Petco: Where the healthy pets go.
Petco, is an American pet retailer in the United States, that sells pet products and services, as well as certain types of live animals. Petco has 1,468 retail stores in the United States.
Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., or simply Petco, was founded in 1965 in La Mesa, California in San Diego County by Walter Evans as a mail-order business selling veterinary supplies.
In 2000, Petco was acquired by Leonard Green & Partners and TPG Capital. Failed discussions in 2015 between Petco and PetSmart over a merger, resulted in CVC Capital Partners and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquiring Petco. The deal was worth $4.6 billion (USD).
In 2004, Petco bought the naming rights to San Diego’s
then-new downtown baseball stadium, making it Petco Park. Petco agreed to pay the San Diego Padres about $60 million over a period of 22 years, one of the highest prices paid for
naming rights to a baseball park.
Petco sells pet products and services, as well as certain types of live animals, including fish, reptiles, small birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, and mice for adoption.
A Petco dog-training area.
In 1990, Jim Myers joined the Petco business and became CEO in 2004. He retired in 2016, and was succeeded by company president and chief merchant Brad Weston.
A 116,000 square-foot corporate support center was opened in San Antonio in 2011. Housing approximately 400 employees, the facility operates in conjunction with a corporate support center in San Diego.
A veteran Hewlett-Packard and PepsiCo executive, Ron Coughlin, took over as CEO in June 2018.
In 2018 Petco expanded into the Canadian market through an exclusive partnership with Canada-based retailer Canadian Tire. Canadian shoppers can now buy Petco’s pet food, treats, supplies and accessories from Canadian Tire, both online and in all of its 506 stores.
“Think Adoption First” is Petco’s philosophy and program. It encourages pet adoption rather than buying pets whenever possible. Petco has never sold dogs or cats, and in 2008, the company stopped selling rabbits as well.
The Petco Foundation is an independent nonprofit organization, that has raised more than $200 million since it was created in 1999. Its goal is to help promote and improve the welfare of companion animals. The Foundation spends more than $30 million annually to support this cause annually. Supporting spay and neuter efforts, animal assistant therapy programs, and education about the humane treatment of animals are all part of the Foundation’s work.
Both Petco and the Petco Foundation work with and support animal welfare groups across the country to host in-store adoption events that help find homes for adoptable dogs, cats, and other companion animals.
In 2019 the Petco Foundation partnered with Skechers, which pledged to donate a portion of its charity’s proceeds to the Petco Foundation. Later that year, the Foundation donated $500,000 to the Animal Services department of El Paso, Texas to create an exhibit of adoptable domestic cats at the El Paso Zoo.
Gloria Sauvé
Communications and Marketing