What do you feed your dog?

[^^vampire^^]

That's not relevant. There are customers who spend that, and why should those products not be available with the same level of convenience as the Pedigree and Bobtail that they do stock?

Actually it is very relevant as I see far more people buying expensive ice cream rather than expensive (or even middle range) dog food. Just because you don't think it applies to you doesn't mean your beliefs appy to everyone.

I'm pretty certain that the margin on premium pet food is a lot higher than the average for a supermarket.

The margin may be higher but would you rather earn 25 x R50 on middle range food or 2 x R70 on premium food.
Believe it or not the margins on these items are not that high at all. Being part of a charity I buy food from the large warehouse that supplies the food to local stores and the mark up is usually about R25-R50.

Add onto that the transport costs and it makes no sense to stock premium dog food in local stores.

 

[Colin62]

Actually it is very relevant as I see far more people buying expensive ice cream rather than expensive (or even middle range) dog food. Just because you don't think it applies to you doesn't mean your beliefs appy to everyone.

What ice cream people buy isn't relevant to whether a supermarket should stock a premium dog food. All your discussion on people's spending preferences have nothing to do with it either.

At the local mall there is a shop that sells premium pet food. They're near the entrance and are paying rent, quite high rent, and making a profit (or they'd have closed down). 50m away there is a Pick 'n Pay. They're a premium tenant, and draw customers into the mall, and therefore pay a lot less rent per square metre than the pet food shop does. They would therefore easily be able to make a profit on selling the same premium pet food that the pet food shop makes a profit selling.

The point is that they are not allowed to - the premium pet food manufacturers will not supply them, and insist on only supplying specialist stores and vets. Most (if not all) of the specialist pet food shops are vet owned, and it's a closed industry with very clear pricing control.

You keep arguing that Pick 'n Pay or Spar or Woolworths don't stock premium pet food because they choose not to, because their customers would rather spend their money on ice cream. You are wrong. They aren't supplied by the manufacturers who chose to keep control of the entire supply chain by limiting who they will supply and who they won't supply.

 

[OMB]

you have to pay for shelf space in your mainstream supermarkets and you also have to enter into discussions around pricing

why pay when you can price and market your product at a premium through channels that you can control, your smaller pet shops generally aren't be in a position to negotiate pricing or stock holding, it could be bad for business if you don't stock a brand such as Hills

 

[bokdrol]

What ice cream people buy isn't relevant to whether a supermarket should stock a premium dog food. All your discussion on people's spending preferences have nothing to do with it either.

At the local mall there is a shop that sells premium pet food. They're near the entrance and are paying rent, quite high rent, and making a profit (or they'd have closed down). 50m away there is a Pick 'n Pay. They're a premium tenant, and draw customers into the mall, and therefore pay a lot less rent per square metre than the pet food shop does. They would therefore easily be able to make a profit on selling the same premium pet food that the pet food shop makes a profit selling.

The point is that they are not allowed to - the premium pet food manufacturers will not supply them, and insist on only supplying specialist stores and vets. Most (if not all) of the specialist pet food shops are vet owned, and it's a closed industry with very clear pricing control.

You keep arguing that Pick 'n Pay or Spar or Woolworths don't stock premium pet food because they choose not to, because their customers would rather spend their money on ice cream. You are wrong. They aren't supplied by the manufacturers who chose to keep control of the entire supply chain by limiting who they will supply and who they won't supply.

I doubt the average supermarket would be able to keep the range of stock required to make it worth their while. E.g. there is a RC food for almost every breed, large dogs, small dogs, puppies, sensitive skins, sensitive tummies, for cats different breeds (MC, oriental, Persian etc) hairball food, sensitive tummies, fussy cats, sensitive skin, urinary tract, renal, weightloss, neutered male, indoor, babycat, kitten, adult, senior, you name it. Then there are Hills and Iams with their different versions.

 

[ichigo]

I have changed to Ultradog premium as it seems my puppy loves it way more than Hills.

 

[akescpt]

I have changed to Ultradog premium as it seems my puppy loves it way more than Hills.

surely u cant determine it like it. they smell and lick their own arse enthusiastically as well.

 

[^^vampire^^]

What ice cream people buy isn't relevant to whether a supermarket should stock a premium dog food. All your discussion on people's spending preferences have nothing to do with it either.

At the local mall there is a shop that sells premium pet food. They're near the entrance and are paying rent, quite high rent, and making a profit (or they'd have closed down). 50m away there is a Pick 'n Pay. They're a premium tenant, and draw customers into the mall, and therefore pay a lot less rent per square metre than the pet food shop does. They would therefore easily be able to make a profit on selling the same premium pet food that the pet food shop makes a profit selling.

The point is that they are not allowed to - the premium pet food manufacturers will not supply them, and insist on only supplying specialist stores and vets. Most (if not all) of the specialist pet food shops are vet owned, and it's a closed industry with very clear pricing control.

You keep arguing that Pick 'n Pay or Spar or Woolworths don't stock premium pet food because they choose not to, because their customers would rather spend their money on ice cream. You are wrong. They aren't supplied by the manufacturers who chose to keep control of the entire supply chain by limiting who they will supply and who they won't supply.

Actually it is because if the ice cream moves more than the dog food then the shop will stock ice cream rather than dog food. If that isn't at all relevant in any way then I clearly got caught in an evil ploy by everyone on the planet to trick me into what "relevant" actually mean. You go world - you got me!

I seriously doubt anyone with 2 or more braincells wouldn't sell their product to anyone willing to purchase. If PnP and the like were willing to buy to sell premium dog food it would bring in a large amount for the manufacturers - it would be absolutely idiotic to turn down business on such a large scale.

Unfortunately the truth still stands that most people aren't willing to buy premium dog food from PnP and the like because they are there for the savings, not for the over-inflated prices or premium items and that is why you have smaller pet shops and vets selling the premium food, it is a very niche market that these huge chain stores aren't willing to take a chance on.