Building a Better Doghouse

In the past five years, there have probably been more radical changes in the pet sector than in any other retail merchandise category. The "humanizing" of pets, especially dogs and cats, is bringing about a sea change in owners' attitudes and creating new opportunities regarding what pet owners will buy for their pets and how much they are willing to pay.

Not too many years ago, pet owners were typically families who acquired a pet to entertain their children. Today, more and more pet owners are single adults, empty nesters and aging retirees?all seeking substitutes for human companionship. More and more, pets are becoming pampered members of the family, often being treated like children. The percent of parents or families owning a pet has declined from 73 percent to 68 percent, while childless-couples owning pets have increased from 53 percent to 72 percent, according to a survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

According to the Pet Products Manufacturers Association (PPMA), consumers spent a total of $36 billion on their pets in 2005, an increase of 4 percent, compared to the prior year. Pet owners spent $425 million on pet oral care products alone, a category that barely measured any spending at all five years ago, according to consumer goods research company Packaged Facts. For leading retailers PetSmart and Petco, pet services, including grooming, daycare and training, is the fastest-growing store category.

New York-based WSL Strategic Retail's Wendy Liebmann says: "One of the most interesting facts to emerge from our 2004 How America Shops Macro Trends study is that the pet category was the most dynamic category we studied." Compared to the prior year, shoppers said they were spending more for pet supplies than for any of the other 12 Leading Indicator Categories studied, including food, clothing, beauty, prescriptions, fashion accessories, computers and other merchandise. The spending increase measured 10 percent higher than any other category.

Processed pet foods are becoming more like human foods, with more variety and appeal?and with higher price tags. Upscale and specialty pet foods are becoming a booming industry, with Nestlé SA introducing its new Purina "gourmet" items, including roasted chicken with pasta and carrots and simmered beef with wild rice and spinach. Procter & Gamble's Savory Sauce is a "canine condiment," to be added to dog food to enhance the flavor. Three Dog Bakery Inc., Kansas City, Mo., produces freshness-sealed pouches of wet, all-natural dog food called Entrée that sell for $2.49 each in Kroger grocery stores. And pet snacks, the fastest-growing category of pet food, include miniature pizzas and "Roverolis"?treats shaped like small raviolis.

Spoiling Fido (or Fluffy or Nemo) has become a national pastime. PetSmart now operates pet hotels, where dogs enjoy comfy beds, lamb-skin blankets and ice cream snacks. Target has expanded its in-store pet department, and IKEA offers fancy beds for cats that are actual miniatures of people beds. Pet spas are proliferating, many offering massage therapy and swimming pools. This year, London Bay Homes, Naples, Fla., has installed 20 pet shower units with special enclosures in laundry rooms of its new, custom-built homes?at a cost of $4,000 each. Upscale apparel brands, including Coach, sell fancy collars and rainwear for pets.

Still, pet retailers have only scratched the surface of what can be accomplished in pet store environments?both for pets and for owners. Stores with high-profile gondola and warehouse fixturing stacked with merchandise no longer seem to address the needs of the emerging, more sophisticated pet shopper. For our Design Challenge this year, DDI invited four firms to imagine just how much fun a pet store could be and create sensational, new selling environments for this fast-growing retail category. In the pages that follow, you will see their designs for "top dog" retail stores, as well as concepts for cats, fish, feathered friends and other loveable creatures.

Little Diversified's City Paws creates a community center for pets and owners

City Paws, designed by Charlotte, N.C.-based Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, celebrates the bond between dogs, cats and people by providing an environment where that relationship is expanded to create a community of pet owners.

The structure is environmentally responsive, with a design that allows for natural light and ventilation to pass through the building's skin. The floorplan is organized into two distinct zones: one focusing on unique products for pets, and the other emphasizing service-oriented experiences. An open space where customers and their pets can socialize joins the retail and service sections of the store and creates a sense of community. This open area has a retractable glass roof to let in fresh air and sunlight, and the area is accessible 24/7. An outdoor café provides a venue for everyday interaction, while special activities like pet birthday parties and "new parent" events take place on the lawn. The opportunity to form relationships and join a community is a draw for new pet owners and creates a sense of loyalty among returning customers.

