Pandemic pets and parents key to Petco’s plan to thrive
NEW YORK — Yummy, a 12-year-old Labrador retriever, is in Petco’s San Diego offices so much he has his own title.
“We call him the chief dog officer,” says CEO Ron Coughlin, the real top dog at Petco, who brings Yummy to work every day.
It’s a good time to oversee a company that sells leashes and squeaky toys. Americans spent a record $103.6 billion on their pets last year, up 7% from 2019, as more people sought the comfort of a furry friend during the pandemic, according to the American Pet Products Association. Nearly 13 million households got a pet last year, the trade association said.
Coughlin calls those pandemic pets a “furry annuity,” since he expects pet parents to come into Petco’s 1,500 stores for years to come to groom their dogs, visit a vet or buy a new collar.
And like Yummy, he also hopes some of those new pets will make their way to offices as their owners head back, too. The company is offering free tips to employers, like how to keep officebound pets healthy (“always provide fresh water”) and keep the workplace smelling nice (“bring pet beds home to wash”).
This recent interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Why is some pet food is hard to find right now?
There was no crystal ball that said they were going to be millions of new pets in the United States in 2020. So, the food manufacturers didn’t have the supply. There is a backlog from vendors. It varies by brand, it varies by type, even by form.
During the pandemic people got used to shopping online. Will they still come to Petco stores?
I was worried about that. But that is not what we’re seeing. Our brick-and-mortar is very strong. They’re coming in to get advice, but they’re also coming for grooming. They’re coming to get training. They’re coming to see our vets in our hospitals and clinics. This idea of a one-stop shop is resonating both digitally, but also in brick-and-mortar.
How has Petco benefited from the pandemic?
We call it the furry annuity. With us, there’s millions of pets that are basically a furry annuity for the next decade. And that’s unique to our industry. And they’re going to give us a tailwind for years to come.
Why are people choosing to get larger dog breeds?
There’s a macro trend in the United States on the back end of COVID-19 of migration away from cities toward suburbs or rural areas, places that have
larger size homes. And there tends to be a correlation between the size of the living space and the type of pet that is adopted, which makes sense. If you have a yard, you’re more likely to get a larger, more active dog. The good news for us is that larger dogs have more food in their bowls and the supplies cost more.
What’s the benefit of bringing your pet to work?
It just makes for a better environment and you don’t have to leave your loved one at home. There’s statistics that show that people are more likely to stay with companies or much more likely to switch to a company if they have a pet-friendly workplace. It just makes people happier.
Don’t pets at offices have accidents?
It happens far less than you would expect. I’ve been bringing Yummy here for three years and we’ve had two situations, both of which were my fault because I didn’t take him out.