmingham, which is more convenient.”

Any marketing is done via Facebook and advertising is very rare, although the local newspaper wants to do a write-up on their 25th anniversary. Richard finds that the two sign-written vans out-and-about on deliveries do a decent-enough job on the advertising front.

width="570"
Pick and mix!

He reveals he used to sell birds and small animals, though only for a short while. “It just did not make sense,” he explained. “You more or less have to employ someone to look after them, which triples the cost, and so you end up losing money on the sale of the animal.”

He has also recently started selling snacks and drinks from a fridge that was sold when Toys R Us in Peterborough closed. “We also bought some of their shelving that was going, and I got rid of some of our older black units, which freshened up the look.

width="570"
This is clearly horse territory

“I’m happy with what we have – I only want to replace some more of my shelving, to make everything look brighter. Just tweaks, really.”

At the moment he employs two staff members, Sarah Waterfield and Daniel Wright, but would like to find some weekend help, someone to work Friday through to Sunday – but no one seems to want to work on Sundays. “It’s hard to find someone to cover the hours you want, and weekends tend to be busiest.”

And then in Summer, when the weather is good, it can all go quiet without warning. He said: “Because we’re coastal, in good weather everyone goes out or to the beach and it’s suddenly, where is everybody?”

width="570"

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous Article10 years in business and growing worldwide
Next Article Pet owners swap vet visit for ‘Dr Google’
Rachel Wood

Rachel Wood, graphic designer. More than 40 years ago, I was one of the first females to be offered an apprenticeship within the printing industry. I've worked on record sleeves, DVD covers and various magazines throughout my career. In my spare time I collect movie posters and attend comic cons, I keep fit (and sane) with gardening and strength & conditioning training.

Read Similar Stories

Retailer profiles

Shop talk: Pets & Friends – A groom with a view

May 31, 2022
Retailer profiles

Shop talk: Grovely Pet Supplies – All hands on deck

April 27, 2022
Features

Shop talk: Paws on Track – Nicely on track

April 14, 2022
Most Read

Finalists announced for PIF Innovation Award

May 16, 2025

Pedigree Wholesale launches new ordering app

May 16, 2025

Vital Pet Group becomes UK distributor for Bark

May 16, 2025
© 2024 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • OvertheCounter
  • Pest Magazine

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
explat_test_aa_weekly_lohp_2021_week_4517 days 8 hoursNo description
ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
tk_ai14 daysGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
tk_qssessionGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_31822138_71 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
tk_lr1 yearThe tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
tk_or5 yearsThe tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
tk_r3d3 daysJetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo