Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
PetSmart history
PetSmart company history timeline
The company was founded in 1987 and now includes retail stores, catalogues, and an Internet shopping site.
In 1987 they opened their first two superstores, in the Phoenix, Arizona area, under the name PetFood Warehouse, offering pet food in large quantities for low prices, a new concept at the time.
1988: Five additional stores are established in Arizona, Colorado, and Texas.
In 1988 they opened five additional stores in Arizona, Colorado, and Texas, and PetFood Warehouse stores began working with local animal welfare groups to hold fundraising and pet adoption events.
By 1989 PetFood Warehouse was not yet profitable, and the board of investors removed the Doughertys from control of the company, retaining them as consultants, and in March 1989 hired retail veteran Samuel J. Parker as president and CEO in their place.
Parker also led expansion into new markets in the southwest and California, and in 1992 PETsMART opened its 50th store and registered a profit for the first time.
The company opened 41 stores in 1993, lifting annual sales from $106.6 million to $187.9 million, and acquired Phoenix-based Pet Food & Supply and its five superstores.
In order to implement its plan for sustained growth, the company made an initial public offering (IPO) of stock in 1993.
In 1993 Parker was elected Chairman of the company in addition to being President and CEO.
In 1994, PETAZZ, a midwestern retailer with stores in five states, became the first major acquisition, with others soon to follow.
In 1994 PETsMART Charities, Inc. – now PetSmart Charities – was formed, an independent nonprofit organization to help save the lives of homeless pets by partnering with animal shelters.
In 1995, PETsMART continued to make pivotal acquisitions, including the May purchase of Sporting Dog Specialties, Inc., the world's largest catalog retailer of pet and animal supplies and accessories, and State Line Tack, Inc., a global catalog retailer of equine supplies.
Parker had retired as CEO in 1995, naming Mark Hansen as his successor CEO while Parker remained on as chairman.
PETsMART Direct, which encompassed several catalogs, was formed in October 1996.
In 1996 the company opened its first eight Canadian stores, and spread to the UK by acquiring and renaming Pet City, the UK's largest pet-products chain which had 50 stores at the time.
The firm's aggressive growth strategy began to catch up with it however, and in 1997, financial problems arose.
1997: The company reports a loss of $34.4 million and stock price falters.
Years of rapid expansion eventually exacerbated the company's lack of an adequate inventory infrastructure, resulting in heavy losses being reported in early in 1997.
In 1998 PETsMART opened its 500th store, and by year's end had 423 stores in the United States, 93 stores in the UK, and 18 in Canada.
Francis became chairman of the firm in 1999 upon Parker's retirement.
The firm sold its U.K. operations, which had posted a loss of $10.3 million in 1999.
Under Francis's direction, in 1999 the company launched an ad campaign promoting PETsMART as a one-stop shop for pet products and services.
In December 2000 it had also acquired the domain name Pets.com from the newly defunct e-tailer, and redirected all of its web traffic to Petsmart.com.
2000: The firm sells its U.K. operations.
Although sales went up by over 5% in 2000, the company recorded a $31 million loss for the year, and in mid 2000 its stock price hit an all-time low.
In 2000 the company also re-prioritized and expanded its in-store services such as dog training and grooming.
"petsmart sends supplies to canine rescue teams." business wire, 14 september 2001.
In 2001 the company posted a net loss of $30.9 million on sales of $2,224 million.
In 2001 the company laid out a three-year plan to expand in-store services and products and provide high-quality customer service, and began an extensive training program for its employees, to help them identify customers' needs and provide solutions.
moreau, dan. "retail stocks offering up mixed bag. . . ."investor's business daily, 22 january 2002.
By the end of 2008 over 100 stores had PetsHotels offering daycare for dogs and boarding for dogs and cats, and by 2020 there were eight stand-alone PetsHotels and hotels in 207 stores. It also acquired the pet boarding company PetsHotels Plus; afterwards, two in-store PETsMART PetsHotels were tested in 2002 in Phoenix.
In 2005 PETsMART rebranded itself PetSmart and embraced a new concept and image which focused on "pet parents" and the trend of humanizing pets.
The company's direct competitor is Petco, a nationwide big-box pet supplies retailer that was sold to private equity owners in 2006.
PetSmart tightened its focus further in 2007 by exiting its equine business.
By 2008 PetSmart had 1000 stores in the United States and Canada.
In 2010 PetSmart began to launch a series of exclusive products based on partnerships with high-profile entities like GNC and Martha Stewart, leading to the GNC Pets and Martha Stewart Pets lines.
In a planned management succession, after four years at the helm of the company, Moran retired as CEO in June 2013 and was replaced by then President and COO David K. Lenhardt.
The winner in the bidding war was a consortium of private equity investors led by BC Partners, which completed a leveraged buyout of PetSmart for $8.7 billion in March 2015.
To combat this PetSmart purchased the still-unprofitable yet popular pet e-commerce site Chewy as a largely independent subsidiary in May 2017 for $3.35 billion.
As of 2020, the organization had facilitated the adoption of more than 9 million dogs and cats.
"PETsMART Inc. ." Company Profiles for Students. . Retrieved June 22, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/economics-magazines/petsmart-inc
Rate how well PetSmart lives up to its initial vision.
PetSmart jobs
Do you work at PetSmart?
Is PetSmart's vision a big part of strategic planning?
PetSmart competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pet Supplies Plus | 1988 | $825.0M | 25 | 702 |
| Petco Holdings, Inc. | 2012 | $4.4B | 25,000 | 1,539 |
| Care-A-Lot Pets | 1988 | $33.3M | 50 | - |
| Menards | 1958 | $10.0B | 45,000 | 959 |
| Fred's | 1947 | $1.3B | 7,324 | 26 |
| Petland | 1967 | $45.9M | 750 | 33 |
| Michaels Stores | 1973 | $5.3B | 45,000 | 2,561 |
| Save A Lot | 1977 | $1.0M | 25 | 290 |
| Dillon | 1890 | $2.0B | 11,500 | 14 |
| ULTRA Diamonds | 1991 | $140.0M | 37,000 | 48 |
PetSmart history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of PetSmart, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about PetSmart. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at PetSmart. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by PetSmart. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of PetSmart and its employees or that of Zippia.
PetSmart may also be known as or be related to Pet Smart, PetFood Warehouse, PETsMART, PetSmart, PetSmart Inc, PetSmart Inc., Petsmart and Petsmart, Inc.