PETsMART

PETsMART, Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) is a leading chain of retail stores doing business in the United States and Canada engaged in the sale of pet supplies and services such as grooming and dog training. PETsMART also offers veterinary services, provided by Banfield, the Pet Hospital, which leases out space in each store. Technically, in full, the company's name is the PETsMART Store Support Group, Inc. They are based in Phoenix, Arizona.

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PETsMART was founded in 1986 under the trade name Pacific Coast Distributing, Inc. (aka Pacific Coast Distribution, Inc.), a Delaware corporation, and opened its first Pet Food Warehouse stores in the Phoenix area the following year. In 1988, the stores' names were changed to PETsMART. Through several mergers and acquisitions, PETsMART expanded in the early- and mid-1990's across the U.S. and into Canada, and entered online retailing through a partnership with Idealab in 1999 (which later became a wholly-owned subsidiary of PETsMART).

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Top Paw is a line of products, including collars and leashes, that is manufactured for Pacific Coast Distributing, Inc. (now PETsMART) by Coastal Pet Products Inc.

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In August 2005, the company announced that it would alter its name from PETsMART to PetSmart over a period of time. This move is designed to emphasize its evolution from a pet supply store to a service-oriented company http://www.irconnect.com/petm/pages/news_releases.html?d=84580.

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The company directly competes with PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. and several other smaller pet chains.

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As of the end of the 2004 Fiscal Year, PETsMART operated approximately 726 stores.

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Grooming: For the predatory tactic used by pedophiles, see child grooming....