Pets+ Readers Have Thoughts About Distributors, Cat Trends And The Brain Squad

Praise & Thank Yous

• You guys are the best! PETS+ is our “go-to bible” for all things pet! — Sherry Cassin, Meow Mini Mart, Jersey City, NJ
• Always excellent! Thank you for keeping indies informed and helping us get, be and stay strong! — Claudia Loomis, CB Pet Market, Washington, NJ
• Thank you for keeping us up on all of the new trends and new products. — Cindy Ackerman, Woofies Gourmet Dog Bakery, Rochester, NY
• We stay grateful to PETS+ for always providing resources, knowledge and help in the indie pet industry! — Roxane Cann, The Dapper Hound, Mount Airy, NC
• It’s always a delight when I see y’all in my inbox. — Lori Colburn, Nature’s Pet Market Orenco, Hillsboro, OR

Industry Thoughts

• Distributors: Please do a better job of spreading out your shows! In our area, there were three or four within the span of a month, which is ridiculous. — Shane Somerville, Paddywack, Mill Creek, WA
• Most of my pet food brands are pricing themselves out of the game. With what’s going on in the world today — gas, war, stock market insecurity — people are choosing to hold on tight to their expendable income. — Paul Lewis, The Green K9, Mount Dora, FL
• Some brands that went into big-box stores are talking about how much it hurt their business and how much money they lost in that move. Going into big-box stores isn’t always profitable for brands, and we wish they would work more with the indies that are actually talking about their brand with the consumer. — Jessica Tiersma, Local Paws, Redmond, OR
• In my little pet care industry, it seems as if small details and one-on-one services have become very important to our clients. — Hope Garlick, Little Paws of Hope, Westbury, NY
• I keep seeing information about how cat numbers are up, which is great! But the things I read never talk about it as a percentage of market share, which I think is still relatively small. It’s great that cat is ticking up, but if it’s still a relatively small number compared to dog, it’s not really something to make big business decisions off of yet. Just something to watch. — Cassie Nilsson, The Mill Stores, Whiteford, MD
• I am expanding into cat products because it appears that cats are outpacing dogs as pets in Gen Z and Millennial households. — Gary Hughes, Gangsta Dog, Norfolk, VA

Brain Squad

• I am loving the fun questions and answers each month in the survey! I was cracking up last month reading all the responses! — Shell Tomjack, The sPaw, Rapid City, SD
• I love reading survey answers. It’s like a snapshot into other pet businesses. — Beth Kidd, Dogs By Design, Irwin, PA
• I always love hearing what other retailers are saying about different subjects. Lots of great info, and a lot of really funny comments sometimes! — Diana Farrar, Fifi & Fidos Pet Boutique, San Antonio, TX

Editor’s note: When you take the PETS+ Brain Squad Survey, you get access to all of the survey responses for that month. Join the industry’s largest survey and support group for independent retailers at petsplusmag.com/brainsquad or by scanning the QR code.