Husband called me obsessed, but I thought I was just being thorough. Here’s the backstory.
For several years, I’ve bought Daughter No. 2’s dog the same chew toy for Christmas, an orange pretzel-looking, hard-rubber thing, supposedly infused with chicken flavor that he usually snatches from under the tree.
This year, though, the store where I usually get it was out. So was a national pet chain and an independent seller. Chewy didn’t have it, or Amazon, or Walmart.com. The website of a store in Latham said I could order it online for pickup in an hour, but after going through the rigamarole of setting up an account and paying, I got an email saying sorry, out of stock.
Meantime, I’m recalling headlines from holiday shopping seasons past when “hot” gifts were in short supply. Remember the near riots over Coleco’s Cabbage Patch Kids in 1983 as parents literally fought for the hard-to-find doll?
Eventually — SCORE! — my relentless online searching located five of the toys in stock at a home-improvement big-box store in Glens Falls. Order. Pick up. Wrap.
But what gives? Could there really be that much demand for the “moderate chew flexible oval ring,” as it’s formally called by Nylabone, which manufactures eponymous dog chew toys?
Nylabone is part of Central Garden & Pet Co., a public company headquartered in California that supplies retailers with name-brand and private-label pet and garden products. Its pet lines encompass not only dogs and cats but also horses, reptiles, fish and birds. Top retail customers are Walmart, Costco and Petco, but many independent retailers are served, too.
Central’s fiscal 2023 annual report, released last month, says the U.S. pet supplies market is “highly fragmented,” and quotes estimates from market researcher Packaged Facts that sales for pet food, chews/treats, veterinary care and grooming/training will be $145 billion this year.
In fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30, Central’s net sales were $3.3 billion, with the pet segment supplying $1.9 billion of that. Annual sales have hovered around $3 billion for the past three fiscal years.
In a November conference call with analysts on quarterly and fiscal-year results, Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Lahanas talked about the company’s “multiyear journey to reduce cost and simplify how we operate.”
Part of that, said Mary Beth Springer, interim CEO, includes “rationalizing our footprint” — meaning closing plants after selling off less-profitable lines — “optimizing our portfolio and improving our cost structure.”
Rationalization also is occurring in SKUs, or individual products, Lahanas said, although he declined to say how many could be affected when asked by an analyst.
Oh-oh: Maybe that’s what happened to the orange pretzel chew.
A company spokeswoman assured me its SKU had not been eliminated, nor were there supply-chain issues with the toy. She said a regular review “found that there has been softer demand,” but it’s still in the product line.
Better wish me luck in finding it next Christmas.