Pets Mart Contemplates Offering Dog-Walking Services

Pets Mart, the nation's largest chain of pet stores, is considering expanding into in-home pet services. Dog-walking and backyard clean-up are two of the services the company is considering.

The chain may also offer services like in-home aquarium set up. The purpose of the expansion would be to differentiate the store from large retailers like Wal-Mart.

"In-home services are a big opportunity, but we have a lot of work to do before we determine how to make that work," CEO Robert Moran explained during a July 15 phone interview. "It becomes a competitive advantage if we can break the code on how to provide that."

Wal-Mart has been trying to tap into the $45.4 billion market for pet supplies by offering food and other common items. The retailer competes with pet stores for about 20% of their business currently.