Market Focus: Atlanta

The greater Atlanta pet market is filled with walking and hiking trails that allow for pet parents to keep their dogs active and neighborhood parks where dogs can socialize. Pet businesses are led by entrepreneurs who are skillful and qualified business operators who have passion and warmth for the well-being of pets of all species. 

In Georgia just over half, or 51 percent, of households have a pet, and while the majority of pets in those households are home to dogs and cats, other species such as fish, birds, small pets and exotics such as lizards and snakes are kept as household pets, according to the results of pet ownership statistics in Georgia released earlier this year. Of the half of households that keep pets, the average pet owner keeps two dogs or two cats. In Atlanta, nearly 44 percent of its residents own at least one pet, which comes to more than 970,000 households, according to the survey results. The number of pet owners has increased by 2 percent since 2023. In Atlanta, dogs are the most sought after pet followed by cats. One third of the population, or 34 percent, of residents own at least one dog and 17 percent of residents own at least one cat. 

By the Numbers

In Atlanta, PetSmart, Petco and Hollywood Feed represent 43 percent of the greater Atlanta pet market; 30 percent of the market is represented by other retailers and the final 27 percent is made up of single-store retailers. 

PetSmart, Petco and Hollywood Feed operate 28, 21 and 18 stores respectively. Pet Supermarket has 16 stores, Puppy Haven operates seven stores, The Whole Dog Market and Pet Supplies Plus operate four each, Top Dogs Pet Boutique has three and EarthWise Pet has two stores. 

In Atlanta, there are 32 pet stores that serve 7,381 households per store. The median income is $83,251 and the population is 498,715 citizens. 

In Marietta, 15 pet stores serve 1,626 households per store. With a population of 60,972, Marietta’s median household income is $62,585. 

Alpharetta and Woodstock each have eight pet stores. In Alpharetta, each store serves 3,175 households. The median household income is $129,946 with a population of 65,818. In Woodstock, those eight stores serve 1,666 households per store. Within the population of 35,065, the median household income is $92,648. 

Roswell is home to six pet stores with each store serving 5,808 households. The median income is $130,088 within a population of 92,833 residents. 

Pet Specialty

Prior to opening Park Pet Supply 26 years ago, Owner and President Victoria Park worked in the travel industry where she honed her skills in offering unmatched customer service and leading a team. “I learned a great deal about customer service and managing people during that time period, which has helped me tremendously in the retail sector,” said Park, who operates a single-store pet specialty business in Atlanta. “The thing that led me to the pet industry and operating a holistic pet store was my own dog, Harley, had multiple health issues, and I discovered a different way to heal him with proper nutrition, supplements and herbs. Once I had that education, I wanted to share it with other pet parents by providing a source for those products.”

Betsy Sokolowski’s upbringing, influenced by her veterinarian parent’s involvement in the pet food industry, nurtured her passion for pet nutrition and care. Her parent’s influence, combined with her love for animals and desire to assist pet owners, naturally led Sokolowski to the retail arm of the industry. “As the daughter of a veterinarian who worked in the pet food industry, I grew up discussing nutrition topics,” said Sokolowski who co-owns Barking Dog Bakery & Feed, a single-store pet specialty business in Atlanta. “A love of pets and a fondness for helping people made the retail sector of the pet world an ideal fit.”

Renee Palmer’s career trajectory led her straight to the doghouse. “Since my foray into entrepreneurship came from corporate HR, I like to say that I left the boardroom for the doghouse,” quipped Palmer, who founded City Dog Market, a multi-store pet specialty retailer based in Atlanta. “After 13 years in corporate, I took a buy out and opened a dog daycare and boarding facility for a few years. I sold that business and began planning for a retail store which would become City Dog Market.”

Animal Atlanta Co-Owner, John D’Avanzo, a retailer specializing in pet specialty, small animal, reptile and bird in Woodstock, GA, and his wife of 46 years, shared a disdain for their corporate jobs—she with Encyclopedia Britannica and he with Touche Ross, a Big 8 CPA firm—which motivated the couple to pursue their passion for pet retail, specializing in small animals, reptiles and birds. “We realized our families had a history of entrepreneurialism having owned and operated a meat processing facility, a suit store, a Mail Boxes Etc. store among others,” D’Avanzo explained. 

Prior to opening Taj Ma-Hound, a single-store pet specialty and bakery business in Decatur, GA, Founder Krista Aversano worked as a sales rep for a large telecom company. “I was selling a commodity that wasn’t particularly fun and didn’t allow for much creativity,” she explained. “My career in corporate America taught me about sales and customer service but couldn’t have been further away from anything in the pet industry. Luckily though, I was able to keep my job while starting Taj Ma-Hound with my salary funding the initial business costs.”

