We love our pets. From luxury, USD$390 poo-bag holders to USD$12 coffee mugs emblazoned with “Dog Mom”, the pet industry has grown well beyond the staple kibble and plastic litter boxes. In fact, the pet industry growth has an expected compound annual growth rate of 6% and is projected to reach USD$358.62 billion by 2027.
Analysts cite everything from increased pet ownership during the pandemic to greater product availability via ecommerce to an increased sentiment of pets as extensions of our families – not just an animal that lives in the house – as reasons for the category growth.
With so much demand for products that truly include pets as members of our families and lets us anthropomorphize our four-legged friends, there is now a market for everything from pet fashion to luxury leads. Kanine Pets World Limited, or simply Kanine, has entered the space and aims to fill that gap. We sat down with Sean Coxall, Chief Marketing Officer at Kanine to talk about pet industry growth and Kanine’s vision. Coxall has 40 years of fashion industry experience, most recently as President of Brands at Li & Fung. He has worked with such high-powered, global brands as Tommy Hilfiger, Kate Spade and Under Armor.
Q: Do you see the pet industry growth as a natural evolution of the fashion and lifestyle industries?
A: Absolutely. In the late 1990s you couldn’t buy branded kids’ products or apparel and most of the kid items you saw were very childish. Then there was an explosion in the early 2000’s where the brands created “mini-me” collections and you could dress your son or daughter in the same clothes you were wearing – the same colors, the same aesthetic.
If you think about style and the family, adult fashion transformed kids’ fashion and then infant and newborn fashion and now pets. Now the whole family will be able to dress and be fashionable and stylish.
Q: So that evolution took place over decades. Why is this the right time to launch a pet platform like Kanine?
A: Kanine has come in at the right time and seeks to be the most relevant global go-to for premium pet products for your dog. For fashion products particularly, there is nowhere else. This will be the place to come and buy fashion for your dog.
During covid we started to see a huge increase in pet ownership – especially dog ownership. We started looking at the numbers and I was staggered at the size of the market, frankly. When we started doing research, we found there really wasn’t [an ecommerce] platform for premium dog products. So if you were a dog owner you’d tend to go to just a local pet shop or there were a few regional platforms selling relatively lower-quality products.
The products I saw were also quite expensive and less premium and fashionable than expected – particularly with dog baskets and dog bowls. If you have a nice house with a nice aesthetic, you don’t want to put that stuff out in your home; it’s made to be put in the conservatory or in the back of the house. So we see a big white space right now in fashion and fashionable accessories for dogs.
Q: Tell me how Kanine fills that white space.
A: We’re creating a platform for premium dog products. If you’re a consumer with higher requirements, and you want to buy your dog nice products, you’ll want to come to kanine.com.
People want their dogs to express elements of their own style like they do with their children. When you see a stylish child under 5 years old, the child has no idea what he’s wearing; it’s all chosen by the parents and is a reflection of the taste of the parents.
Dogs can’t choose clothes or accessories themselves so [dog fashion] lets people portray how they feel and is an expression of how they want to portray their dog.
For example, you have toy dogs like Pomeranians that are very cute so you might put them in cute clothes. Then you have strong dogs that you might want to put into more macho styles. It helps the owner express whatever they want to about their pet – whether it’s an expression of themselves or what they feel about the breed or personality of the dog.
Q: What can shoppers expect to find on kanine.com?
A: We have announced a partnership with Hugo Boss to launch BOSS Dog Accessories. We’ve also partnered with Tommy Hilfiger and Warner Brothers. We are partner with Warner Brothers on their latest film releases available only at cinemas: DC League of Super-Pets. So people will be able to buy BOSS Dogs fashion and Super-Pets apparel on our platform. People can come to kanine.com and see the offerings from different brands and the products will be available on the brand websites as well. The Super-Pets dogs line will be exclusively sold on kanine.com.
And while Kanine is a platform, it’s also a brand. We’ve created a mini-me collection of accessories and clothing under the Kanine brand. Those products will be the high quality but at a more affordable price point.
We’re also launching a home collection so there will be lines of very stylish dog bowls, dog beds, dog baskets and home accessories. You can put these next to your sofa and the colors and styles will match and blend.
Q: What makes Kanine unique and special?
A: We’re creating the products to the same standard as adult fashion and lifestyle products. We’re using the same fabrics and the same trims. They look amazing and really are a different kind of product. It’s the same colors and fabrics that people themselves like so why wouldn’t they want to put them on their pets?
Q: What do you see for Kanine in the future?
A: I truly believe people will collect these clothes and create a wardrobe for their dogs. People will collect clothing and accessories. The fashion lines will be launched twice a year and there will be special drops for special events or gift giving. In the first few months we’ll learn about sizing and the products people prefer and we’ll react to that in following seasons. We’re launching with apparel and accessories and home to start with but we also have a vision to bring sleepwear, vitamins, premium food and even fragrance to the platform.
Q: Why are you personally excited about Kanine?
A: For me it’s all about fashion. I was in Paris a few weeks ago and saw a very stylish young man wearing a Hugo track suit that had a red stripe on the sleeve. He had his dog in a red harness with a red lead so they were matching. I thought how nice it would be if that was a Hugo harness and until Kanine he couldn’t buy that, it wasn’t available. I’m excited to create products for people who are fashionable and care about how they look, how their dogs look and how they look when they take their dog out. It’s really exciting to be creating something new that hasn’t been seen before.
To learn more about or shop Kanine’s lines of premium dog fashion and accessories, visit kanine.com. To find out about launching a global DTC ecommerce channel, talk to an ecommerce expert today.
