Petco ($WOOF) on Thursday went public for the third time in its 56-year history following a banner year for the pet care and supply industry, which benefited from remote-working pet owners spending more time than ever with their animal companions.  

"It was always the plan to go public. The question was when not if," CEO Ron Coughlin told Cheddar. "The market … is strong and it's going to be strong well into the future, so it was a great time to do it." 

The company debuted on the Nasdaq at $26 per share and hit $29 at the close, up 63 percent from the initial offering. Coughlin said Petco will cut its debt in half with this transaction.

This return to public markets places Petco in direct competition with Chewy, the online pet product retailer owned by industry giant PetSmart, which had a successful IPO in 2019 

"We're playing a different hand," he said. "Our hand is being the pet parent's partner for the health and wellness of their pet."

Coughlin touted the company's suite of veterinary services as well as its training and grooming offerings, which "neither the online players or the mass players" have.

This emphasis on the health and wellness of pets was also evident in Petco's announcement last year to no longer sell shock collars at its stores. 

The executive also highlighted the company's focus on selling higher-quality pet food. 

"Actually all of the growth of the pet food category is going to come from premium and super-premium, where we have particular strength." 

Petco, which has 1,400 brick-and-mortar locations across the U.S., is banking on the continued customer value in maintaining a physical presence. 

"Our pet care centers are the salons for pets. They're the hospital for pets. In some ways, they're the schools for pets with our training," he said. 

The company's in-house research showed that 39 percent of customers want an omnichannel experience: both online and retail offerings.  

"I know this whole theory about retail locations being albatrosses, but for us, they are absolutely, absolutely a competitive advantage," Coughlin said.

Share:
More In Business
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Trump Administration Shutters Consumer Protection Agency
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Load More