BY Marcel Blok

E-mail: change. stranamics@worldonline.NI

Although the main theme of this PIM'S issue is Fashion & Bedding, I aim to extend my views to the broader spectrum: accessories.

A broad spectrum indeed; the category "accessories" appears to be the reservoir for everything that is not food, pet health care and cat litter.

A reservoir one understands with difficulty since it is not (always) animal specific, it is not purpose specific; the reservoir is a bit "everything for everybody."

Consumers' shopping list

And yet the category is a very attractive one from a manufacturer's and a retailer's point of view thanks to its business dynamics and its margin potential.

Other than the food categories for example, accessories are not top-of-mind for the average pet owner. They tend to partly fullfil a need, such as leashes and collars for dogs and cats, or play on the human-animal bond, such as frisbees.

One thing all accessories seem to have in common is that they do not appear on consumers' shopping lists on a regular basis. And yet the number of accessory items on offer does not cease to grow; the last Interzoo was once again a perfect showcase for this phenomenon. With a few notable exceptions, accessories are not branded in the proper sense. They do find their way to the consumer with a trademark attached, but in the vast majority of cases the trademarks are nothing but "a name on a bag/pack."

Branding

Does this all mean that there are no opportunities out there for successful consumer-oriented branding?

Quite the contrary! I am convinced that there are opportunities, provided that meaningful and sustainable points of differentiation from the otherwise anonymous bulk available on the market will be developed and exploited. And what is the business relevance of consumer-oriented branding in the accessory category? Although the market for pet accessories still shows very healthy growth prospects and will probably continue to do so for some tome, the category will eventually reach the maturity stage. Typical of this stage, retail will become more critical as to the ranges it carries. I have no doubt that retail will then favour those suppliers that support sales through end-user branding and promotion.

The stage of maturity will also lead to changes on the product level. As mentioned earlier, the offering in the category appears to grow like wildfire. Planned obsolescence does not seem to be part of the game. The possibilities that retailers have to absorb these "new and exciting" items will diminish; therefore the opportunity for further growth in the market can also be found in an further expansion of distribution by going into channels which have not yet been tapped. This applies in particular to impulse-oriented items.

All in all, the category is very much alive, has very real and highly attractive growth prospects and offers great opportunities for those companies that consiously seek to find the way to the end-user's heart and mind through branding and differentiation.

PETS International Magazine No. 6 - September 2004