Aversano was driven to offer pets treats made with ingredients that were safe and healthy enough that even their pet parents would devour. “I had always wanted to have a business that involved dogs and have been a creative person and an animal lover,” she said. “At the time, back in 2004, there really weren’t many bakeries for dogs, and no one was doing cakes. Most treats that people thought of came from the grocery store and involved lots of preservatives and artificial ingredients. I strove to provide a healthy alternative to those treats using ingredients that people—healthy people—would also eat. That said, we started out with one treat, the peanut butter treat and a cake made from a carob brownie recipe. The decorated treats didn’t come until later when we started getting requests from customers for customized treats that looked like their logos, and then it just exploded.”

In the ’90s, holistic pet foods and products were scarce, with only a few emerging brands. Recognizing this gap, Park aimed to revolutionize the market by creating a store that prioritized holistic and health-focused pet supplies which was uncommon at the time. “Natura had just launched Innova and California Naturals around that time and commercial raw pet foods were still a regional thing,” Park recollected. “Holistic pet supplies were starting to come to market but were still difficult to find, so I set out to change that. We were always a ‘health food store for pets’ which was uncommon at that time.”

“My last name is Park,” she said of how the name of her company is a play on words. “Our store is bordered by three neighborhoods with parks and ‘Park’ in the name. I wanted to be inclusive of all of the neighborhoods surrounding ours, and I went with something simple.”

With her sister and brother in-law, Sokolowski created a neighborhood-centric hub with Barking Dog Bakery & Feed with the goal of crafting a warm, inviting space where pet parents could enjoy a welcoming environment while learning about pet nutrition and care. “My sister and her husband, Dian and Mike Deimler, and I wanted to build a brand that would organically become a part of the neighborhood, Vinings, and we wanted to bring the experience of an on-site treat bakery that focused on healthy ingredients—no corn, wheat, soy or lard in anything we bake,” she explained. “We strive to make the experience of coming to Barking Dog Bakery & Feed warm and inviting as well as imparting knowledge about pet nutrition and pet care.”

“When we opened in 2008, there were just a few independent pet supply stores scattered throughout Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs,” Palmer said. “I saw an opportunity to serve a community that didn’t have easy access to healthy, holistic pet products. At that time, pet parents were becoming more aware of ingredients, sourcing and food safety, due to the 2007 melamine issues linked to chicken products from China. City Dog Market was created to give customers a place to shop with confidence knowing our selection of products was carefully curated for transparency, safety and the well-being of their pets’ health.”

“I wanted the name of the store to stand out as much as the products inside and for customers to remember who we were,” Palmer continued. “When I was envisioning how I wanted the store to look and feel, I found myself drawn to neighborhood delis and small specialty markets. They had an inviting energy and you could see, touch and experience all the products. I wanted City Dog Market to capture that same sensory shopping experience, so we felt less like a typical retail store and more like a welcoming neighborhood market.”

Once they joined the pet industry, D’Avanzo and his wife hit the ground running and outperformed each of the surrounding superstores, with the exception of Cheshire Pet, which had 11 locations when they began. Later on, he eventually drove all Cheshire Pet locations out of business—a nod to D’Avanzo’s drive, grit and determination. “I put all stores out of business in three years,” he said. 

Aversano racked her brain for a business name that conjured up luxury and indulgence for her future four-legged customers. “I brainstormed some ideas trying to think of anything involved with being spoiled or treated like royalty and ‘Taj Mahal’ came to mind, and then we coined the pun from there,” she said. “It was a long time ago, and I truthfully don’t know who came up with it, but it’s been a hit and people usually chuckle when they hear it, which is the fun part.”

Park Pet Supply benefits from being located in a walkable district near several residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of Atlanta, where older communities and lack of nearby big-box stores allow them to serve their local community without contending with competition from larger retailers. “We offer an alternative to big box stores since we are a local company,” she said. “We have more knowledge about pet nutrition, pet food, supplements, etc. than many big box stores, and we are super friendly with our customers. We provide a personal shopping experience with the products not found in most big box stores for customers wanting healthier options. We also have a smaller footprint so we can keep our overhead costs down and maintain competitive prices.”

“As the saying goes, the only constant is change, and throughout the past 17 years, City Dog has had to adapt quickly and often,” Palmer said. “Our size has also been an advantage. As a small business, we have the ability to pivot fast, whether it’s bringing in a new product, adjusting prices or responding to customer feedback. From technology shifts and the rise of social media, to new shopping habits after Covid, our response time to change and our flexibility has been key. The road to our longevity has also been paved by our unwavering commitment to exceptional customer service and that means training and retaining team members who have a real desire for customer connection. Currently we are experiencing the loss of our first generation pet customers and at the same time we’re watching those pet parents return with a new dog or kitten. When a customer shares, ‘I just had to bring them in for some City Dog love,’ we know our team members have given them an experience that cannot be bought. That in-store customer experience also gives us the service edge we need as it cannot be replicated by mid to large chain/big box stores, duplicated on-line or delivered to their door.”