History Timeline
2009
Chief Operating Officer, Bob Moran is appointed Chairman and CEO of PetSmart. Phil Francis is named Executive Chairman.
2008
We open our 100th PetsHotel.
We open a new distribution center in Reno, Nv.
2007
The 3 millionth homeless pet is adopted from an in-store adoption center.
We open our 1,000th store.
We acquire 19 Super Pet stores in Canada, bringing the total number of stores in the country to 49.
We decides to exit our State Line Tack equine business to focus on our core pet products and services.
2006
We open our 50th PetsHotel and announce that we plan to open a total of 435.
We come up with plans for a smaller format PetsHotel that’s 5,500 square feet
(vs. 7,000 square feet for a bigger hotel). This lets us put a hotel in a store
that wouldn’t otherwise get one because it’s a smaller store or it’s located in
a smaller market.
We start carrying AvoDerm, a premium dog food that’s made with avocados, and By
Nature, an all natural and certified organic brand of dog and cat food.
We want to help our customers make Smart decisions when it comes to their pets,
so we unveil our Smart Nutrition Selector online and in stores. It gathers
specific info about a pet, and then creates a customized list of food
suggestions that Pet Parents can use to figure out which foods will best meet
their pet’s nutritional needs.
About 7.5 million people become new Pet Parents each year. To help our customers
who have new pets, we introduce the New Pet Center in some of our stores. It has
all the products and info a new Pet Parent needs to care for their new pet.
Our Services grow by 26 percent, which makes it 23 consecutive fiscal quarters
that this part of our business experiences growth of 20 percent or more.
Our sales for the fiscal year are $4.2 billion and our EPS is $1.33.
2005
With our vision to provide Total Lifetime Care for all pets and their pet
parents, and our knowledgeable associates and services that differentiate us
from other pet retailers, it’s finally time to clear one thing up: we’re
PetSmart. We move away from the “mart” mentality and our focus is on providing
“Smart” solutions and information.
We roll out our new logo to our new stores and continue to update all of our
stores with the Eagle II refresh, which includes the new logo and an added
emphasis on our highly differentiated training and adoption services.
We run a TV ad that features Buddy, a dachshund with a hankering for a loofah
toy called “Bo-Bo.” The powerful bond between PetSmart, pets and their pet
parents was conveyed so strongly in that ad, sales of “Bo-Bo” increase 400
percent this year.
24-hour “room service,” playtime, animal-themed TV, a Bone Booth to call home
and pet-safe ice cream – what more could a pet want? We finish the fiscal year
with 32 PetsHotels and announce that we plan to eventually have a total of 300
hotels.
The more than 6 million dogs groomed and bathed this year in our salons are
pampered at the hands of our Pet Stylists who must complete a rigorous PetSmart
safety certification process.
For the first time, we add 100 net new stores. We end the fiscal year with 826
stores (30 in Canada) and 34,600 associates.
Is there a doctor in the house? With a Banfield hospital in 525 of our stores,
the answer is usually “yes!”
As we grow, our supply chain needs to keep up. So we open our third major
distribution center, which is in Ottawa, Illinois. It covers one million square
feet, is almost a mile around, is as long as five football fields and you can
fit 48 average size PetSmart stores inside. It’s the Great Dane of distribution
centers.
2004
If the almost 300,000 dogs we trained this year at our 726 stores were lined up
end to end, there would be a whole lot of polite rear-end sniffing going on.
We groom about 5.4 million dogs, nearly a million more than last year.
We continue to roll out more PETsHOTELs, and we end the fiscal year with 16. And
with what we’ve learned from the Doggie Day Camps in our hotels, we’re testing a
stand-alone Doggie Day Camp in our Pasadena, Calif., store.
Our total sales are $3.4 billion and our EPS is $1.14, and for the fifth
straight year, our services business is the top dog. It grows by 24 percent.
On average, 7,000 pets a week find homes through our PetSmart Charities’
Adoption Centers for a grand total of 364,000 on the year and more than 2
million since we started in-store adoptions.
The PetPerks test is a success and we start rolling it out to all of our stores.
In the early going, 70-80 percent of total transactions and 75 percent of total
sales are captured by the cards, which is the benchmark we want to keep.
Even though we just finished reformatting all of our stores, we continue to put
an emphasis on improving the shopping experience for our customers. This year,
we upgrade the signage in our stores.
We end the year with 30,300 associates.
2003
For the fourth year in a row, our services business grows more than 20 percent.
This year it grows by 25.4 percent. And just how did we fuel that growth? Well,
we trained 250,000 dogs, and we groomed or bathed 4.4 million dogs.
We finish remodeling our stores, so now all of our stores are more customer and
pet friendly, easy to shop, bright and vibrant. Now, when customers walk through
our doors, they know that PETsMART is all about providing Total Lifetime Care
for all pets and all pet parents.
