What is Petco? Petco Review, Features

Petco is a veteran in pet supplies sales. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in California, it is one of the largest chain pet retailers in the United States, with more than 1,000 offline chain stores and its online e-commerce platform Petco.com is also developing rapidly. Petco's products cover pet food, pet clothing, pet grooming products, pet leashes and pet durable products, and it has its own brand You&Me. Petco also provides services such as pet grooming, veterinary medicine, pet adoption and small pet trading in its stores, and has strong user stickiness.

About PetCo

PetCo is the second largest pet specialty retailer in the United States. According to its official website, the company currently has more than 1,500 pet specialty stores in the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company takes "pet health" as its starting point and, based on its solid foundation in "retail + platform", actively expands its business and implements "non-physical store" mergers and acquisitions.

Development History

-In 1965, the company's predecessor, UPCO, was established to engage in the mailing business of veterinary supplies.

-In 1976, UPCO opened its first physical store in California.

-In 1979, UPCO was renamed PetCo.

-In 1980, PetCo opened its first store outside of California.

-In 1988, the company acquired two pet store chains, WellPoint and the Pet Department, increasing the number of stores from 40 to 130.

-In 1991, the company logo was changed to "Red Ruff and Blue Mews".

-In 1994, the company was listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange with the stock code PETC. The company has 218 stores in 13 states in the United States and sales revenue exceeds US$189 million.

-In 1995, the company began to offer beauty services in its stores.

-In 1997, PetCo Animal LoversSave (PALS) customer loyalty program was launched, becoming the first membership system in the pet industry

-In 2000, the company was taken private by Leonard Green Partners and Texas Pacific Group and delisted.

-In 2001, PetCo.com was launched.

-In 2002, the company went public again; it now has more than 600 stores in 48 states in the United States.

-In 2004, dog training courses were added to the stores.

-In 2006, the company was privatized by TPG for $1.8 billion; it has more than 800 stores in 49 states in the United States.

-In 2009, Unleashed by PetCo was launched, which is positioned as a small, high-end, community-friendly store with more than 1,000 stores.

-In 2013, the company entered the Mexican market and opened two stores.

-In 2014, the company announced that it would permanently stop selling any pet food and treats produced in China.

-In 2015, it submitted an IPO application to the SEC and withdrew the application at the end of the same year.

-In 2016, the company was jointly acquired by CVC Capital Partners and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for US$4.6 billion; the company launched its own pet food brands Doctors Foster & Smith and Wholehearted for the first time.

-In 2017, the company opened its first store-in-store veterinary hospital and launched the Heads & Tails APP.