Ballarat-based PETstock talks expansion, restructuring, and the future

The business is restructuring, with a rebrand for the newly-formed parent company, and a significant amount of new investment boosting growth following a turbulent but ultimately successful pandemic year.

The new moniker, Petspiration Group, will cover each of the brands in PETstock's stable, including its overseas and online arms, and a slew of new acquisitions.

Petspiration's managing director, David Young, said despite the big moves, he's determined to keep the business running from its home in Ballarat.

The national operations team moved from Lydiard Street to a bright new office on Bakery Hill recently, and work was still going on when The Courier dropped in.

There were also several dogs present, excitingly, and a stunning view of the city's CBD.

PETstock's original store from 1991, on Latrobe Street in Delacombe, is still open, with upgrades in the last few years to handle horse services and retail.

That's still the spiritual home for the business, Mr Young said, but there are big plans in the wings.

The possibility of massive new warehouses in Ballarat West have been explored, as well as a Centre for Excellence in partnership with Federation University near the proposed new Ballarat Showgrounds in Mount Rowan.

These are all years away and still require approval from multiple levels of government - and potentially funding - but it points to a desire to stay in the city long-term.

"We're prepared to do it, but we want a little bit of love our way as well," Mr Young said.

"We've got about 130 staff operating out of Truganina now, and if we were to move that (warehouse) facility to here, and with the growth which we know we'll experience over the next five years, it could be 200 jobs for Ballarat.

"We're happy to do it if we get support, but if we don't, we'll leave it in Truganina - the only reason we'd do it is because it's in Ballarat, if it wasn't, we wouldn't have even looked at it."

The key to all these big plans has been diversification, with 170 stores across the country - and New Zealand - beginning to offer more services.

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This includes animal grooming and veterinary services, but it's the equine and large animal services, including big contracts with studs and racehorse stables, Mr Young appears to be most proud of, as it's a point of difference from its domestic competition.

"It was only three or four years ago, people were saying don't open new stores, spend all your money on online, that's the way of the future, but we're not a pure retailer anymore," he said.

"Our bread and butter's knowing what we do within our stores and vet hospitals and grooming salons, so we've invested a lot in the innovation and we'll continue to do that."

In fact, much of the recent investment - just over 10 per cent of the business, which is in the order of tens of millions - will be going straight to innovation and acquisition.

"For example, we've invested in a product, a veterinary product, that helps take the temperature of your animal, domestic and large, that's a start-up company that's gone full-trial, and just about to launch based out of the US," Mr Young explained.

"We have a full-time resource, out of Israel, and that's his job, to look at new innovations in the pet space and bring it to us.

"A lot of these businesses will be offshore, and we're saying we can link it to us to make sure we have exclusive rights to Australia-New Zealand, and if it does really work, we want to be at the forefront."

The new Ballarat building has been transformed inside, with an open plan, multi-level office space.

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"If we outgrow here, it's a really good problem for the business to have - we're at about 120-125, it can get out to 200 people in the future," Mr Young said.

"What we've always underestimated over the journey is the number of resources required behind the scenes to make the business work.

"We think this (building) has come up amazingly well, even with COVID changing some of the ways we would have done it - the size of the desks are bigger to be COVID-safe because this could be around for a number of years - but it gives us a lot of flexibility now having the space, and having the ability to grow regardless of numbers in the future."

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