OpinionJuly 20, 2026 — 3:00pmIt was roughly 20 years ago when supermarket bosses had their pet epiphany. The beginning of the trend towards pet (mainly dog) anthropomorphism that, perversely, had supermarket chief executives drooling over a retailing category with a hockey-stick-shaped growth potential.Forget the days when the pet isle in stores consisted of cans of Pal, rather supermarkets were ushering in an era in which shelves were stocked with expensive designer pooch treats, doggy apparel, vitamins and more.Coles’ boss Leah Weckert decided to abandon late-stage negotiations to spend nearly $4 billion to buy Greencross.Arsineh HouspianAgainst this backdrop it might appear counterintuitive that Coles’ boss Leah Weckert decided to abandon late-stage negotiations to spend nearly $4 billion to buy Greencross – the owner of Petbarn and City Farmer retail chains, hundreds of vet clinics and 24 vet hospitals.But there are plenty of reasons that Coles’ investors were lukewarm to the prospect of Coles making a major investment into Greencross – not the least of which was the price.The widely speculated price of $3.9 million is a big lick of capital – an amount that could represent “peak pooch”.Coles called its decision disciplined – albeit the decision was reached after some shareholder pressure to reserve its capital.Four years ago, Woolworths spent $586 million for a foothold in Petstock – a provider of petfood, toys, vet clinics, grooming salons and even animal adoption hubs.The Woolworths deal valued Petstock at (what at the time seemed to be) a staggering $1 billion. To provide some context, the Petstock deal was done in the same week that private equity operator Anchorage Capital bought 100 per cent of high-end department store group David Jones for a mere $130 million. In the intervening years David Jones has financially struggled and Petstock has grown, so the valuation disparity now makes sense.Woolworths’ then chief executive Brad Banducci was all smiles when posing for celebratory photos with his beloved Cavalier Cocker Spaniel cross, Juno.Meanwhile, Greencross inks $2 billion in annual revenue and it’s reported to be making $400 million profit before interest, tax and depreciation.It is difficult to deny that the growth in the provision of pet goods and services is a trend that retains some steam.Its current owner TPG Capital paid $675 million for the business seven years ago, so had the Coles deal been consummated, it would have been a massive payday for this private equity vendor, which is now contemplating a public float of the business.It is difficult to deny that the growth in the provision of pet goods and services is a trend that retains some steam, but there is a strong argument to be made for the supermarket industry spending its capital and management resources focusing on the current and not insignificant challenges it faces.The sector will remain capital thirsty as the major players continue to integrate technology into supply chain and logistics to better manage digital distribution channels that are increasingly adopted by customers.They are up against the masters of online logistics and fulfillment, Amazon, whose infiltration into grocery retailing continues to grow.Brad Banducci with his dog Juno.Louise KennerleyThe big supermarket operators are currently also in a highly contested fight for market share – and one that has come with an expensive investment into lowering prices.And despite Woolworths’ successful foray into the pet business, the two large supermarket groups have a checkered history of success when they have strayed outside their core competence.Woolworths exited the last of its bottle shop and pubs investments in 2024, its ownership of Big W has been largely patchy, and its foray 10 years ago into establishing a hardware big box chain, Masters, was a legendary and very costly disaster.And then there is the legion of yield obsessed investors who would rather see profits pumped into dividends ahead of dogs.The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.From our partners