All Brands Owned by PetSmart LLC

Is PetSmart a subsidiary of another company?
PetSmart is an independent operating company, but it is controlled by a private equity consortium led by BC Partners through the holding company Argos Holdings Inc. Apollo Global Management holds a minority stake acquired in 2023. There is no corporate parent in the conventional sense; BC Partners exercises board control.

Is PetSmart publicly traded?
No. PetSmart traded on NASDAQ under ticker PETM until March 2015, when a BC Partners-led consortium took it private for $8.7 billion. Shares are now held by private equity funds, and no public stock is available to investors.

When was PetSmart founded?
PetSmart was founded on August 14, 1986, in Phoenix, Arizona, by Jim and Janice Dougherty as PetFood Warehouse, a warehouse-club format pet store. It rebranded to PETsMART in 1989, went public in 1993, and restyled the name as PetSmart in 2005.

Who founded PetSmart?
Jim and Janice Dougherty founded the company in Phoenix after careers in retail, applying the then-novel warehouse club model to pet supplies. The couple expanded to multiple Arizona stores before outside capital and professional management scaled the chain nationally.

What is PetSmart's market position?
PetSmart is the largest pet specialty retailer in North America by store count, operating roughly 1,650 stores versus Petco's approximately 1,400. Estimated revenue is around $10 billion annually. It leads in pet services including grooming, boarding, and training, while Chewy leads in online pet retail and mass merchants compete on price.

Does PetSmart still own Chewy?
No. PetSmart acquired Chewy in May 2017 for approximately $3.35 billion, took it public in June 2019, and separated fully in 2021, distributing the remaining stake to its owners. The transaction was highly profitable for PetSmart's private equity owners, but the two companies now compete as fully independent businesses.