Pets live in lap of luxury with new high-end goodies

DSN Retailing Today,  Sept 12, 2005  by Doug Desjardins

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The $35 billion pet industry is fueled mainly by the need to feed pets and tend to their basic needs, but retailers are seeing an increased demand for products designed to pamper pets. Pet specialty stores and even mass merchants are carrying more clothing and high-end toys and gadgets that treat pets more like children than animals.

One of the best (or most extreme) examples is Paw Palace, an online retailer of high-end pet products that opened its first store last month in Red Bank, N.J. The "pet boutique" carries a full line of toys, accessories and "high-end pet fashions to suit any social event."

After a few years as an online retailer, Paw Palace owner Dana Ujobagy decided to test the concept in a real store. Paw Palace specializes in clothing for dogs and carries lines of designer clothing from companies like Little Lily and Hip Doggie.

"Many of our clients are young to middle-aged women who don't have kids so their pooch is their child and they bring them everywhere," said Ujobagy. "So in return they dress and accessorize them so that the dog is as fashionable as the owner."

The high-end accessories run the gamut from the practical to the bizarre. They include dog shoes, jewelry, collars and a Chewnel #5 perfume leash. In-store services feature a puppy gift registry, custom fittings and dog gift baskets.

This high-end trend was also showcased at the San Francisco International Gift Fair in August, which for the first time featured a "Pet Style" category. The display areas of high-end, high-tech products featured a lineup of innovative and odd products including:

* Comfort Pup, a 21-inch plush dog that serves as a surrogate morn for young pups. The doll features a simulated heartbeat on a 30-minute timer to make the puppies think they're sleeping with the real thing.

* K9 Optix, dog sunglasses with pink frames and a rhinestone heart on the corner.

* Pet Sunscreen, to provide UV protection for dogs on the tips of the their ears and noses and to "prevent sun bleaching in dark-haired animals."

Even mass merchants are dabbling in the high-end pet sector. Target, which has made a concerted push into pet products the past few years, now carries several lines of pet clothes from designers like Isaac Mizrahi and accessories for dogs and cats. The retailer also promotes pet pampering on its Web site under the caption "Your Darling Deserves Decadence" and features dozens of high-end products like $110 dog kennels, $65 Houndstooth chenille sweaters and T-shirts emblazoned with "Bling Bling" in rhinestones.

"Target has really done a phenomenal job with pet supplies and they've taken it to a whole new level in terms of merchandising and product selection," said Paul Cooke, vp of trends and industry development for Purina in St. Louis.

Cooke says that as a pet food specialist, Purina has also played a part in the high-end product category. The company's biggest success to date has been Beneful dog food, a healthy line of food it introduced in 2003.

"That's really been our greatest success in the upper-end product category," said Cooke. "It's a home-meal concept that blends nutritional dog food with healthy products like fruits and vegetables." Other Purina Products in the high-end category include Fancy Feast cat food and its Super Premium label for dogs and cats.

Another fast-growing category is high-end boarding for pets. A new company called Pet Estates specializes in "pet townhouses" that can be built in a backyard or as an addition to a home. The Melrose, N.Y.-based company has taken a new approach to the concept of dog kennels and eliminated negative aspects like chain link fences.

"To correct these situations, we've been forced to think outside of the box of the pre-existing kennel business," said co-owner Mary Lynn Gagnon. These "corrections" include one-and two-bedroom pet apartments that feature beds, televisions and outdoor play areas that can even include a private pond for swimming. Pet Estates also gives pet owners the option of creating a legal trust for lifetime care of a pet in the event of the owner's demise.

Leading pet retailers PetsMart and Petco are also in the business of providing short-and long-term pet boarding that includes some plush perks. PetsMart's PetsHotels boarding facilities feature amenities such as color TVs for dogs tuned in to Animal Planet. And Petco has its Doggie Day Camp service in some stores that provide daytime care and training.

While people outside the pet world may find some of the products and services extreme, pet owners don't see it that way. Cooke said the trend toward wellness and healthy living that emerged in the 1990s has now made its way into the pet world. "It's the whole humanization of pets," said Cooke. "Most pet owners really do consider pets to be part of their family."

Market research conducted among pet owners supports that theory. Close to 80% of pet owners allow their pets to sleep in their beds with them and 40% carry a photo of their pet with them at all times. And 50% of owners said they'd risk their life to save their pet.