Pets at Home continued to grow sales during the Autumn and Christmas seasons but its overall performance was “below expectations”, according to the company.
The retailer’s Q3 trading statement, covering the 12-week period to January 4, 2024, reported retail revenue up by 3.5% during the period (3.7% on a like-for-like basis), with total group revenue up by 4.3% to £362.4m (4.4% LFL).
In the year to date, the retailer has opened four new pet care centres and completed 33 refits. Within its vets’ division, it opened three new practices, completed 16 extensions and converted eight company-owned practices to Joint Venture ownership. Revenues within the vets’ division were up 13.4% (LFL 13.3%) during the Q3 period.
The company described the performance as: “resilient against very strong performance last year”, adding: “however, this growth fell below our expectations. We were pleased to see volume growth and share gains across food, against a slowing market backdrop”.
Accessories sales were reported to be flat, and the company is aiming to reinvigorate the category with the introduction of premium brands such as Lords & Labradors, Cocopup, and Pawsome Paws Boutique.
Further growth is anticipated to come from the launch of a new digital platform in the coming weeks, offering “a much-improved customer experience and functionality” across app and website. Overall, the retailer is predicting annual pre-tax profit of £132m.
Chief executive officer Lyssa McGowan commented: “Our colleagues came together over our peak trading period to deliver a record sales performance, growing against a very strong performance in the prior year. While a slower market over peak meant our sales growth didn’t quite hit the levels we expected, the business remains well positioned to benefit from long term growth in the sector as we continue to win share and grow volumes across food and deliver differentiated performance through our unique vets business.
“Importantly, we will shortly follow up launching our new distribution centre with the launch of our new digital platform, in line with our target. Our new digital platform is a key foundation of our growth strategy, bringing vastly improved user experience to our consumers, and creating opportunities to improve cross-sell into accessories and further grow share of wallet. With these foundations now in place we are well positioned for the future.”
