Graham Coxell, chairman of Paws Holdings, talks to pbwnews editor Justine Thompson
1. Why did you decide to enter the pet industry after a career in finance?
For a number of reasons. I was fortunate enough, through attracting great teams, to have achieved a lot in the financial services sector. This gave me the opportunity to work for both small and big organisations where we would pride ourselves on being great places to work. Being passionate about mental health and wellbeing, I wanted to take the people skills I had accrued from these experiences into a new environment where I felt we could potentially build a legacy to help improve these two aspects in an unforgiving world.
The pet sector and the joy pets bring to their parents felt like a pretty natural step; I have always loved my pets and been interested in how I can ensure they receive the care and kindness they deserve. As figures show, I am not alone in this, and so I thought it the perfect time to see if I could help advance the market’s offering to pet lovers keen to safeguard the holistic wellbeing of their dogs and cats.
2. What was your first venture in pets?
My first step into the pet trade was taken when I acquired a majority stake in the Kokoba Group (now part of Paws Holdings Ltd) in April 2019. This was following my appointment as chairman of the business in Q4 2018.
3. Lockdowns have driven more consumers online. Do you think this trend will continue?
All of us at Paws believe that the broad range and convenience offered by online shopping has really been emphasised to customers during this pandemic. Like many industries, the pandemic has not artificially created change, but rather accelerated existing shifts in the market. As a result, I don’t think that customers will return in totality to bricks-and-mortar shopping in the way they did prior to lockdown life. Besides, who wants to lug a 5-10kg bag of pet food all the way home?!
However, I do believe that online businesses, particularly in sectors such as the pet sector, need to build more personalisation and recommendations. This will be based upon having a unique and well-informed understanding of both the needs of the pet and the pet parent rather than just ‘product pushing’.
4. What drew you to aquire Fetch when you already have Pet-Supermarket.co.uk?
Fetch is an incredibly strong brand with a loyal customer base that will help us to develop our authority in the sector. Pertinently to us, it provides a unique opportunity because there is little crossover between our customer bases.
Importantly, it will also enable us to build a business of scale that can employ logistical synergies to help provide a best-in-class service to customers. To give you an idea of scale, Fetch is slightly bigger than Paws’ existing business, so post-acquisition we will have roughly 500,000 customers with a combined pro forma turnover in excess of £55m.
5. How much does the welfare of pets play a part in your business?
The welfare of pets is at the very heart of our business. We don’t think of ourselves as simply a pet retailer. The thought process behind adding Fetch to our family of brands (Pet-Supermarket.co.uk, PetMeds and MedicAnimal) is that it can help support our ambition to become Europe’s number one online dog and cat wellbeing business. We want to give our customers a ‘best friend for life’ and a go-to place for all their pet wellbeing needs.
I also think it is important to remember, as I mentioned earlier, that pets can support our own wellbeing. We know from research that becoming a pet parent is good for both your mindset and emotional wellbeing. With this in mind, I think it is all the more important that the welfare of pets is provided for in the marketplace. This is exactly what we believe the Paws family of brands can deliver.
6. Do you have a process/person for sourcing new products?
We do have a dedicated team in place, but we are not simply a retailer. Our aim is to build a community of pet lovers who are provided for by our dedicated team.
In addition, our in-house vet is looking at who the best partners are in the marketplace for insurance, wellbeing wearable devices, online vet support etc, so we can offer our pet parents the full choice of wellbeing needs on an integrated basis.
7. What do you think is the most lucrative sector of the pet industry?
While being profitable is important, we don’t look at our brands’ offerings in that way. Another great quote I have on my desk is ‘….if you are obsessed with looking for profits, you will never find them. But if you focus on satisfying the customer, you will gain everything’. Our goal is to be the best wellbeing dog and cat business, providing informed personalisation to our pet parents, and from there we believe we will build sustainable long-term relationships.
We do, however, feel confident that the segment of the sector we serve (i.e. customers who are willing to pay for quality products to ensure the wellbeing of their pets) is robust and that owners who see pets as members of the family will always be happy to put their wellbeing ahead of cost-cuts. In fact, Mintel research found in 2018 that UK pet care buyers would rather cut back spending on themselves than on their pet. We haven’t seen anything to suggest this prioritisation has changed.
8. Are you always on the lookout for new business opportunities?
We do have ambition to grow and wouldn’t rule out further acquisitions in the future if they were a good fit with our brands, but further inorganic growth is not a priority right now. With Fetch joining the family, we now have a stable of strong brands that we can grow organically.
9. Do you have pets yourself?
My personal situation makes it difficult for me to be a pet owner at the moment because I’m so busy and spend most of my life in an apartment in Westminster. However, my daughters live relatively locally with a family dog, Iris, who fortunately I see often. Iris is a four-year-old Spanish water dog and really rules the roost.
10. What’s your ambition for the company?
Our stated ambition is to create Europe’s number one online dog and cat wellbeing business.
What that means is creating a meeting place for customers who are passionate about ensuring the holistic wellbeing of their pets. We want to create a community that can be a best friend for life for pet owners. This isn’t necessarily about building a huge business. It is about building something that is valuable to our customers because of the service that it provides.
Looking forward we are looking to consolidate the brands (aside from perhaps Fetch because of how strong a brand it is) under one brand (Paws).
Our team is really excited about our vision and the progress so far. But what’s as important is that they love being a part of the Paws family, as they know we share their passion for pets!
