Following today’s release of Pets at Home’s figures for the 28 weeks ending 9 October 2025; Emily Scott, retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “Pets at Home’s H1 FY2025/26 results underscore the urgency behind its newly announced retail turnaround plan, as the retailer continues to face a clear and widening gap between the strength of its Vet Group and the deterioration of its Retail division. Its Retail business saw underlying profit before tax fall by 84.1% to £3.5m, offsetting a good performance from the vet business, leaving overall group profit before tax down 33.5% to £36.2m. While the Vet Group’s sales continued to grow, up 6.7% on a life-for-like (l-f-l) basis, Retail l-f-l sales contracted 2.2%, due to increased competition from direct-to-consumer players as consumers continue to shift to more convenient alternatives. Slow innovation in accessories, operational disruption from its new distribution centre and the slow rollout of its subscription service Easy Repeat have stemmed from poor execution rather than external pressures, causing the retailer to fall behind.
“The retailer’s turnaround plan, centred on the four priorities of product, price, execution, and cost, is essential. Rebuilding its advanced nutrition ranges and restoring relevance in accessories are strategically sound priorities, as its product gaps and pricing missteps have allowed direct-to-consumer competitors such as Butternut Box and tails.com to gain ground. Investing £4m in reducing prices on over 1,000 food products is a step in the right direction, allowing Pets at Home to rebuild appeal among consumers, but it will take continued investment in prices to make it more competitive against the grocers and discounters. Price investments to regain value perception will also compress margins in the near term.
“Despite these corrective measures, the group’s overall position is not without risk. The Vet Group’s continued strength provides the retailer with breathing room while navigating this new plan, but it cannot fully compensate for the underperformance in the retail division. Its Active Pets Club membership fell 2.4% in H1, reflecting weaker engagement in the Retail business, but initiatives such as Easy Repeat subscriptions and targeted pricing through Pets Club could help rebuild membership and drive repeat purchases if executed effectively. Pets at Home retains real structural advantages, scale, brand recognition and a best-in-class veterinary operation, but the path to restoring Retail performance is neither quick nor guaranteed.”
