YourSAY™ 2017.1 - Corporatization of the Veterinary Industry Brings Hope Despite Some Distrust

Canada’s Thought Leaders Ponder Veterinary Industry Corporatization

The YourSAY™ public opinion poll 2017.1 is reported.

This report summarizes the YourSAY™ survey Powered by Urban Animal Corporation™ (formerly PetLynx™) that fielded March 1st-8th, 2017.

This survey captured public opinion related to several articles InfoStream has published on vet clinic acquisitions:

Mars Petcare Acquires BluePearl Veterinary Hospitals 

VCA Antech Acquires Associate Veterinary Clinics

VCA to be Aquired by Mars Inc.

And explored the pros and cons in:

Pros and Cons: Corporatization of the Veterinary Industry.

The purpose of the YourSAY™ 2017.1 survey was to discover what thought leaders in the urban animal industry believe are the positive and negative aspects of the growing trend of animal healthcare delivery moving towards large corporations and away from the owner/managed independent clinician.

Thirty-five respondents participated in the YourSAY™ 2017.1 forum out of 450 recipients and featured a variety of respondents from various backgrounds within the animal healthcare industry and at different levels of management within the industry.

Highlights of YourSAY™ 2017.1:

• A strikingly similar number of participants viewed the trend toward large corporate entities and away from owner/managed independent clinics as either positive (37%) or negative (43%). The initial response to this topic is interesting considering the polarizing opinion in the questions that followed.
  
  
• When asked about the corporate influence of commercial interests, a staggering eighty percent (80%) expressed concern to some degree with regards to the effect on animal healthcare services, a smaller percentage expressed that they are not at all concerned (20%). 
  
  
• A clear majority of individuals (66%) view the rise of large corporate providers as inevitable due to the modern healthcare demands of specialised service needs in regards to equipment, human resources and sophisticated technology which are the domain of larger, and typically wealthier, clinics and hospitals. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of individuals believe that a rise in corporate providers in not guaranteed.
  
  
• Owner/Managed independent clinics are likely to be sought out sixty-three percent (63%) of the time, while local clinics backed by a large corporation are sought out with thirty-four percent (34%) likeness. 
  
  
• It is interesting to note that when asked what type of animal healthcare service providers do respondents actually use; fifty-four percent (54%) receive services from an owner/managed independent clinic, fourteen percent (14%) from a local clinic backed by a large corporation, and twenty-two percent (22%) from a combination of both. The last either using some other option of health services (3%) or do not use animal health services at all (6%).
  
  
• When asked about any foreseen benefits of the corporate influence on animal healthcare services, majority of respondents believe that there are more harms than benefits to be found (40%). While there are many benefits cited as relating to corporate influence such as financial resources, access to specialized equipment and technology, better standards of care, employee training and benefits, and a support system of human resources, there was still a looming tone of distrust towards the corporate influence of animal services; ethical management, focus on the bottom line over quality of care, and the loss of independent decision making for individual clinics.
  
  
• When asked about experiences working for a local clinic backed by a large corporation; many individuals (28%-43%) had experienced some type of positive experience due to the corporate impact; input from other successful professionals on models of service, team training and development, advancement opportunities, or an increased benefit package. A smaller percentage of individuals (10%-24%) experienced negative impacts; pressure to recommend services that one did not agree with or thought unnecessary, requirement to follow protocol rather than provide treatment based on individual client, or stressful expectations to meet corporate financial targets. 
  
  
• Forty-five percent (45%) of informants believe that there is serious concern over the corporatization of veterinary clinics putting the owner/managed independent clinics out of business. However, a substantial percentage (23%) believe that the quality of animal healthcare services provided and the loyalty of clients will ensure the success of a business regardless of ownership and that there will always be room for both types of practices.

Demographics of YourSAY™ 2017.1:

• Gender: 51% Female, 37% Male
• Age: 14% 21-35 years old, 20% 36-50 years old, 66% over 50 years old
• Region: 14% Pacific, 31% Prairie, 37% Central, 17% Atlantic
• Pets: 56% Cat owner, 82% Dog owner
• Industry: 11% Animal Welfare, 11% Animal Services, 29% Animal Health & Wellness, 11% Animal Control & Enforcement, 34% Other
• Executive Level: 26% C-Level Executive, 37% Senior Management, 17% Middle Management, 3% Individual Contributor, 14% Other
  
  
  
  

Small Business Confidence Hits 10-month High

A web survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) showed small business confidence rebounded nearly seven points in April, climbing to 59.2. The highest since June of last year.

