Dogfight Looms For Spokane Market Rival Pet Supply Chains Set Up Shop In Spokane Valley

Survival of the fittest suddenly has taken on new meaning in the Spokane Valley.

The country’s two largest pet supply chains are setting up shop just blocks from each other - and near at least four smaller pet stores.

PETsMART and Petco are the most ferocious competitors in the dog-eat-dog world of pet supplies, bringing fear to some smaller stores.

“Yup, they’re coming. Batten down the hatches,” said Nancy Flanary, owner of Thunder Mountain Dog Supply, located west of the two new stores.

PETsMART is the leading retailer of pet supplies in the country. A huge warehouse-type store with departments for everything from fish to reptiles to small animals, the 25,000-square-foot store will be built on the east side of Safeway, east of Sprague and Evergreen. PETsMART also offers in-house veterinarian service, grooming and vaccinations.

The Phoenix, Ariz.-based chain has more than 250 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. PETsMART reported more than $600 million in sales for the fiscal year ending January 1995.

Though No. 2 Petco’s sales and store size are smaller, the company has a few more stores than PETsMART, including two already open in Spokane. The 12,500-square-foot store is under construction in half of the former Bingo hall on the northeast corner of Sprague and Sullivan.

“We compete directly with PETsMART in every city we’re in, so that’s nothing new,” said Craig Walker, Petco’s vice president of advertising. Petco also will offer vaccination and grooming in addition to pet supplies.

The San Diego-based company plans to have 260 stores in 13 states and the District of Columbia by the end of 1996. Petco reported $188 million in sales for the fiscal year ending in January 1995.

Neither of the two chains sells dogs or cats, but both sell birds, fish and some small animals.

Like many large retailers, PETsMART and Petco can use increased advertising and volume-buying to corner the market on the most profitable items, making it tough for smaller retailers to compete.

Kitty-corner and across the street from PETsMART is Evergreen Pet Shop, a family-owned business on 8,500 square feet. Though Evergreen has somewhat of a niche with its large stock of live animals including dogs, cats, exotic birds and fish, the owners are preparing themselves for PETsMART’s arrival.

“We’re concerned about it,” said Curt Nerger, a spokesman for Evergreen. “We’re taking a look at some stores across the state that are in the same situation.”

Evergreen is planning to reexamine their stock and possibly phase out items that don’t sell as well, focusing instead on name brands, Nerger said.

Similar to the approach taken by general-merchandise stores that compete with Wal-Mart, Nerger and other local pet store owners say they’re counting on experience and the personalized service they offer to carry them through.

“The bottom line is we feel that it’s service, with the knowledge of the people we have and the years in the business,” Nerger said.

Farther west on Sprague, Flanary echoed Nerger’s comments.

“Pets are not a ‘mart’ type of thing. It’s more personal” Flanary said. She said, however, that she feared smaller pet shops would be hurt by the arrival of the “big guns.”

Small stores aren’t the only ones concerned.

Jay Allert, president of AslinFinch Feed Co., said he’s considering remodeling or expanding the company’s Valley site. Though Aslin-Finch has wholesale feed and manufacturing operations, the company relies on its three retail locations for a substantial portion of its revenue. The Valley site is on Sprague between the under-construction Petco and PETsMART.

Allert is more worried about PETsMART than Petco.

“PETsMART is the one that damages the market,” Allert said. “They come in and price, price, price, and try to drive people out.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Valley pet stores