Online business is much more than pet project

Monday 8 October 2007

South Tyneside entrepreneur, Mark Berriman says that some of his best business ideas come as he walks his dog along South Shields beach. These coastal walks inspired him grow his business, pet-supermarket.co.uk into one of the UK's most successful pet food and accessories suppliers.

The online pet supplies retailer celebrates its third successful year in business this month (October) and also won Retailer of the Year this summer in the South Tyneside Enterprise Partnership (STEP) Awards, in recognition for the phenomenal growth his business has achieved. As the business reaches its third birthday, Mark says all this success proves that the business is now "much more than just a website."

Mark and his team of 19 staff run the online pet supplies business from South Shields with a warehouse and customer service centre also based in Jarrow. The website supplies over 3,500 different products and veterinary supplies for all types of animal. Set up in 2004, when Mark was just 23, Pet-Supermarket has developed into a £2.7m turnover company and one of the top independent pet stores in the country. It is projected to break the £5m turnover mark by next year.

Mark didn't envisage such a large growth to the business so early on but he puts his success down to two things, saying: "We've worked very hard to forge strong relationships with some of the pet industry's biggest brands such as Eukanuba and Hills Science Plan and work together with them on joint marketing projects. I also had a lot of support in the early days from a business mentor at TEDCO. The advice they gave was not always what I wanted to hear but it was invaluable and really helped to set the business in the right direction."

With the money the business received as part of the STEP Award, Mark has invested it back into sales and marketing, finalising a new marketing plan to help his business move into the next stage of growth and fulfil his ambitions to make Pet-Supermarket the largest pet supplies retailer in the UK.

It is no mean feat for a man in his twenties with a young family, but Mark says he relies on the backing of his team and the great support of his partner, adding: "Whenever work is getting a bit stressful I grab the dog and head down to the beach to think. It's during these times that ideas come to me and I have time to reflect on what I've achieved so far. I've grown up in South Tyneside and it makes me really proud that I've built a successful retail business right here in my home town."

Geoff Ford, chair of South Tyneside Enterprise Partnership said: "Mark's success has been exceptional and he's a real role model for other young people thinking about starting their own business. I hope his story will encourage other young people with innovative ideas into becoming entrepreneurs."