Pet Shop Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide to Success

This comprehensive business plan outlines the strategy for establishing a successful pet shop in Loughborough. It covers market analysis, target audience, marketing objectives, operational plans, and financial projections. The plan emphasizes a customer-centric approach, focusing on providing high-quality products and services to pet owners in the local area. It also explores the potential for future expansion into veterinary services and online sales.

Business Essential: Introduction
1

Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................3
Task 1...........................................................................................................................4
Part A........................................................................................................................4
Part B........................................................................................................................4
Task 2...........................................................................................................................6
Task 3...........................................................................................................................8
Task 4...........................................................................................................................9
Task 5.........................................................................................................................12
Task 6.........................................................................................................................13
Conclusion..................................................................................................................14
Reference list..............................................................................................................15
2

Introduction
Businesses in the contemporary world succeed through efficient planning,
implementation and constant learning activities. The business ideas require the
correct balance between creativity, innovation and utility aligned with pragmatism.
The business ideas proposed in this report would encompass the establishment of a
pet shop that caters to the diverse needs of the customers in the locality and beyond.
Pet shops conjoined with veterinary services, pharmacy storing diverse collection of
pets and pet food has proven to be profitable businesses due to the increasing
demand of exotic pets and their disparate diets. The report further illustrates the form
of ownership, launch event, budget, marketing objectives, and business operations
in accordance with the market scenario for pet stores.
3

Task 1
Part A
Business idea
The business idea revolves around establishing a Pet shop with an adjunct
veterinary pharmacy that can be further extended into a full-fledged health care
centre, depending upon the success of the initiative. The first step would involve
opening the pet shop selling pets, pet food and not-food items including leashes,
cages, decorative toys, belts and so on.
Sector
Market penetration in this specific sector can be challenging but the demands in this
sector are rising with creates the scope for establishing the shop and expanding the
business in near future (Chaston, 2014). The store would be launched as a high
street store initially then with success expansion into veterinary sector and further
online portals can be tapped for expansion of customer base effectively.
Location
The location chosen for the establishment would be Loughborough in downtown on
High street, in between the Carillon Court and Wood Gate. This region has a lot of
business offices and residencies as well that would be ideal to get the much needed
attention from a huge customer base and potential pet owners.
Business market
The market is dynamic and expanding at a rapid rate. The number of pet owners is
gradually rising in the country (Saleem, 2017). Thus, the business market has been
strategically chosen for establishing a profitable business. The location is ideal is for
capturing the business market effectively.
Part B
Objectives
The objectives of the pet shop primarily outline the following:
 To sell a large range of pets and complete assortment of pet products
4

 To cater to the customers requiring high quality professional products and
services
 To sustain the supplies and constantly be in business by competing with the
rivals in the Loughborough area
 To sustain positive customer relationships by controlling operational costs
 To compete successfully and emerge as a leading pet shop in the area and
gradually in UK
 To extend the business into a veterinary clinic and drug store that caters
exclusively to the pets
Form of ownership
The most suitable ownership for this business would be ‘Partnership’. The business
can be jointly owned by me along with my wife who is a licensed veterinarian. We
have an experience of managing such entrepreneurial endeavours in Romania and
thus controlling the business and managing the profits would be realistic. The low
starting costs and the operational costs being minimal initially further enhances the
desirability of this particular business model over others (Sloman and Jones, 2017).
The management is also simpler and profits remain within the family, liabilities are
also limited and distributed amongst a closed knit group of individuals facilitating the
prosperity of the business.
5

Task 2
PESTEL analysis
Political influence of the business start-up is minimal. The legal obligations however
remain; political parties set up and exercise the legislation powers that affect the
business indirectly.
Economic factors like fluctuation in currency rates, interest rates, exchange rates
and growth in economy affects the business to the huge extent. The capital for the
business would be arranged through business loan and hence the interest rates are
of particular relevance (Titman et al., 2017). Furthermore, the economic growth
would also affect the growth of the business as the disposable income, tendency to
invest in pets and affordability of the exotic pets, pet foods would be directed by the
economic growth.
Social structure and factors also influence the business. The demographic
distribution of the customers dictates the growth of the business. The major
customer base is comprised of children and elders who are main clientele
demographic (Goss, 2015). The high percentage of animal lovers in the society also
affects the rate of sales, thus the societal structure influences the sales to a huge
extent.
Technological factors however do not have pronounced effect on the pet shop
business as the immediate idea, but with evolution of the business and penetration in
the online markets, the business would have massive technological impacts
incorporated into the business policy.
Legal factors that impact the business include discrimination law, equality act,
consumer law, employment law, health and safety law and antitrust law (Bryman and
Bell, 2015). These factors cumulatively affect a business. The Pet shop business is
further influenced by the local ordinances that redistrict the number of pets
permissible for individuals. Furthermore, animal welfare directed laws and legal
protection for pets are also crucial to be considered for thus business in particular.
Environmental impacts of pets are substantial. They produce 30%±13% by mass,
and through diet they contribute up to 30% to the environmental impacts in terms of
6

