Will Bunnings Ruin the Pet Industry?

Delivering yet another blow to small businesses, Bunnings launched their ‘Pet’ range today.

We’ll confess, learning of Bunnings’ plan to launch an extensive pet range was, at the very least, crushing. To discover our small business was not able to stay out of the shadow of the giant, and that this would occur amidst such economic instability felt like the light at the end of the tunnel had been snuffed out.

So, we were angry, frustrated, exhausted, and confused. Was it not enough for them to damage the livelihoods of countless thousands of tradespeople, whose businesses they had priced out of the market? Or were they just seeing the dollar signs, and happy to stick their fingers in what they deemed to be another lucrative pie, all at the expense of small operators in an entirely different and unrelated industry?

Bunnings advertise their staff to be experts in their area, so who is there in Pet Services, and what training have they undertaken? Who is the Pet Expert in every store, providing you with knowledgeable, educated and well researched information who will scramble to justify Bunnings’ choice to supply you with some of the poorest, and cheapest quality pet food and treats on the market?

The very fact that their treat range, inappropriately titled “healthy, natural and meaty dog treats”, carries products including “chicken and milk sticks”, “schmackos” and “Trusty - Chicken Jerky Dog Treats” (that are in fact processed with vegetable glycerine and include lamb meat), suggests that Bunnings’ are not Pet Experts. Ingredients listed among their treat range include, sugar, salt, canola oil, vegetable glycerine, rice, potato starch, synthetic vitamins and minerals, cereal, wheat flour, rice flour, soy flour and colours.

Dare I even describe the questionability of the dental stick range? Dogs do not secrete salivary amylase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down starch, and so feeding a ‘dental stick’ made of wheat flour, wheat gluten, and vegetable glycerine, is not likely to be advantageous to your pets’ dental hygiene.

The potential damage to our business aside, we began Maggie’s Pet Co to demand better from the industry. We promised to promote and recommend ethically sourced, high-quality products, that only benefit your pet, and to call out brands and companies that are misleading, unethical, or that fail to put the health of the very animals their business relies on before profit. We take this stance to the detriment of our bottom line, because knowing we’re only supplying products and recommendations that we would employ when taking care of our own pets is important to us and our clients.

Small businesses are hurting and need the support of the Australian public more than ever. You can purchase quality Australian made beds, leads, collars, natural pet food, treats, and at the same time, can support small businesses who think in terms of profit on the day-to-day, rather than month-to-month or year-on-year.

Every sale in store is something we value and celebrate because it means we can be better, and provide more for you in return, and we can continue to remain open to provide specialty ranges that larger retailers won’t stock because the profit margin is simply too low.