Our new PETsHOTEL concept, which is a unique combination of day care (which we
call Doggie Day Camp) and pet boarding, is one of the reasons we expect our
services to continue growing at a record pace. The test of our three original
PETsHOTELs (two inside of stores and one stand-alone hotel) went so well, we
expand the test to seven more stores this year.
And it wasn’t just services that grew at a record pace. We earn 95 cents per
share, total sales are just shy of $3 billion and our stock price gets as high
as $28.80 during the 4th quarter.
More than 311,000 homeless pets find a home through our in-store adoption
centers.
Since PETSMART Charities started, we’ve raised more than $31 million to help
animal rescue and welfare organizations.
We’re testing a customer loyalty program called PetPerks that will let us
customize our marketing and promotional materials, and will let us communicate
more effectively with customers. With the program, customers will get offers and
communication that will help them provide Total Lifetime Care specific to their
pet.
We have 643 stores total (21 in Canada) and 350 of them have Banfield vet
clinics.
We pay our first stock dividend (3 cents) in the 3rd quarter of the fiscal year.
2002
What a difference a year or two can make! This fiscal year, we earn 63 cents per
share, total sales are about $2.7 billion, our pet services grow 29 percent, we
reduce the average inventory in our stores by nine percent and our stock price
gets as high as $21 in the 3rd quarter.
In addition to our two major distribution centers in Columbus, Ohio, and
Phoenix, and our center in Brockport, N.Y., that handles all of our catalog and
Internet business, we now have six smaller distribution centers to move
fast-selling products like consumables. They’re in Phoenix; Ennis, Texas;
Gahanna, Ohio; Hagerstown, Md.; Newnan, Ga.; and Reno, Nev. They complement our
two distribution centers, and our center
Will they get a chocolate on their pillow? No, but pets can get pet-safe ice
cream and play time, and they’ll definitely get some TLC at the PETsHOTEL. It’s
a new service we begin testing in two of our Phoenix stores. If Pet Parents can
go and relax at a hotel, their pets should, too.
Our associates, our customers and our company donate more than $5 million to
PETsMART Charities.
Banfield, The Pet Hospital, now operates vet clinics in more than half of our
stores. At the end of the fiscal year, there are about 300 clinics and we have
583 stores.
2001
Things are looking up. Our average per store inventory is the lowest it’s been
in a couple years (which is good because it means our supply chain is fixed and
we’re selling products), our services continue to shine, we earn 35 cents per
share (as opposed to losing 28 cents per share last year) and our stock reaches
$11.13 in the 4th quarter. Our net income is about $40 million, which makes this
our most profitable year so far.
We begin to remodel all of our stores with the new format and manage to complete
146 stores this year.
Retailers always talk about the importance of customer service, but we want our
associates’ actions to do the speaking for us. We start educating all of our
nearly 22,000 associates about what it takes to serve and delight our customers,
and how to identify and understand pet parents’ needs and to provide solutions.
1.2 million pets have found homes through our PetSmart Charities’ Adoption
Centers since 1994. And when you figure that just two feral cats breeding
uncontrollably during that time could’ve produced more than 400,000 more
homeless cats, we’ve really saved more lives than that. But who’s counting
anyway?
We’re already the largest provider of professional pet grooming and training in
the U.S., and our services continue to grow. This year it grows 28.6 percent.
2000
We update our vision statement: To provide Total Lifetime Care for every pet,
every parent, every time – which means that we offer solutions, superior
products, unmatched services and superb customer service.
We open our 500th store and finish the fiscal year with 533 stores.
For all of those bikers with puppy dog hearts, we introduce the first Harley
Davidson-branded products for pets, and sales go hog wild.
Medical Management International, Inc., the company that operates the 239 vet
clinics in our stores, is now operating under the name Banfield, The Pet
Hospital.
In our newly named PetSmart Charities’ Adoption Centers, we find homes for
230,000 pets this year.
Our focus on services pays off. For the first time, training and grooming grows
by 20 percent or more (21 percent) and achieves double digit comparable store
sales (13.4 percent).
We successfully test a new store format that highlights our services, is
organized by pet type, reinforces our brand, and organizes the store around how
our customers shop. It’s bright, warm and friendly, and doesn’t feel like the
warehouse of old.
Things often get worse before they get better. Our stock price hits an all-time
low of $2.25, but there’s reason for hope. Our services business is growing
faster than ever, we’ve made our supply chain more efficient by opening five
forward distribution centers to move fast-selling products, we operate in a
growing segment of the retail market and we have the best associates in retail.
We buy PetsHotel Plus, a pet boarding hotel in Tucson, Ariz., where pet parents
can bring their pets for a little TLC when they go out of town, because we
recognize its huge potential and it fits perfectly into our strategy of
providing the lifetime needs of pets and their parents.