use of fossil fuels, land, phosphate, water and biocides. The consumption of dog and
cat products is responsible for release of up to 64±16 million tonnes CO2 equivalent
CH4 and NO2, thus it has a prominent environmental footprint (Androniceanu, 2017).
Thus, the business is moderately influenced by the environment.
7

Task 3
Defining the Launch event
The launch of the pet shop would be on a Saturday afternoon when people are
available to shop and visit newly opened stores. The promotional events preceding
the launch includes publicity through local newspaper advertisements, flyers and
radio broadcast through BBC2. The target customers would be strategically attracted
through videos about animal life and caring about animals.
Budget
The Pet shop would launch a diverse product range that would require investment of
about 80,000£ in the remodelling of shop and racking products. Periodically the
budget would be altered according the progress of the business and the profits
gained out of the business would dictate the ‘rolling budget’ (Erasmus et al., 2016).
However, the initial budget to determine the liquid cash and expenditure has been
traced below.
Launch Event
Costs
Venue 8000£
Products (pets, pet food, non-food products) 30,000£
Catering 300 £
Advertising 5000 £
Total costs 43,300 £
Net position 80,000 £
Budget available 36700 £
Actual spend 45,000 £
Variance ±1700
Table: Budget for the launch event of Pet shop
(Source: Created by the author)
8

Task 4
Marketing objectives
Marketing techniques employed would be specific, measurable, achievable, and
realistic and bound by time to ensure the direction of the business is toward progress
(Artto et al., 2017). The plans progressively developed, encompasses some basic
objectives common to all businesses and applicable to the pet shop as well.
The marketing objectives that outline the business include the following mainly:
 Enhancement of sales within 1 year
 Growth of market share up to 5% in Loughborough in 1 year
 Building awareness about the pet shop in adjacent locality
 Target new customers around the city after a year
 Target new markets through expansion into a complete pet health care set-up
 Improvement of stakeholder relationship through positive behaviour and
inclusive schemes
 Increase the profits and gradually the profit margins after achieving above
objectives
Target Markets
The target market for the business encircles children and elders, who indulge in pet
purchases frequently. Pets are known to lower blood pressure, depression and
loneliness which scourge the lives of elders often (MacRae, 2015). Several studies
show, that when in companionship of pets, children develop better interpersonal
skills, compassion and elicit positive behaviour that helps them in learning and
developing cognitive abilities (Pakroo, 2018).
Marketing Mix
Element Description Justification
Price The pricing strategy for the varied
products would be initially
competitive.
Studies show that
competitively pricing
for small business
initially is profitable
thus this strategy
9

would be adopted
Product Varied products including pets, pet
food, pet accessories and pet
houses would be sold initially.
Quality, convenience, branding and
accessorising the products would
be continually done for
diversification.
Diversification attracts
more customers and
helps in expansion of
customer base.
Place The business plan resolves around
direct sales through high street
store
The high street
location is ideal for the
business as it attracts
more people with
buying potential and
disposable income
required for buying
and maintains the
pet’s wellbeing.
Promotion Every purchase for the initial 5
months would be rewarded with a
referral coupon, if the referenced
friend or family makes a purchase,
the referred and the initial customer
both get discounts.
Strategic pricing based
on market demands
and rival’s prices,
initially facilitates
penetration and then
promotion followed
through advertising,
leaflets, free gifts and
discounts (Hatten,
2015) would notify
neighbouring areas
about its presence.
Table 1: Marketing Mix
(Source: Created by the learner)
Marketing strategies for each target market
10

The elders would be attracted through inclusive pricing, promotional events,
gatherings at the store to popularise the utility of pets and the comfort that animals
can provide to owners. Animal care can be promoted through informative
approaches informed to pet owners when they buy a pet. Several magazines that
discuss animal care would also be stocked along with pet products and displayed
beside the counter. The target demographic of children would be accessed through
distribution of flyers, decorative sign board and attractive displays that would capture
their attention (Schaper et al., 2014). They would also be involved in animal care
training provide at the store once in a month to engage potential buyers and expand
the customer base.
11

