Petcetera Files Bankruptcy - It's Official

[Myka]

Well, it looks like it's official now.



Richmond-based pet store chain Petcetera filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, and the liquidation sale is expected to commence by the end of this month.

Jim Nelson, spokesperson for PricewaterhouseCoopers—which provides bankruptcy services, among other things—said the liquidation sale could last up to three months.

"We do not have closure dates for specific stores at this time," Nelson said in an e-mail.

Petcetera currently has about 1,500 employees in 45 stores across the country, and was founded in 1997.

In March, the chain filed for creditor protection and commenced a 60-day nationwide inventory sale in an attempt to generate cash flow.

"In light of the recession's impact on the Canadian retail industry, we have to take drastic measures in the short term to ensure that Petcetera continues to be viable long after the downturn is over," founder, president and CEO Dan Urbani said in March.

But by the end of April, Petcetera closed four of its then 49 locations, in Alberta and Ontario.

Just six weeks ago, Urbani expressed optimism about his chain's future.

"We are optimistic that if our national sale continues to be successful, we may be able to avoid additional closures and continue to serve our customers and their pets at our 45 remaining locations," he said.

[bignose]

This company had it coming.

[whatcaneyedo]

They will not be missed. So when is Petco going out of business???

[banditpowdercoat]

WHOOO, glad to hear it. They gave our hobby a bad rep

[AndyL]

LOL, stopped by yesterday out of curiosity and seeking a deal of course - I'll stick to my local small retailers... Geeze, even pisces has better pricing day to day than they had as liquidation pricing...

[jsmth321]

They will not be missed. So when is Petco going out of business???


Probably not anytime soon. Their owners (2 private equity groups) have pretty deep pockets and they spent 1.8 billion to aquire the company 3 years ago, so I dont see them going away anytime soon. They expect to open their 1,000th store in 2009.

Petsmart's not doing too bad either, in the first quarter '09 profits up, sales are up and revenue is up, they closed the 1st qtr with a 46.3 million US profit on revenue of 1.33 billion US which was up 9%.

[StirCrazy]

this isn't nessasarly a good thing, although they are not the best for fish, there dry goods for other animals and equipment pricing help keep LFS honest. with out the big box pet stores I would hate to see how much a tank would cost, or filters, media, ect..

Steve

[banditpowdercoat]

I allways found their stuf WAY over priced.

[StirCrazy]

I allways found their stuf WAY over priced.

come to the island my friend, they are the cheepest around.

Steve

[reef bound]

come to the island my friend, they are the cheepest around.

Steve

I thought you were moving to Kamloops? Still happening? Sorry to hi-jack.

[fkshiu]

come to the island my friend, they are the cheepest around.

Steve

Not for long! :)

[jsmth321]

this isn't nessasarly a good thing, although they are not the best for fish, there dry goods for other animals and equipment pricing help keep LFS honest. with out the big box pet stores I would hate to see how much a tank would cost, or filters, media, ect.. Steve

Out in my neck of the woods they were pretty much over priced on everything, the local store beat the socks of them price wise on just about everything. Sale time to time, but not worth just dropping in for.

I kinda wish Petsmart would come in and open a store, sometimes I like to shop there but hate going to Abby. Petcetera's building here is newer, and the dollar store could probably be moved to make it bigger if needed.

[Myka]

I always found the box stores expensive too on most stuff. Although PetSmart is the cheapest place I have found Caribsea Aragonite Select sand. It's about $1/lb there. PetSmart has decent prices on fish too, and most PetSmarts are well taken care of. I think PetSmart is the lesser of all the evils. Don't get me started on Petland (or Petcetera)...

[VFX]

Out in my neck of the woods they were pretty much over priced on everything, the local store beat the socks of them price wise on just about everything. Sale time to time, but not worth just dropping in for.

I kinda wish Petsmart would come in and open a store, sometimes I like to shop there but hate going to Abby. Petcetera's building here is newer, and the dollar store could probably be moved to make it bigger if needed.

I found the Chilliwack store would price match anything I found in the lower mainland. I'd sometimes just showed them the J&L website to get things cheaper & save myself the trip to Vancouver.

I wont miss it once it's gone though...

.

[Myka]

I think that's standard PetSmart policy to price match...the problem is they don't carry the right brands on most stuff to price match! LOL

[Aquattro]

I know for myself, my local LFS doesn't carry any kind of dog stuff, so I rely on Petsmart for that. I actually have no idea where else I could find dog stuff (toys, etc) locally. I like to shop Bosley's for as much as I can, but most of the smaller "botique" type dog stores are way more expensive than the big box and just don't have the selection.