12 December 2000

Petco Acquires Partner's Assets

The partnership between the 530 store U.S. retail chain Petco and on-line retailer Petopia was consolidated on 5th December with the announcement that Petco has acquired the assets of the Petopia operation. Petco's Chairman, President and CEO, Brian Devine said: "Our acquisition of Petopia assets expands on Petco's existing capabilities to serve its Internet customers. There has already been a significant shakeout among the pet industry e-commerce players and we are well positioned to take advantage of the opportunity and provide customers who want to shop online the best products, services and delivery system in the business." The two sites will be integrating with the on-line operations benefitting from the support of Petco's U.S. network of stores and 8 product distribution centers. In the 1st December issue of UK trade publication, PBWNews (Pet Business World), Editor Serena Nurse pointed out to readers that many analysts believe: "A 'bricks-and-clicks' business model, where an online business is linked to an actual storefront retailer, stands a better chance of surviving than independant or 'pure-play', Web retailers." Petco is a private company backed by Leonard Green & Partners, a Los Angeles-based merchant bank, and Texas Pacific Group, a private investment partnership based in Fort Worth, Texas. Copyright 2000 Steve O'Malley (UKPets). This article may be reproduced with permission of the author and correct attribution to the source.