Talk about creating a niche. While many pet-specialty stores fight to maintain market share under the dark clouds of an inhospitable economy and big-box competition, Zamzows, with its chain of 10 pet-specialty/ lawn-and-garden stores in and around Boise, Idaho, thrives with a profitable business model that has served it well over the past 40 years.

Zamzows began as a coal and feed store in 1933, adding lawn and garden supplies to its assortment in the 1970s as the coal business started to slow and Boise became more urban. But the lawn and garden segment, while great in the warmer months of the year, was sluggish the rest of the year. So, Zamzows adopted the pet segment of its business as a means of making money during the winter months when interest in grilling and gardening waned–and the plan worked.

The combined pet and garden format, however, isn’t the only driving force behind the strength of this growing chain. It has at least two other winning points of distinction, according to president Darin Eisenbarth: incomparable customer service and a top-rate product assortment that has earned its stores a reputation for high quality. 


A Rich History
The company’s history is a long, winding tale, starting with the family matriarch Grandma Z moving from drought-stricken rural Missouri to Boise, Idaho, where her father hoped to grow the family’s fortune. Years later, Grandma Z would marry the man whose name the company still bears. It has since evolved with the times, adapting to changing markets and consumer demands. Today, about 35 percent of its business is in the pet segment, and it has grown to be one of the top 25 pet specialty chains in the U.S. as measured by number of stores.

Zamzows success has come neither by accident nor without trials or tribulations. Most recently, the chain has battled the rise of big-box discount chains, the advent of the pet superstore and a recession. But still, it’s thriving. Zamzows, in fact, has actually fared well during the economic downturn. “We are fighting the fight like everybody else, but so far we’ve been able to maintain 100 percent of our sales,” Eisenbarth says. “We consider that a huge victory.” So far this year, he adds, same-store sales are actually up slightly over last year’s.

He attributes that triumph largely to a business strategy that marched in the opposite direction of some of the more conventional reactions to failing economy. At a time when businesses were being advised to downsize and spend less on advertising, Zamzows did the opposite. It actually invested more in its employees and on training, and continued with its advertising program.

Eisenbarth says it’s the company’s commitment to its employees and customer service that has also helped keep it from succumbing to a fate shared by many small businesses in America over the past 15 years or so. While many pet specialty retailers struggle to crawl out from underneath the crush of big-box competitors, Zamzows is flourishing.

“People believe that all customers care about is price, not customer service and things like that, [but] our largest store shares a parking lot with Petco, Fred Meyer and Home Depot, and it’s our largest store by sales,” he says.
Meanwhile, its newest store, which opened almost two years ago as the economy was heading south, has grown to be the chain’s second biggest sales generator.

While the addition of the pet segment to the company’s business allows it to keep most employees on staff year round, the combo does create challenges. Among them is how to pull together a crackerjack staff that knows  the varied product range inside and out. “There is lot of training and a huge learning curve,” Eisenbarth says.

It takes thousands of hours of employee training each year–and a sizable monetary investment–for Zamzows to maintain its reputation for great customer service. Employees are required to attend formal classes taught at its training center in the corporate office. Some classes are vendor taught and the rest are administered by the company’s own experts.

Judging from Zamzows impressively low employee turnover rate, the training is well worth the investment. “Typically in retail, you’ll see employee longevity of anywhere from eight months to a year,” he points out. “Ours is a little over five years . . . We have some employees who have been with us for 37 years.”

The other key to the chain’s success lies with its products. The company focuses on assembling an assortment of high-quality and natural goods, with a growing emphasis on its private-label line.

The assortment is meant to appeal to a breed of customer who is more concerned with quality than quantity and value more so than low prices. Eisenbarth says Zamzows’ customers prove that people are still willing to pay for higher-priced goods as long as they are high quality.

 “We sell peace of mind,” he adds. “When people use our products they don’t need to worry about melamine in the dog food or lead in the paint. They can just trust that we are going to do the absolutely best for them and their pet.”

Continuing with its tradition of growth, Zamzows is planning to expand beyond its Boise-based home, outside of Idaho. “We have to go outside our area of influence and open another store, or series of stores, so that’s going to be a challenge for us,” Eisenbarth says, “but I think we have a unique product mix and approach that other markets will happily accept.”