Tesco is embarking on a new venture to allow dog owners to have their pets pampered while they stock up in store.
In the latest repurposing of its stores under CEO Dave Lewis, the Tesco Extra hypermarket in Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff, is to become the first to offer the new service in January.
Offering a variety of dog grooming treatments while people shop, the PetDen is being launched by Gilmore Consultancy, a construction and maintenance company that already has contracts for nearly 200 hand car washes in the UK, with Tesco one of its main clients.
The Cardiff store, which is one of the larger Tesco sites, at more than 100,000 sq ft, has been chosen to trial a series of new features, which could be a model for the re-purposing of redundant non-food space at Tesco Extras as well as piloting ways to try to draw more shoppers in.
Six weeks ago it was one of five stores to launch fashion franchises in a deal with Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia, with stores including Dorothy Perkins, Sock Shop and Burtons sitting alongside its F&F line up.
The dog grooming service is one of many options being looked at by Lewis and his UK CEO Matt Davies as they seek to stop Tesco Extras becoming white elephants.
Davies has previous experience with pet grooming. Before joining Halfords, he led a turnaround at Pets at Home. During this time the chain more than doubled in size to 300-plus stores and introduced in-store vets and grooming parlours.
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