The Augusta based pet store chain Pet Life is scheduled to open a new location in Wiscasset at the end of April.
According to the company’s marketing manager Seth Rogers, the store will occupy a 7000 square foot space in the Wiscasset Marketplace, a strip mall located on Rt. 1 that has undergone an aggressive makeover since being purchased by South Portland developer Gary Crosby in January. The Wiscasset store will be twelfth location for the 25-year-old company and join a crowded field of Lincoln County retailers who offer pet related items.
According to Rogers, the company, formerly called the Kennel Shop, is opening roughly one store a year despite the lingering economic downturn in the region.
“We look at areas that may have a need,” said Rogers by phone April 4. “Certainly the location is great and close to a lot of traffic.”
Rogers said the store would create between eight and 10 new jobs for the area.
“Our strong point is customer service and product knowledge,” said Rogers. “That’s what sets us apart; it’s giving people the big pet store experience in a small setting.”
Wayne Averill, co-owner of Ames Brothers True Value, currently the only pet store in Wiscasset, said he welcomes the competition.
“It will force us to be tougher,” said Averill. “The stores are fairly small with a limited selection and we have a lot more to offer.”
Averill added that he has visited Pet Life stores to research product lines and get a sense of their approach to business. Despite the buying power of a chain store, which allows Pet Life to purchase stock in bulk at discounted cost, Averill said his prices would be the same or in some cases lower.
Both Rogers and Averill acknowledge that pet supplies are big business. According to a 2008 study conducted by the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association, expenditures on pets topped $40 billion; a number that was almost double the estimated $23 billion spent just a decade earlier.
The same survey revealed that 63 percent of American homes contained a pet, a percentage that has steadily risen every year since 1988, with dogs and cats being the most popular animals to own.
In addition to the eight Maine locations, Pet Life operates one New Hampshire store and two in Massachusetts.
