Pets at Home like-for-likes up 1.7% in first quarter
Pets at Home has said its like-for-like sales grew by 1.7% in its first quarter despite sales being impacted by hot weather and a poor season for health and hygiene products.
The company said the sales growth was driven by its advanced nutrition and services categories, VIP loyalty club, and its omni-channel business.
In the 16 weeks to 16 July, total revenue increased by 6.4% to £224.2 million. Merchandise like-for-like revenues edged up 0.9% while services like-for-like revenue grew by 11.7%.
Nick Wood, Pets at Home chief executive, said: “Our core strengths in advanced nutrition, vet and grooming services have continued to deliver in the first quarter, underpinned by our VIP loyalty club. We have been particularly pleased with such strong VIP membership signup and swipe rate of the card at tills.
“Following strong health & hygiene product performance in the prior year, we experienced a particularly challenging season this quarter, which alongside a short period of very hot weather in July, created a significant impact on group revenue performance.”
During the period, Pets at Home opened three Pets at Home stores, six veterinary practices and four Groom Room salons. It also opened Barkers of Marlow, which is the second of its high street based premium dog store trials.
Pets at Home said its VIP Club now has a membership of 3.6 million, which represents an increase of over 400,000 since the end of the previous financial year.
Wood added: “We expect new store and services openings to remain second half weighted and are confident in our rollout targets for the full year. Our full year outlook remains in-line with market expectations.”