The retail section of the store is organized in the style of a department store?rather than a superstore or boutique?and is designed to function as an extension of the pet owner's lifestyle. The services section of the store allows owners to feel like they are doing something special for their pets by providing high-end spa, daycare and resort experiences, as well as training classes.

City Paws creates an emotional connection by providing lifestyle solutions that cater to customers in urban locations and reflect an understanding of the joys of pet ownership.

?Little Diversified Architectural Consultants

Chute Gerdeman's Aqua Life celebrates the life aquatic for owners and their finned friends

Aqua Life, designed by Chute Gerdeman, is a multilevel specialty store and café focused on freshwater, saltwater and pond-fish habitat designs for the home. It has been designed to inspire people of all ages and lifestyles to creatively explore new ways of integrating underwater ecosystems into their living spaces. The store is an experiential teaching space, empowering customers to learn about fish, coral, plants and lighting to create customized, water-based living environments at every level of scale, from small wall-hung globe aquariums to large-scale water habitats?"living architecture."

The design features a dramatic three-story, faceted aquarium wall. Two mezzanines intersect the aquarium wall, allowing three very different experiential environments. The wall is colorized in gradient shades of blue, starting with deeper indigo and cobalt on the bottom, and transitioning to lighter shades of aqua at the top. The colors, lighting and finishes for each mezzanine level are strategically synchronized, giving customers the feeling that they are actually experiencing being in the sea, from the ocean floor on the ground level to the surface of the water on the third level.

A central glass "seaweed" sculpture waterfall cuts through the mezzanine levels and connects them with a curving stairwell. Translucent steps gracefully wind around the waterfall connecting the mezzanines, while mimicking the flow of a school of fish circling up from the ocean floor to the water's surface. The ceiling is a circular skylight framed by an "aquarium" ceiling, which indicates the water's surface. Water from the ceiling's edge cascades down the seaweed to a small pool at ground level.

On the ground floor, a softly glowing, seaweed-green cashwrap sits directly in front of the aquarium wall. The ground floor also features grotto-like stonewalls with embedded circular or organically shaped aquariums and faceted crystal-like walls with angular-shaped aquariums. Opposite the aquarium wall is an area with a higher ceiling, where marine-inspired, custom-designed furniture, home accessories, jewelry and giftware are displayed. Hanging directly above are playful, glowing, coral-red jellyfish lanterns. The floor is weathered sandstone with embedded fossil impressions.

On the second level, which is geared for kids, the experience becomes playful and kinetic. Giant fish aquarium tubes intertwine and "push" through walls. Urchin-shaped aquariums playfully display colorful fish and corals. A glowing green cashwrap displays fish-care kits, aquarium design kits, and kids' how-to DVDs.

The top level, with floor-to-ceiling windows, houses a café and bar. This "airy" level features circular sofas backed by translucent, green, seaweed-like panels. The bar is a lighted coral aquarium with red sea-urchin hand-blown glass pendants. Adjacent to the café is an outdoor terrace with a landscaping and water feature, complete with koi and goldfish. The terrace allows customers to learn how to create custom outdoor waterscapes for their homes, while relaxing or having some refreshments in a cabana.

?Chute Gerdeman

PPC Design's Fauna creates a healthy habitat and an appealing adoption center

With Fauna, PPC Design creates a natural, hygienic and wholesome approach to the display, interaction and purchase of pets. In this 3,500-sq.-ft. space, shoppers discover an educational and nurturing living habitat?an environment that focuses on the quality of life.

