With a focus on raw foods,
the new Takoma Park store
features 13 freezers, with four
freezers in a back room to accommodate back stock. The
Hyattsville store not only offers
eight flat-front freezers, but also
an 8-by- 10 walk-in freezer.
“Raw is the healthiest way
to feed, the least processed of all
forms of foods, so all of the nutrients are completely bioavail-able,” Paez said.
Also in the product mix
are corn-, wheat- and soy-free, freeze-dried, dehydrated, kibble and canned foods
for dogs and cats, and many
baked treats. A bakery case
displays mouthwatering, local goodies. Small mammal
foods, as well as bird and organic chicken feed, are among
the offerings too.
“Takoma Park is full of
backyard chicken enthusiasts, and we are supplied by
a great farm for our organic
chicken feed,” Paez said. “We
are also preparing to bring in
horse feed.”
NUTRITION KNOCKING
As many area customers work
60-plus-hour weeks, time is
precious. For this reason, a delivery service has been implemented. Shoppers order online, and product is delivered,
including frozen raw diets, to
their door. Blind or disabled
customers also enjoy having
their pet supplies delivered
and carried inside.
“We provide better service
than the online suppliers because our drivers get to know
our customers, carry the order
inside and help with the unloading,” Jones-Napier said.
Cardboard boxes used for
manufacturer shipments are
repurposed for use in customer deliveries, and are often reused multiple times by shoppers. The delivery service also
presents the opportunity to
create an expansion, or recapturing, of sales.
“If a customer is buying
cat food and not purchasing
litter, we will ask what type of
litter they use,” Jones-Napier
said. “It might turn out that
they are having litter shipped
in from a big-box retailer, and
we let them know that we can
deliver the same product.”
The move to the new Tako-
ma location has created room
for additional inventory, and a
dedicated shipping and deliv-
ery office furthers the expan-
sion of this service.
“Delivery will become important moving forward,”
Jones-Napier said. “We see a tremendous amount of growth.”
A STRONG SENSE
OF COMMUNITY
Adoption days take place on a
regular basis and involve sev-
eral rescue and shelter organi-
zations. Newly adopted pets
and their owners get a start on
home life with $50 in free sup-
plies and 10 percent off any ad-
ditional purchases.
“We partner with the Washington Humane Society and
Washington Animal Rescue
League in their food bank program for low-income residents
and also broker deals to get product that is short dated into local
food pantries,” Paez said.
Raising environmental
awareness is the goal of Taking
Action Days, during which Paez
and Jones-Napier hold educa-
tional clinics.
“Our clinics discuss issues
like environmental stewardship,
local food or the green living experience,” Jones-Napier said.
For example, these events
have included presentations by
the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
to discuss cleanup of the bay,
or the Humane Society, raising
awareness of the plight of animals in factory farming.
“A web conference, broadcast live with John Goodwin of
the Humane Society, discussed
puppy mills,” Jones-Napier said.
“We now have the technology to expand the audience,”
Paez added. “We aren’t just a
pet supply store; we’re a resource center where people not
only learn how to care for the
pets, but discover all sorts of
other ideas to become involved
in and take action.”
January 2017 Pet Product News International
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