Ask the management team at California-based Pet Extreme the reason for the success of the 8-store chain, and you won’t get just one response, but many.
Good customer service, a clean, inviting place to shop, priced-right merchandise, a focus on the community and a well-trained staff are the driving forces that separate the chain from a big box pet store, or your typical mom-and-pop store, for that matter.
It’s a mix that has worked well for the Extreme Team, enabling the stores to thrive during these challenging times, when even a former action-hero governor can’t terminate the state’s budget problems.
Entrepreneur owner Matt Swanson acquired 3 Discount Pet Stores in 2000, which were primarily farm and feed type stores. In 2001, the first Pet Extreme opened in Livermore, followed by Turlock in ’02 and Clovis in ’03.
Pet Extreme is a more upscale version of a locally-owned pet store. Following a five-year wait in which many aspects of the retail format were tweaked, the Sacramento store opened in ’08 and the latest addition, Woodland, just recently opened in April.
Name That Shark
One of the things the company strives for is creating a fun, zoo-like atmosphere for customers. For instance, four of the five stores have a shark tank, a great attraction for kids and adults alike. It’s customary to have a “Name the Shark” contest at a new store opening. The Woodland store has a huge projection screen that displays images of a variety of animals and fishes.
Most stores have DVD monitors that play a continual menu of product videos. Coastal’s own “Designing Spaces” video, a TV clip that featured several different safety and training items, receives prominent play in the stores.
General Manager Joe Perkins said he’s now looking for Coastal to make a video for the popular Shed Magic de-shedding tool.
Joe estimates that Pet Extreme carries about 60’ of Coastal in its stores, adding that “Li’l Pals sales are off the charts.”
The company has a vital and informative web site (www.petextreme.com). It has an impressive orientation toward the community, sponsoring low cost vaccination clinics, adoptions and pet cancer awareness events. Pet lovers can post stories about their pets, and bring their pet to the store for a professional photo session. It’s all part of creating a relationship with its customers and making itself a part of the fabric of the community in which the store operates.
It also has a full color, professional newsletter, full of stories concerning the pet community, event listings as well as products on promotion.
World’s Tallest Dog Comes to Woodland
A recent issue told the story of Gibson, the world’s tallest dog (a 42.2” tall Great Dane) and his April appearance at the Woodland store’s door-busting Grand Opening event. The event also featured Tillman, the well-known skateboard-riding bulldog.
Gibson later went on to develop bone cancer, lost his right front leg and is now “tri-pawed.” It’s a great story and it ties in with Pet Extreme, as it sponsors American Cancer Society Awareness Events and is associated with “Three Paws 4 the Cause.”
What’s in store for the future?
There’s the short-term goal of making the web site online ordering capable, but the larger picture is more far-reaching—the team hopes to shoot for a total of 30 stores in the not-so-distant future. We wish them an X-Treme amount luck