5 Pet Store Success Stories [2024]
Pet stores are retail businesses that sell animals and pet supplies. They are a leading industry category with sales of approximately $4.5B U.S dollars and positive sales growth of 2.7%.
You can set up a pet store in many places, like supermarkets, malls, or pet supply stores.
The first thing to do is to find a location for your store. A good place would be an area with many residential buildings, schools, and colleges as this will give you access to many customers. It would help if you also looked for a location near public transport as it will make it easier for people to come and visit your store.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a pet store:
1. Bike Tow Leash ($240K/year)
press (Dog Fancy Magazine, Good Morning America, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, etc.) attesting to our product’s safety and its fun. Those benefits continue today from stores and buyers in the U.S. and Canada noting us from the products we sell on Amazon. I have interviewed with 10 separate manufacturers so far with presentations to the remaining 2 major manufacturers with over 2000 sales reps each. Remember any of the direct competitors we have met so far have focused on a single product. With our portfolio of multiple patents, we can offer them a steady stream of new products, from both existing patents and pending applications alone!
How much they make: $240K/year
How much did it cost to start: $22K
Current team size: 1
Mechanical engineer and avid bike rider Mike Leon turned his hobby of creating a safe bike-to-leash attachment for his service dog into a 6-figure business, shipping from hundreds to thousands of 1-Running-Dog Bike Tow Leashes per year to dog owners, military and law enforcement, and search and rescue teams.
2. iHeartDogs ($22M/year)
Justin Palmer and Marshall Morris came up with the idea for iHeartDogs after building large dog-themed Facebook communities. They realized the potential for a business centered around dog lovers and decided to create a brand that sold physical products and also served as a media property for advertising. The success of their first product, a beaded bracelet that represented meals donated to shelter pets, propelled them forward and they have since raised over $300,000 for various charitable causes. They have been profitable since their first month of operation and continue to grow on their own terms without outside funding.
How much they make: $22M/year
Current team size: 50
iHeartDogs is a lifestyle store and blog with over 25 million members in its Facebook communities, which sells products for pet dogs and donates to specific programs that rescue animals, totaling over 1.5 million pet heroes served.
So... can you actually make money with a pet store?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Tuft & Paw ($3.6M/year)
Jackson Cunningham, the founder of tuft + paw, came up with the idea for his business when he rescued a cat and realized there were no high-quality cat products available. He started by importing beautiful cat furniture and eventually launched a successful Kickstarter campaign for a modern litter box, raising over $150k. Today, tuft + paw is thriving, with monthly sales exceeding $300k and $2M in funding from investors like Alexis Ohanian.
How much they make: $3.6M/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 3
Tuft + Paw, a modern cat brand founded by Jackson Cunningham, started as an importer of exquisite cat furniture and, after raising $150k from Kickstarter, graduated to manufacturing products, seeing sales grow to over $300k per month and now raising $2m from famed investors including Alexis Ohanian.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
