In the next coming weeks, Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) plans to expand outside of its normal retail offerings like appliances or paint to include Petco (NASDAQ: WOOF) shops in stores where consumers will be able to purchase dog food and cat litter, as well as do activities like visit with a vet.
Both Petco and Lowe's announced this deal late last week in order to monitor their store-in-store locations. There will be around 15 in total: one that will come out near San Antonio in the beginning of February, and 14 more that will come out in the areas of Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina toward the end of March.
Nick Konat, Petco Chief Merchandising Officer, has stated that he anticipates that the shops will particularly appeal to millennials who are more DIY-inclined. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the individuals within this age group carried on with "nesting" trends, which is when they would purchase houses or move into bigger and better homes. They would also buy pets to serve as "trial runs" before having children.
"They're a high-spend customer and they really take care of their pet like their family," Konat said. "And they've also been doing the same with their homes, with a lot of them being new homeowners or new renters."
Every Petco shop will feature its logo as well as items for cats and dogs. This will include exclusive food labels, like its food brand (WholeHearted) and it's fashion brand (Youly). It will have over 700 products that will be purchasable either online or for pick up in store, depending on if people live close by a Lowe's store that works through the pilot program.
All of the shops will be managed by Petco workers, on top of the ones that are from Lowe's, according to Nick Konat. The addition of Petco shops to Lowe's stores will surely offer a new aspect to Lowe's that had not been previously found. People will likely feel more at ease with shopping for their pets and experience more of an at-home or comfortable feeling when shopping there, which will drum up a bit more popularity and business to both places.