Ralph Lauren Dog Accessories

More than four years after introducing a popular dog polo shirt and cashmere sweater, Ralph Lauren now boasts 16 different dog accessories, including a wider range of trendy shirts, a hoodie, a trench coat, and leather collars and leashes.

Catering to the broad swath of American consumers that own dogs, every retail store allows dogs. And the company's website has vastly improved since I last blogged about it three years ago.

It seems to be a solid strategy to appeal to certain pet parents, with dog products and marketing co-ordinated at the retail level and online. This picture, for instance, is for a human tote bag sold on a Mother's Day page.
 

Pet Vacuum Cleaners

Browsing Williams-Sonoma's website, I noticed a $799 Miele Dog & Cat vacuum cleaner, made specifically to handle pet hair.

It seems the response to pet owner demographics, or at least Consumer Reports testing in 2006, has been swift, with pet-specific lines now available from Bissell, Eureka and Dyson, all retailing for under $200.



Two-thirds of American households own a pet of some sort. Forty percent of U.S. households own a dog. That's a large market, with lots of pet hair, suitable for an expensive dog & cat vac. Eight hundred bucks is a lot for a vacuum cleaner, but they are really nice. Even the lowest-end Miele model (the one I own) is fantastic.