Task 5
Operational Business Decision
Short term operational plans impact the business in the long term and thus they are
of importance to be developed with caution.
The business would operate in minimal capital and weekly stocking of pet food
supplies would be conducted to ascertain the supply is uninterrupted and customer
needs are fulfilled in the best way (Fees, 2016). Customer Retention can be assured
through regular stocking of preferred pet food by customers. A register with sold pets
and their preferences for food and toys can be maintained to assure the needs of the
primary existing returning clientele are met.
Tactical Business Decision
Tactical business plan for the short stretches of time approximately a year is required
for the development of the business as per set guidelines. The tactical plan for the
pet shop business management takes into consideration the risks of increase in
exchange rates for shipping costs of exotic pets like macaws, short hair kittens,
Persian cats, exotic reptiles etc. The currency rates and the local economic rates
taken into accreditation while framing the yearly operational budget involves tactical
decisions as saving a fraction of profits to invest in yearly interactive programs that
aims at encouraging purchasing animals as companions, learning to care for them
and handling them. The costs shall always be kept at minimal and profits margins
would be hiked with increase in demands.
Strategic Business Decision
The strategic business decisions aims at expansion of the business in the long term
and setting a vision for guiding the business (Speight, 2016). The vision for this
business in particular can be extended till 10 years, in 5 years the business would
have generated sufficient profits if plan is adhered to and cash flow is maintained to
extend a veterinary clinic and full-fledged pharmacy to cater to several health care
needs of the pets. In 10 years, the business can extend and penetrate the online
market effectively for profit maximisation.
12

Task 6
The supply chain management is a crucial attribute for management of the business.
Element of supply chain How is it going to be
addressed in business?
Why is this correct way
to operate?
Suppliers of pets The products for sale will be
sourced through suppliers in
UK and overseas. They would
be contacted and supplied with
the information of the needs of
the local population.
This would facilitate the
competitive pricing strategy
Suppliers of pet food The wholesale pet food market
would help supply the raw
materials for the business
regularly.
This would help adhere to
the budget for the
operations of the business.
Suppliers of pet accessories The wholesale pet accessories
suppliers would help supply
the required decorative toys,
leashes and so on as per
customer demands. They can
also be outsourced by placing
bulk orders online.
This would facilitate the
competitive pricing strategy
and assist the business to
be customer centric
effectively.
Table 2: Supply chain management
(Source: Created by the learner)
13

Conclusion
The business plan has been articulated briefly to illustrate the business plan and
market the idea of the pet shop successfully. The launch event, marketing strategies,
business decisions aligned with the sector for establishing profitable businesses has
been demarcated to enable the introduction of the business in the pet industry.
14

Reference list
Androniceanu, A., 2017. The three-dimensional approach of total quality
management, an essential strategic option for business excellence. Amfiteatru
Economic, 19(44), p.61.
Artto, K., Ahola, T., Kyrö, R. and Peltokorpi, A., 2017. Managing business networks
for value creation in facilities and their external environments: A study on co-
location. Facilities, 35(1/2), pp.99-115.
Bryman, A. and Bell, E., 2015. Business research methods. Oxford University Press,
USA.
Chaston, I., 2014. Small business marketing. Palgrave Macmillan.
Erasmus, B., Strydom, J.W. and Rudansky-Kloppers, S. eds., 2016. Introduction to
business management. Oxford University Press Southern Africa.
Fees, C.H., 2016. Small Business Management.
Goss, D., 2015. Small Business and Society (Routledge Revivals). Routledge.
Hatten, T.S., 2015. Small business management: Entrepreneurship and beyond.
Nelson Education.
MacRae, P., 2015. Business and professional writing: A basic guide. Broadview
Press.
Pakroo, P., 2018. The small business start-up kit: A step-by-step legal guide. Nolo.
Saleem, M.A., 2017. The impact of socio-economic factors on small business
success. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 8(1).
Schaper, M.T., Volery, T., Weber, P.C. and Gibson, B., 2014. Entrepreneurship and
small business.
Sloman, J. and Jones, E., 2017. Essential Economics for Business (formerly
Economics and the Business Environment). Pearson Higher Ed.
Speight, C., 2016. Environmental Enrichment for Pet Rabbits–How Can the RVN
Help Educate Owners?. Veterinary Nursing Journal, 31(5), pp.144-148.
15

Titman, S., Keown, A.J. and Martin, J.D., 2017. Financial management: Principles
and applications. Pearson.
16