Promoted by Mandira Kapur -- daughter of Surinder Kapur, chairman and managingdirector, Sona Koyo Steering System Ltd -- the Website concerningpets.com waslaunched by Karisma Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna on Wednesday here. The site isdesigned as an online destination for in-depth information on pets, productsand services for pets and on-line customer service.

Says Surinder Kapur, ``Our family would have invested Rs 1 crore by Novemberthis year. For the next phase of expansion we are talking to venturecapitalists for a $ 2 million capital.'' Kapur is planning to allocatearound $ 1 million to boost the Website's presence in the first year.

``We plan to have a revenue of $ 500,000 by October 2001,'' says Kapur. Thesite will have two revenue streams: the online stream is expected togenerate revenues from the sale of pedigree pets (who will be put up foradoption by individual owners), pet accessories and merchandise, pet foodsetc; and the offline channel is aimed at participation in social activities securing endorsements for pet projects and contests and undertaking housingand interiors for pets.

Concerningpets.com is betting on liberal import regulations as per WTOrequirements after April 2001, which will allow the company to import arange of pet products. ``Imports are likely to account for around half ofour product portfolio,'' says Kapur.

The Web company will charge a commission of around 15-20 per cent pertransaction. It will sell all legally permissible pets -- cats, dogs andlovebirds -- whose prices can range from from Rs 5,000 to Rs 60,000. Thecompany's initial target will be the car-owners who can afford to spendaround Rs 1,000-Rs 2,000 a month or between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 a yearon their pets.

The site is in talks with Planet Channel to tap pet lovers and is alsodiscussing with WWF to promote wild life. In the later stages, thesite is expected to promote wild life for tourist purposes.

The site has already tied up with a couple of departmental stores (whosource pet products from small-scale industries) in Delhi and will soon bewidening its distribution network to cover Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore,Chandigarh and Jaipur. ``We'll add a city a month in the second phase ofexpansion,'' says Kapur.

``The site will serve as a medium to help owners understand the concept ofpet ownership and the responsibilities that come along with it,'' saysSangeeta Vengsarkar Shah, India's first veterinarian canine cardiologist.The site incorporates nine themes including `purr times', which gives thelatest information in animal welfare; Bunny's corner with little known factsabout the animal kingdom and `animal purr back' which focusses on issuesfrom the animal's point of view. `Pick of the fortnight' featurescelebrities with their pets, starting with Bobby Deol and his two dogs.

Besides focussing on pets like dogs and cats, the site also features horses,reptiles, fish, birds and smaller animals.