Thirty-eight per cent of Australians own a pet, and businesses are cashing in on the rise of the indoor dog.
One of them is Dogue, which has grown exponentially since it launched to supply fur fashion in 1998.
The business was launched by Simone Kingston, who now runs the wholesale arm of the business, since Margaret Hennessy took the helm as CEO in 2004.
"When we took over, no the business wasn't doing well, and that was part of the decision to introduce grooming six months later, it really turned the business around," Ms Hennessy said.
A decade and six stores later Dogue has expanded, with franchises across New South Wales and the ACT.
Franchising was on the cards early on, but it took years for the new owner to formulate a scalable model.
"This year I think will be the tipping point, where we really start to expand more quickly," Ms Hennessy said.
The retail side of the business has remnained relatively flat, but growth has been spurred by a rise in demand for pet grooming services, which accounts for at least half the revenue of every franchise.
As a key revenue stream, Dogue management searches far and wide to attract the best talent in pet grooming, sourcing most of its groomers from Japan, where the job requires a degree.
Canine over Kids?
Senior groomer Shoko Tsubotani joined the company in 2009, and has observed a cultural shift.
Tsubotani says we're getting fussier and grooming is no longer one size fits all.
"Eight years ago when I came here, people just came to the store and would say short all over... but now people are like, I want this much on the body, the same on the legs and I want him to get the teddy bear look," she said.
Australians spend 4.3 billion dollars on pets every year, with an average of $1000 each, and not including food.
In 2015, the dog grooming industry has almost tripled, and a rise in apartment living has seen pet boarding jump by 441 per cent."
Since it opened in 2012, grooming specialist Barker Ark has benefited from that trend, and owner Chris Foo has watched his inner Sydney business surge.
"It has been almost year on year, about 70 to 80 per cent growth, just because in Zetland the demographic is double income no kids and a pet is one of their family members, rather than just an animal," he said.
Like Dogue, Barker Ark also plans to franchise eventually, but will focus on breaking even in the immediate future, with high overheads including staff and rent impacting the bottom line.
"When it comes to small business, if you don't make money in the second or third year usually you would close it down, but we do want to be continuing in this business, because it is growing, and the love for our fur babies," Mr Foo said.
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