Independent veterinary practices are searching—and finding—new ways to counter pet owners’ concerns that their services and products are over-priced compared with competitors such as online and local drugstores and, the big chain pet stores.
“My customers often find they can get pet food and medication at my purchase price,” says Don Holst, DVM, a charter member and Veterinary Advisory Officer of The Veterinary Cooperative (TVC). “This makes us look over-priced and gets clients thinking we may be overcharging for all of our other services.”
“Large corporations have always been able to negotiate much better pricing for pet-care products than the local independent veterinarians,” says Richard A. Morris, Chief Development Officer of TVC. “But independent animal hospitals are also having to combat newer pressures from customers with tighter budgets, while the internet provides them a quick way to check pricing.”
Additional pressure comes from many large, public companies invading the pet health care market to differentiate themselves and expand. Holst points out, “PetCo is offering monthly walk-in hours for rabies shots and quickly treated diseases. It has partnered with the Banfield Pet Hospitals chain to provide in-store veterinarian services. This is likely to change the price points for services independents offer as well.”
Morris adds, “Local veterinary practices have to fight back to survive. We are launching The Veterinary Cooperative to level the playing field and allow independent owners of animal hospitals to capture clients for one-stop shopping for pet care products and services at competitive pricing. Veterinary practices should consider taking the lead from other industries that have banded together in buying groups to successfully compete against major corporations. When the price and services offerings are competitive, many customers prefer to buy locally.”
Adam Schwartz, vice president of public affairs and member services at the National Cooperative Business Association, agrees. Independent owners in hundreds of industries have become stronger after joining a coop. “True Value Hardware is an example. Individual owners who have joined a cooperative have achieved the same buying power as their big-box competitors, such as Home Depot,” says Schwartz.