As you enter Fauna, a wooden bridge crosses a pond filled with a variety of aquatic creatures. To the left are the feline and small animal departments, themed as a home interior. Animals featured for adoption are displayed in individual compartments that are presented as framed works of art. A cozy fireplace vignette offers a comforting area for socializing. To the right is the canine department, playfully laid out as an outdoor streetscape with an open park for petting and adoption areas. Beyond is a Victorian-style aviary that is anchored by a grand tree and brightly illuminated by an overhead skylight. The dark and adventurous cave for the fish and reptile aquariums offers a unique experience, where glass-encased ecosystems are displayed within the walls and highlighted along a walkway around the saltwater aquarium.

Fauna's floorplan is simple and easy to shop. The sales floor perimeter walls are primarily for animal adoption displays that are accessed from the back rooms, which also act as storage and staging areas.

Located at the heart of the store is the Education Center, an integral space linking the various departments. The center can be used for seminars and has a large media screen exhibiting educational films. Upscale, specialty merchandise includes pet food and organic alternatives, DVDs, videos, books and magazines. Throughout the store, touchscreen interactive panels inform customers about each animal's care and habitat and suggest equipment that pet owners will need. Fauna's concept emphasizes the importance of the animals and of educating the customers by providing expert services. A well-trained staff of specialists and veterinarians are available to interact with customers. The store sets the "Gold Standard" for the care and support of animals to ensure that future pet owners are well suited for adopting the animals.

?PPC Design

Upshot's Bark creates a new breed of retail experience

Upshot began this project, as they do all projects, by seeking consumer insights. They talked to pet owners of all types and found that urban dog owners are not pleased with their current retail options: overwhelming big-box stores or high-priced boutiques. Upshot also talked to dogs, but they didn't share nearly as many details. In fact, the overwhelming response from dogs was?bark!

Interpreting that feedback, Upshot shed the coat of conformity to develop Bark, an entirely new dog-and-owner retail experience. Bark creates both a retail space that understands the needs of the contemporary dog owner and a social atmosphere that invites interaction with other visitors.

Bark's shoppers might include Steve and his friendly, tail-wagging friend, Max. Like most urban consumers, Steve leads a busy life and has errands to get done. But it breaks his heart to leave Max stranded outside when shopping?after all, who wants to leave his best friend tied to a lamppost?

At Bark, Steve and Max find a destination they can both enjoy. In fact, the store is built with a dog's point of view in mind, organized by recognizable icons that reflect canine emotions. The centerpiece is Central Bark, a park and café that blends indoor and outdoor elements and allows city dogs the controlled freedom they need. While Max explores the atrium-covered park with its towering, vibrantly colored tree, Steve can grab a "treat" at the adjacent coffee bar.

Later, Steve and Max can visit other sections of the store that radiate outward from Central Bark. In the Hungry section, dog food is organized by life stage and by pet size, so an owner with a newborn terrier isn't distracted by food meant for an aging Rottweiler. And because urban customers who live nearby are likely to walk home from Bark, all food selections are available in small, portable quantities. And of course, home delivery of larger purchases is available.

Unlike traditional pet stores, Bark creates compelling reasons to visit beyond purchasing food. The Cozy section, marked by an oversized night-light, is where Steve can find bedding and accessories customized to his home décor and suited to Max's needs. This is a chance for owners to pamper their dogs in a way that matters. While Max may not realize he's wearing a diamond-studded collar, he will appreciate an extra-soft bed.

Walking out of Bark, energized with a batch of healthy food and a new toy from the Happy section, Steve and Max are sure to return soon. But how will other people hear about Bark? Targeted direct-mail pieces will publicize product sampling days and social events in Central Bark, highlighting the fact that a leashed companion is perhaps the world's best conversation starter.

Bark is a groundbreaking concept that offers a fulfilling social experience while presenting merchandise in a fun, relevant way. Most importantly, Bark acknowledges that dogs are no longer second-class citizens?that the relationship they have with their owners is emotional and important.

?Upshot