“While we often see spikes in a single month of data, the size of this increase suggests the long-awaited confidence normalization has begun,” Ted Mallett, CFIB chief economist, said on their website.

On a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. When the economy is growing at its potential, one normally sees an index level of between 65 and 70.

• Prince Edward Island rose to 70.8, the best in the country
• British Columbia climbed three points in April, reaching 65.4, good for second highest
• Alberta stopped its four-month slide, increasing two points to 28.6, though still has the lowest confidence in the country by far
• Saskatchewan saw a small improvement to 48.8
• Manitoba held steady at 54.0.
• Ontario jumped five points to 62.6
• Quebec slipped three to 62.2
• Newfoundland and Labrador fell to a new provincial record low at 46.4
• Nova Scotia fell a point to 64.6
• New Brunswick’s confidence increased four points to 57.5.

“While confidence is up, it should be taken with a grain of salt,” added Mallett. “There is stability in the sectors, but a look at order books and accounts receivables still shows that business conditions remain fragile, which is part of the reason why hiring plans still aren’t as robust as we normally see this time of year.”

Hospitality is the most optimistic sector, followed by information, arts and recreation, and professional services.

The natural resources sector remains the weakest in the country, followed by agriculture and transportation. 

The seasonally adjusted Ivey PMI for Canada reflected similar results - it went up to 53.1 in April of 2016 from 50.1 in the previous month.

According to surveys done by the Conference Board of Canada, the Index of Consumer Confidence rose 2.3 points in April to 94.5. This was the third consecutive gain for the index, suggesting that Canadian consumers are feeling more upbeat about the economy than they were in January.

While results from the Conference Board of Canada’s spring 2016 Survey of Business Confidence “suggest that Canadian business leaders continue to feel the pressure of chilling headwinds from global commodities markets.”

YourSAY™ 2012.3 - Canada's Thought Leaders Ponder the National Companion Animal Coalition

The third public opinion poll of 2012 is reported. This report summarizes the YourSAY™ survey Powered by PetLynx™ that fielded March 1-8, 2012. Forty respondents participated in the PetLynx YourSAY™ forum for 2012.3 featuring opinions about the National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC). Participants included thought leaders representing all sectors of the industry in Canada. 

Highlights from YourSAY™ 2012.3:

• Sixty percent of the participants had heard about the NCAC prior to this survey. Of the remaining participants, 35% had never heard of the NCAC and 5% did not respond.
• About half of all participants felt that the NCAC was essential, about half felt NCAC was non-essential, and the remaining 5% did not respond.
• The vast majority of participants felt that promoting public education should be a top priority for the NCAC. Other top priorities include: lobby government on behalf of the industry (51%), coordinate communications efforts of industry players (41%), act as a spokesperson for the Companions Animal Industry (35%).
• The most common changes participants would make to the NCAC were: expansion of membership (61%), formal governance structure (53%), establishment of administration to carryout NCAC mandate (50%), and establishment of membership (50%).
• About half of participants supported 'majority rules' and 43% support the current NCAC practice of 'consensus.'
• Of the 19 participants who supported 'consensus', 42% preferred to obtain additional facts until consensus was secured, 37% preferred to send the issue to an Urban Animal Summit OpenSpace session and 21% had other suggestions.
• Of the 22 participants who supported 'majority rules', almost three out of every four preferred to send the majority decision to the Urban Animal Summits to gather wider consensus.
• The vast majority of participants do not believe that the NCAC has a broad base of support among their industry peers.
• While almost three out of every four participants have not been assisted by NCAC actions, one in every five participants has had NCAC actions help their industry activities.
• Primary resources NCAC would require include: industry donations (53%) and third-party contributions (39%).

Demographics of YourSAY™ 2012.3:

• Gender: 59% Female, 41% Male
• Age: 15% 21-35 years old, 38% 36-50 years old, 45% 51 and older
• Region: 40% Central, 25% Prairie, 20% Pacific, 10% Atlantic
• Pets: 76% Dog owner, 58% Cat owner
• Industry: 38% Animal Welfare, 28% Animal Services, 18% Animal Control and Enforcement, 13% Animal Health and Wellness
• Executive Level: 20% C-Level Executive, 40% Senior Management, 13% Middle Management, 8% Individual Contributor, 15% Other

YourSAY™ public opinion polls are owned and Powered by PetLynx™. Copies of the complete survey report are available for a nominal cost. Contact Sheena.Neel@petlynxmail.com if you wish to procure a copy.