Central’s pet business stays at $500 million
Net sales remained nearly flat in the 3 months due to lower demand.
The California-headquartered retailer notes that net sales for its pet portfolio totaled $503 million (€460.4M) in the 3 months to 24 June 2023, flat from $505 million (€462.3M) in the same period of 2023.
Some areas of growth in the pet segment were partly offset by lower demand for durable pet products and lower sales of outdoor cushions.
“We are seeing more downward pressure in the teens on the durables, again, think fish tanks, small animal enclosures and pet beds,” CEO Timothy Cofer said to investors.
The “slight decline” in pet ownership post-Covid also affected the company’s performance.
The operating income for its pet segment also declined slightly to $60 million (€54.9M), representing a $3 million (€2.7M) drop compared to last year.
E-commerce growth
Central highlighted the double-digit growth of e-commerce, now representing 25% of all pet branded sales.
According to Cofer, e-commerce remains the growth driver for the category at the expense of pet specialty. “We once again grew our online market share broadly across many of our categories, including dog treats and toys, equine, flea and tick, small animal and bird,” he says.
Central Garden & Pet reported global sales of $1 billion (€910M) in the last quarter, a slight increase of 1% against the same period in 2022.
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