Pets at Home makes strong start to year
Pets at Home grew its like-for-like sales by 8% in its first quarter as it continued to extend the range of services it offers customers.
In the 16 weeks to 18 July, group revenue was up 9.9% to £303.4 million as retail revenue climbed by 8.7% to £266.4 million.
Retail like-like for-like sales rose by 8.2% in the quarter. Pets at Home’s vet practices also performed well, with like-for-like revenue increasing by 6.2%.
The company said its investment in “convenient, competitive and innovative shopping” had paid off and had helped to attract new customers.
Due to the strong performance, the company is now anticipating that full year underlying profit will be slightly ahead of expectations.
During the period, Pets at Home acquired a stake in Tailster.com, the online marketplace for pet walking.
Pets at Home group chief executive Peter Pritchard (pictured) said: “We have seen a strong sales performance across the business, particularly in retail where like-for-like sales were 8.2% – an impressive 14% on a two-year basis. We are also making good progress in our Vet Group.
“At this early stage in the year, and with ongoing uncertainty across the wider retail sector, we remain cautiously optimistic and focused on delivering our pet care strategy.”
Hear Peter Pritchard give the keynote speech at the 2020 Omnichannel Futures Conference on 5 February.
