Grooming, hygiene, and food are the main monthly pet care expenditures of Georgians for their furry family members, amounting around GEL 150. The global pandemic crisis has also impacted the pet-pampering business. However, the representatives of the sector continue self-development and to get acquainted with the latest trends of grooming, in order to introduce them in Georgia. And know-what, the trendiest hairstyle in dogs today is the Asian style.
“The cost of grooming cost GEL 50 on average in our salon, plus hygiene products, food, and snacks, which cost GEL 100 on average, consequently small pet-pampering in Georgia costs around GEL 150. Naturally, the amount is more in the case of large pets," Nato Gigauri, Co-founder of Groom-Groom, told BM.GE.
Groom-groom was founded in Georgia three years ago by two friends and combines a pet salon and a shop in one space. The business idea came to one of the founders of the company, Nino Dedabrishvili because she saw a free niche in the market. However, in order to create a different business concept, the friends first visited Ukraine and got acquainted with operating a similar business onsite.
“Nino herself has a dog and saw that there was a lack of a professional pet salon in Georgia. This is how our business idea came about. However, starting a business was a big risk and required a solid investment. Today we already realize that when you want something badly, it will definitely come in handy,” said Gigauri.
Dog dominates among Groom-Groom customers. In the case of the salon, cats get only15-20%, while in the store, they share 30%.
Within a year of opening, Groom-Groom had brought groomer from Ukraine. Also, the top groomer was brought in to conduct master classes for three months and with their help, the local staff was trained. It was such a professional approach to the business that led the Groom-Groom to achieve the result of one year in a few months.
During the pandemic, Groom-Groom stopped working for three months. As Gigauri points out, they had a lot of customers after the pandemic, however, today they still could not return to the pre-pandemic level. "An impact of the crisis is more visible over the store. In the case of the salon, the number of customers decreased by 30%, and the sales of the store - by 50%”.
The Groom-Groom store offers customers premium quality food, snacks, accessories, clothing, bedding, and toys.
In addition to grooming, salon animals are also offered teeth cleaning, as well as dyed fur and free of charge earrings.
“As for the hairstyle, fashion trends today are dictated by China and Ukraine. The trendiest hairstyles today is Asian.
However, not every Georgian wants such a hairstyle, because it needs care and they prefer short hairstyles," said the co-founder of Groom-Groom.
