Petco is testing a new format that features health-and-wellness products and services for farm animals as well as traditional pets.
Located in Floresville, Texas, the new Petco Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply is designed as a one-stop-shop for customers with pets and livestock such as horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals. Several additional locations are expected to open this year. In remarks at Petco’s investor day in May, chief stores officer Justin Tichy said the company had identified “hundreds of potential markets that we could serve.”
In addition to a curated farm and feed assortment and traditional pet supplies, Farm & Pet Supply features self-wash stations, mobile vaccination and grooming. It also offers curbside pickup, same-day delivery and buy online, pickup in-store.
The new concept provides Petco with the opportunity to capture significant incremental market share and share of wallet gains in the growing rural market. Fourteen percent of the US population live in rural areas and the number is rapidly growing, with an estimated $7bn total addressable market in small-town and rural locations, according to statistics cited by Petco. In 2021, exurban counties saw the biggest increase in population growth across the board, with about 80 per cent gaining new residents.
“These are rapidly-growing markets where pet parents are looking for an experienced, pet-dedicated partner like Petco to help them care for the health and wellness of their animals,” said Petco CEO Ron Coughlin. “This is an exciting opportunity for us to serve more pets by dramatically expanding local access to healthy pet products and services.”
