Dive Brief:
- Bark, the company behind BarkBox and Super Chewer, on Monday announced it has added Tractor Supply as a wholesale partner.
- Through the deal, Bark’s products will be available in 1,945 of Tractor Supply’s stores as well as on its website, according to details emailed to Retail Dive. Bark’s Tractor Supply collection will feature its Super Chewer toys and categorize items by “playstyle,” including tug, fetch and chew.
- The pet retailer’s products are now sold in more than 33,000 retail outlets.
Dive Insight:
With the addition of Tractor Supply, Bark is filling out its roster of wholesale partners.
The online pet retailer in February announced it partnered with Walmart to sell its products in nearly 2,800 of the mass merchant’s stores and on its website. That partnership followed similar deals Bark made with REI, Target, Costco, Petco, PetSmart, Amazon and others.
While the company still skews more DTC, its wholesale business is gaining momentum. Bark earlier this month announced first-quarter revenue increased 12% to $131.2 million, with DTC revenue increasing 12% to $118.4 million and commerce revenue growing 4% to $12.8 million.
"As a wholesaler to retail, our approach is unique," Suzanne McDonnell, Bark's chief commercial officer, said in a statement emailed to Retail Dive. "Our monthly production capability, deep product history and breadth of offerings across toys, treats, health and home allow us to go all in with each retail partner. Through our understanding of each business and store guest — and fueled by the product insights we glean from our direct-to-consumer business — we are able to deliver a bespoke experience to make all dogs happy."
The partnership with Tractor Supply not only helps Bark expand its physical presence, but it also may help Tractor Supply deepen its reach in the general pet category as competition heats up. The retailer earlier this month announced it would rebrand its pet specialty business to Petsense by Tractor Supply. This came shortly after Petco earlier this year announced a new rural store concept dubbed Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply — placing it in more direct competition with Tractor Supply.
The deal also comes as Bark works to expand its C-suite. In May, the company named a new chief marketing officer in Cindy Gustafson, who previously held leadership roles at Nike, WW International, American Express and Unilever. Before that, Anil Nair, the former director of global logistics at Amazon, was named Bark’s chief supply chain officer.
