CASCO's comprehensive guide to setting up your own pet shop

When setting up a pet store there are many things that you need to consider as it isn't as straight forward as just finding premises and away you go, think about location, space, parking and footfall of customers.

We are here to help with the design of your store and the layout of the livestock units. Once you have found your ideal premises start to plan the layout of the shop in your head, visit local stores to see what they are doing to get some ideas.

We supply a FREE design pack that has graph paper and units to scale that you can lay on the paper to see what will fit, we have found this to be a good starting point when setting up. We offer a FREE design and quoting service so you know exactly what will fit in the space and how much it is going to cost. CASCO can even supply a 3D walkthrough so you can see exactly how your finished store could look.

Setting up a store is a big challenge and we have a very experienced team to work with you to make it as easy as possible.

Below are some guides from the Pet Care Trust which we hope you will find helpful when planning your store.

The Licence
If you are planning to sell livestock you will require a licence from the local authority granted by them under the Pet Animals Act 1951. Each local authority will attach conditions to the licence and you are required to abide by them. Most authorities use the Model Standards for Pet Shop Licence Conditions drafted by a Joint Working Party of the Pet Care Trust, Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the British Veterinary Association and the Local Government Association. Others issue their own licensing conditions which may be based on those with subtle changes or may have entirely different conditions that have been adopted by that particular authority.

Any new application will require at least one member of staff to be qualified in the City and Guilds/NPTC Operational Principles of Animal Management within a Pet Store (or equivalent).

During the year the local authority will normally make at least one visit for the purpose of inspecting prior to issuing a licence. Further visits may be made throughout the year often after comments or a complaint from the general public.

Licence Fees The fee is decided by each individual local.

Planning
Unless the shop has already been used for a similar purpose it is likely that you will have to apply to the local council for change of approval.

Financial planning
The venture will need to be financed, and there are a number of options to be considered.

The Business Plan
Whether you need outside financial support or not it is good business practice to formulate a Business Plan.

Book Keeping
Many businesses fail because of inadequate financial control and monitoring. Book-keeping does not have to be complicated, but an orderly method is essential. Most businesses rely on manual book-keeping methods, although a number now have progressed to a computer system.

Pricing
Pricing policy should be carefully thought out and reviewed regularly.

Product Range
The first decision to be made is the types of food, cleaning 
materials and other product you will need to buy.

Sales and Marketing
This is your image creator. It must be clean, attractive and well maintained. It is your invitation to the shopper to come inside.

Planning the Selling Area
Once inside the shop the customer will expect to find a neat and tidy layout with livestock seen to be in good condition and housed in clean accommodation.

Useful links:

Pet Care Trust
www.petcare.org.uk

Ornamental Aquatics Trade Association (OATA)
www.ornamentalfish.org

Ornamental Fish International
www.ornamental-fish-int.org

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