1999
Just like human food, baked pet food is more nutritious than fatty foods. We
introduce Premier Oven-Baked dog food, the first baked food in the pet food
industry and our own private label, for pet parents who are particular about
what their pet eats.
By now, PETsMART Charities has donated more than $10 million to animal welfare
organizations. And our associates definitely do their part. This year, they give
more than $500,000 to PETsMART Charities.
We find homes for more than 192,204 homeless pets through our Luv-A-Pet Adoption
Centers, for a grand total of 700,000 since we put centers in all of our stores.
Realizing that we bit off a little more than we can chew, we sell the 92 stores
we operate in the U.K. Now we have 484 stores, 20 of which are in Canada.
As part of our “bricks and clicks” commerce model, we turn PETsMART.com into an
e-commerce business and it quickly becomes the most visited pet related site on
the net.
We used to run some of the vet clinics in our stores and Medical Management
International, Inc. operated some, but now all 229 clinics in our stores are run
by MMI. In exchange for giving up control of the clinics we operate, we get a 36
percent stake in MMI.
For the first time, we buy back our own stock – 5.55 million shares, or about
$25 million worth of stock.
We’ve realized just how important our services are to our business and our
customers, so we’ve rethought our strategy. Now we’re focused more on providing
the lifetime needs of pets and their pet parents, which is more than just having
the most products at the best prices. This is just what we’ve been looking for
to put our company back on the upswing.
1998
We open our 500th store, and end the fiscal year with a grand total of 534 – 423
in the U.S., 93 in the U.K. and 18 in Canada.
Phil Francis, who has been a Director of the company since 1989, becomes our new
President and CEO. Sam Parker returns to his previous role of Chairman of the
Board.
We begin opening smaller stores (19,000 square feet vs. 26,000 square feet) in
markets that can only support one store and as fill-in locations in markets that
already have stores. Even though they’re smaller, they still have the same
amount of products as the bigger stores.
We’re able to rebound a little after last year’s slide. Our sales and gross
profit increase, while our store operating expenses decrease.
1997
We have vet clinics in 213 of our stores in North America.
Until now, business has been a walk in the park, but we hit a bump for the first
time in our history. During the first half of the fiscal year, we encounter
inventory problems that disappoint our customers and we try new marketing
techniques that don’t quite pan out. Our stock price drops from $23 at the
beginning of the fiscal year to $6 in the 4th quarter.
Even with the problems, our total sales of $1.8 billion still make us the
largest retailer of pet food, supplies and services in North America and the
United Kingdom.
Through PETsMART Direct, we distribute more than 37 million catalogs from our
200,000 square foot catalog fulfillment and equine distribution center in
Brockport, N.Y. That’s a lot of catalogs. To put it in perspective, it’s about
one for every two households in America that has a pet.
Sam Parker, former President and CEO who took the company public and held a dual
role of CEO and Chairman of the Board until he resigned as CEO in 1995, resumes
the position of CEO to try and get the company back on track.
1996
PETsMART.com debuts on the Internet and attracts about 1,900 visitors each day
who want to learn about job opportunities, get the latest news about the company
and find out where our stores are located.
It seems like just yesterday when we were nothing more than a wacky concept and
two stores, but 10 years later, and just two years after our 100th store opens,
we have 320 stores and more than 10,000 associates. We’ve achieved this growth
organically and through the acquisition of regional competitors.
And that doesn’t include our venture into the United Kingdom. We buy Pet City
Holdings plc, the largest pet specialty retailer in the U.K., that operates 57
Pet City stores in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a 110,000
square foot “break bulk center” in Gloucester, England, to handle hardgoods.
We also open eight stores in Ontario, Canada, which mark the first stores we
open outside of the U.S.
We buy State Line Tack, Inc., a leading worldwide catalog retailer that
specializes in discount name brand tack, riding apparel and equine supplies.
Our stock goes through a 2-for-1 split
1995
We buy PetStuff, Inc., and its 56 stores; the Pet Food Giant and its 10
superstores; and Sporting Dog Specialties, Inc., the leading worldwide catalog
retailer of pet supplies and accessories that carries more than 68,000 products
For the first time, our sales top $1 billion during a fiscal year.
Our stock goes through a 3-for-2 split
1994
PETsMART forms PETsMART Charities, Inc., a nonprofit organization that’s
dedicated to ending euthanasia and finding homes for homeless pets.
Our 100th store opens in January
We buy Weisheimer Companies, Inc., which operates 29 PETZAZZ stores in the
Midwest and a distribution center in Columbus, Ohio.
We’ve always had some form of pet training in our stores, mostly through
vendors, but this year we decide to do it ourselves in all of our stores. And
it’s a big hit. Our customers really appreciate the positive reinforcement
techniques we use and the bond they build with their pets.
