Pet supplies
Pet supplies is a market segment with a wide range of products and services for pets .
Market potential
The economic importance of pet necessities was. Hardly noticed in Germany until the beginning of the 21st century. This is a rapidly growing market, as the growing number of pets suggests. In 1992 only 4.1 million dogs lived in German households, in 2004 it was already 5.3 million. During the same period, the number of cats grew from 6 million to 7.5 million. In the aquarium and the hamsters , rabbits and other small animals Taken together, it has even more than doubled - namely from 0.9 million to 1.95 million for aquariums and for small animals from approx. 3 million to 6 million.
While a few decades ago pets were mainly fed with leftover food from the household of the host family, 90% of German dogs and cats are now fed with industrially manufactured ready-made food. The product range has differentiated itself to "precise" coordination for the animal. There is breed- and age-specific food, "indoor" and "outdoor" food for cats, special food for dogs with digestive disorders, etc. The leading specialist discounter offers over 10,000 different items. Sales for instant pet food were 2.69 billion euros in 2009, and 909 million euros were spent on accessories such as dog chew bones, cat litter and scratching posts. This puts the Germans in the top group after the British and French in a European comparison.
Economic benefit
Austrian studies provide more precise information about the “domestic animal as an economic factor”. In the Alpine republic, keeping dogs alone secures 5,600 jobs. Every year 150 million euros are collected from the public purse, the removal of faeces and hospital costs from dog bites have already been deducted. For Germany, these values can be estimated by multiplying them by a factor of 10. Another Austrian study calculated that dog owners spend an average of 14,000 euros from birth to the death of their four-legged friend. Even the automotive industry benefits from these expenses , as dog owners often buy station wagons instead of the cheaper sedans .
According to an estimate by the German Institute for Economic Research, German health insurers save 5.6 billion euros annually by keeping pets. Those who have a pet go to the doctor less often than people without pets.
In 2014, a study was published for the first time that comprehensively depicts and quantifies the macroeconomic effects of pet ownership for Germany. The "pet study" prepared by Renate Ohr , University of Göttingen, not only includes sales figures for pet nutrition or accessories, but also expenditure and sales for pet health, breeding, animal insurance, animal boarding houses, animal burials, dog schools, animal shelters, animal books and much more - in each case separated into dogs, cats, ornamental birds, ornamental fish, small animals. According to this study, Germany's pet husbandry has an annual turnover of over 9.1 billion euros, which means around 185,000 - 200,000 jobs. In addition to this measurable added value, there are also economic and social returns that are not or not fully incorporated into the national product, such as the services of "working dogs" or the effects of pet ownership on health and quality of life.
Market development
The trend animal that promises sales growth is the cat. In the depth psychological analysis of Rheingold - a market research company - the cat was symbolized as a "cuddle catalyst", "sublime reflection" or simply as a "piece of natural art of survival": "With this return to nature one hopes to take a piece with oneself too to be able to equip the resilient art of survival of the cat and in this way to arm oneself against tougher times and the urban jungle. "
According to surveys, the argument that you have no money plays almost no role in the decision for or against a pet. According to industry observations, the role of pets has shifted to be treated like family members and sometimes like children.
Corresponding shifts can also be seen in the price categories of pet products: Dog and cat owners are increasingly buying non-name products and are therefore particularly cheap or particularly expensive. The middle price segment , in which the classic branded goods move, is in dire straits. Discounters like Aldi and Lidl have already fought for a market share of around 30 percent.
Under the pressure of the discount trade, brand providers are looking for new pampering products. At the Waltham Center for Pet Care & Nutrition , 150 km north of London , around 50 scientists test new products on a thousand laboratory animals. One focus of interest is the question of how best to defuse farts and bad mouth odor from dogs.
Individual evidence
- ↑ IVH: The German Pet Market: Structure & Sales Data ( Memento of the original from September 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 636 kB)
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Pet Study
