INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT: PET CITY

FIRST OPENING its doors in 1957, this year marks the 65th anniversary of independent Brisbane pet store, Pet City. Founded by Evio Contenati and his brother-in-law, it was originally named Mt Gravatt Produce Agency and stocked farming basics such as hay, grains, and fertilisers, to cater to the predominantly rural area, but has since grown into one of Brisbane’s most iconic independent pet shops.

Pet Industry News sat down with Evio Contenati and Kim Peries, Owners of Pet City, to discuss how the business has grown and adapted over its long history.

Contenati and Peries: Pet City owner, Evio Contenati and his brother-in-law first opened Pet City in 1957 as Mt Gravatt Produce Agency. In the early 1970s, Mt Gravatt had many more families and pets in the area, so the name Pet City Mt Gravatt was adopted. By the1980s we were a fully-fledged pet department store, one of the first in Australia, reflecting our dedication to supplying quality products for quality pets and their owners.

Fast-forward 65 years and Pet City is one of Brisbane’slongest standing independent pet shops, which has been locally owned since its inception. Pet City founder, Evio Contenatiand his daughter, Kim Peries, are still very involved with the store.

Contenati and Peries: At Pet City we have more than 30 team members - all experts within their departments specialising in aquariums, birds and reptiles, small pets, as well as our online team. Our passionate team of animal lovers are second to none when it comes to their expertise around everything required to help you and your pets live their best lives.

Our customers are always impressed by our range of pet supplies. Catering for even the most unusual pets – we’re your one stop shop for all your pet supply needs.

Contenati and Peries: Remaining in business for 65 years is no small feat, and the industry has changed a lot over that time.

Changing from a produce store to a pet store during the early years was definitely one of our most significant changes as we adapted to the needs of locals.

More recently, Pet City has continued to develop even through the economic and social upheaval. The foresight of our management team and development around our online store really helped us stay agile.

Contenati and Peries: There have been significant highlights in our development, including being able to supply clean, graded bird seed for aviculturists along the east coast of Australia. Pet City has been committed to providing education for pet owners and has staged many information sessions for the public to attend, with proceeds going to various charities. Among these was the first Marine Conference in Cairns as well as Reptecon.

One of the most delightful highlights in our 65 years has been the opportunity to have school and TAFE students visit the store for tours and attend education seminars. It has also been gratifying to have the support of so many of our local, state, and federal politicians who have conferred with us to gain the benefit of our expertise when seeking to create new legislation pertaining to the pet industry. Additionally, being recipients of a number of pet industry awards, including the Pioneer and Kevin Panks Awards, has proved most gratifying.

Contenati and Peries: We might be 65, but we’re still young at heart. We celebrated with a big animal-themed party, of course. We had animal face painting, a sausage sizzle, the WildlifeRangers brought some amazing wildlife along for pats and photos. We even had a visit from popular children’s TV characters – Blueyand Bingo. To celebrate 65 years, our major prize giveaway was a 65-inch TV. We were very happy to discover that the winner is a Pet City local who has been shopping with us for six years.

Contenati and Peries: To empathise with each customer, listen to assist them in providing a holistic approach to offering the best life they can to their companion animal, fur baby, best friend, or mate. Our customers’ pets mean the world to them, so they mean the world to us.

Contenati and Peries: Even at 65 years of age, we’re not too old to dream.

What remains very important is that we continue to invest in training our team to be experts in their field. We hope to continue with providing the best customer experience possible, assisting generations to come with their companion animals.

Contenati and Peries: In the past few years, we’ve seen the emergence of pet store chains who have threatened to push independent pet stores out of the market. Fortunately, our team’s expertise and our huge range of quality products has helped us maintain a loyal customer base. For us to reach 65 years shows that we have something very special.

There's also an information overload out there about how we should be looking after our pets. We hope to continue educating our customers on things like the importance animal enrichment and feeding a balanced diet with quality ingredients. At the end of the day, happy and healthy pets are our top priority, and we want to help every pet family achieve this.

Contenati and Peries: It’s no surprise that our team absolutely loves pet visits and helping customers find everything they need for their pets. A highlight for some of our long-standing team members is seeing generations of the same families who have been coming to Pet City for years.

Contenati and Peries: We’re always looking forward to staying ahead of industry trends. There’s always more to strive for when it comes to providing top tier customer service. Customer benefits, animal welfare, and sustainability are all areas we want to continue to excel in.