Much-loved Barnham pet shop celebrates over ten years in the town

Speaking to Sussex World, owner Steve Hack said making it this far down the line has been a profound challenge, but that the business is in the strongest place it’s ever been.

"It feels really good to get this far,” he said. “We’ve had to move with the times and diversify alongside the market. We used to run a dog-walking service and a doggy day care centre, but now it’s literally the shop – and we’re just getting stronger and stronger.

"We had a few close calls in the first few years, but we just stuck at it. One thing wasn’t working, so we tried something else – and we just kept going.”

It’s a tenacity that’s kept Windmill Pet Supplies in business where so many other ventures have failed. Steve said Covid in particular forced the kind of transformation that just might not have happened otherwise.

"Covid really changed the way we work. I was walking 16-17 dogs a day at one point. We were going to close the shop and shift to a dog-walking business but Covid destroyed that because, all of a sudden, everyone was at home. So we had to really put everything into the shop. Luckily everyone wanted to support local businesses through Covid, and those two first weeks of lockdown were our busiest in five years. People came in and realised we’re actually cheaper then a lot of the big brands.”

Challenging as it was, Covid was a real catalyst for positive change at Windmill and, a few years on, Steve and his staff have great rapport with local customers. “We’ve got loads of regulars now, people who tell their friends and family,” he said. “So much of our growth is word of mouth, we’ve really done no advertising, it’s all been word of mouth. We make sure to chat to our customers, connect with them, we’re not just here to serve and go – we’ve got a really good bond.”

A lot of Windmill’s recent success, however, comes down to the huge demand for frozen raw pet food, which, Steve said, put his business ‘ahead of the game.’

"It’s really big. we’ve got 15 freezers, and a big walk-in freezer for it and we can’t keep up with the demand,” he said. “It’s natural, and it’s so much better for your dogs. People come in, try it out and a week later their dog is a different dog. It’s so much more nutritious, it’s good for their teeth, good for their skin, good for their coat. There are no additives, so it calms them down, it’s crazy.”

With ten years under his belt, Steve has big plans for Windmill Pet Supplies in the near future. With raw food sales and an accompanying delivery service taking off nicely, he said he’d one day like to own and operate a second shop: “We just want to keep growing, really – maybe open a second shop in Chichester, but it’s great to have built such a nice community up here.”