We operate 41 vet clinics in our stores, and to further our commitment to the
health of pets, we reach an agreement with Medical Management International in
Portland, Ore., to operate full-service, state-of-the-art vet clinics in our
stores.
It’s not just about being the low price leader anymore; we have a total
commitment to pets and their pet parents, and understand that pets are family
members. Our new slogan is “Where pets are family.” (Of course, we don’t forget
about being the low price leader, either.)
We start selling our PetSmart Charities’ Luv-A-Pet Christmas ornaments during
the holidays, and the proceeds are used to help homeless pets.
1993
PETsMART goes public to the tune of $125 million. We issue 7.5 million shares of
common stock and sell 5.7 million shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange. We’re
listed under the symbol “PETM”.
We expand our distribution center in Ennis, Texas, to about double its size.
We buy Unipet Distributors, which operates three Pet Fair stores in Las Vegas
and two Pet Food Supermarts in Phoenix. Not only is this the first company we’ve
bought, but coincidentally, it’s also the company where the whole pet product
warehouse idea got started. This is the company that hired Jim and Janice
Dougherty to run a store called Petfood Supermarket back in the 80’s.
In the first full year our stores have permanent adoption centers, we find homes
for 21,000 pets.
1992
We open our own permanent adoption centers, which we call the Luv-A-Pet Adoption
Center. We start with one part-time center, but after 44 pets find a home in
four days, we put a full-time center in every store. In the first month, 6,300
pets have new homes.
We welcome Authority, our own private label brand of premium nutrition food, and
Grreat Choice and Sophista-Cat, our own private label brands of grocery foods,
to our pet food offering. These are our first private label foods, which give us
an advantage because they’re exclusive to PETsMART and have a higher margin than
other foods
We open and operate our first permanent in-store vet clinic in Texas.
To some, 50 might be over the hill, but the opening of our 50th store means
we’re just getting started.
1991
Our business is built on providing the best selection of products at the best
prices, so we adopt our original slogan – “Where high prices have been
housebroken.”
We start selling cockatiels, lovebirds, doves, canaries and parakeets, which is
sweet music to our customers’ ears.
Our first equine department opens in Albuquerque.
How do we distribute products to a chain of 36 stores in nine states with more
on the way? Simple. We open our first distribution center in Ennis, Texas, which
is 114,000 square feet.
Now that there are grooming salons in all of our stores, we groom more than
150,000 pets this year.
We start the year with 21 stores in three states and 700 associates, and finish
it with 36 stores in nine states and 1,500 associates. We’ve achieved this
growth organically, which means we’ve opened our own stores rather than
acquiring other businesses.
1990
The need and customer support for vet services is overwhelming. So we contract
with a veterinarian company to bring mobile clinics to our stores to perform
vaccinations and pet physicals.
To continue our transition from a cavernous warehouse that was stacked to the
ceiling with products, we redesign our stores so they’re more open and inviting.
Last year, we changed the name of our stores to PETsMART, but our corporate name
remained Pacific Coast Distributing, Inc. Now we change the name of our
corporation to PETsMART, Inc.
This year’s Santa photo event raises $100,000 in 21 stores, and all of the
proceeds go to local animal welfare groups. Customers are so excited, some wait
in line up to two hours to get their pet’s photo with Santa.
1989
You know what they say, having fish is relaxing. So we put that theory to the
test and open our first live fish department with an assortment that ranges from
goldfish to show fish and even piranhas. This will help us attract new customers
and will give existing customers reason to stay in a store a little longer.
And while we’re in the swing of things, we also add a bird and small pet
department.
Dogs rejoice because now they can get bathed and primped in our first
full-service salon, and pet parents are happy because they can do their shopping
while their pooches are pampered. Goodbye pet hair in the bathtub drain.
We produce our first TV commercials, featuring cats, dogs, birds, a mini horse,
a pot bellied pig and a monkey.
We’re not just a warehouse anymore; we’re a MART for PETs that’s SMART about
PETs. So it’s only fitting that we change the name and logo of our stores from
PetFood Warehouse to PETsMART.
Our 4th Annual Santa photo event (which we still have) raises more than $47,000
in 12 stores to help local pet welfare groups. And you think mall Santas have it
rough? Our Santas had more than 200 pets on their laps, claws and all.
1988
We’re very committed to helping stop pet overpopulation. All seven of our stores
work with local animal welfare groups to hold fundraising and pet adoption
events.
We sell our first dog sweater.
1987
Cats, dogs and plenty of other pets bring their pet parents through the doors of
our first two stores, which are located in Arizona and called PetFood Warehouse.
1986
The idea for a pet superstore is hatched! Founders Jim and Janice Dougherty
secure a venture capital loan from the Phillips Van Heusen Corporation and
become incorporated as Pacific Coast Distributing, Inc.
