Retail update
Pet supplies store to change hands
Furney's Town and Country in Dubbo, NSW will become part of the PETstock network
Fri Nov 11 2022
Long-established pet store, Furney's Town and Country will be rebranded under the PETstock banner after more than 35 years.
Current owner Michael Edwards has been a fixture during this time after working at the store - including sister business Pet Xtra for 25 years - and becoming the owner. He has seen the business go from strength to strength with the support of the community. He told the Daily Liberal and Macquarie Advocate:
We only recently moved the business down here to the old Holden car dealership site and that's been hugely popular and successful. We sold the old premises with apprehension, it always is when you move a large business, but it's worked amazingly well.
I went to work with the Furney family to run the site when it was a significantly smaller stock feed store. And we expanded on the pet side of things and opened the Pet Xtra on Erskine Street. And it continued to grow and grow.
We've been very lucky to have that experience and have the support of the Dubbo and regional community.
Ready for retirement, Mr Edwards said age and finding a "like minded buyer" made now the right time to take a step back from the business he has built. Australian owned and operated pet retailer PETstock has 47 stores across NSW and will take over the store.
...The store offers a great service to the community and PETstock is very conscious of community support, and that's always been key to me.
The new owners planning on expanding the range of services to include DIY dog wash, grooming and personalised pet ID tags. PETstock state Manager, Tom Ginty Wise, said:
In addition to expanding existing services, the store will support local organisations, such as local rescue groups, by providing them with free in-store space, temporary or permanent, for our PETadopt program where adoptable pets can find forever families in a convenient and friendly environment.
Mr Edwards said he is optimistic about the direction PETstock would like to take the home-grown business in, and said the handover seemed fitting given the similarities in the history of both stores.
In so many ways PETstock comes from a similar background in that they started off with a young family and a small stock feed store.
After decades of helping Dubbo locals care for everything from horses to hermit crabs, Mr Edwards said:
When you've been involved in something for so long and you've built a lot of relationships through the years with your clients and customers, that's what I will miss. That interaction with people.
Often those relationships go beyond a business interaction and you take genuine interest in what their activity is ... it's quite a range of people you meet. And they all have such a genuine interest in their pets.
