Wikipedia
Petcetera was a pet specialty supply retailer founded in Richmond, British Columbia in 1995 by Dan Urbani. It had expanded to 50 stores and 704 employees across Canada.
The stores, ranging from 10,000 to are 90% dedicated to selling and divided into Dog, Cat, Bird, Fish, Small Animal, Wild Bird, Reptile and Programs & Services sections. They also provided an adoption center, vet, grooming, photos, training and daycare.
On March 20, 2009, Petcetra announced that, due to the recession, it was filing for creditor protection, and would start offering discounts on products in order to generate cash flow.
On June 16, 2009, Petcetera officially filed for bankruptcy; however, Urbani announced on September 1, 2009 that he has bought 20 of Petcetera's most profitable locations out of liquidation, reopening them under the new corporate name of New Petcetera Retail Ltd.
In 2013, an insider investigation service found outdated/stale dated food products and less than adequate living conditions for the animals within more than one of the chain locations. One instance had a 5 month old male dog in extreme distress and physical danger. Thanks to the immediate actions of one of the employees; who was subsequently and abruptly dismissed for his actions; the animal was saved and given proper treatment at the local university of veterinary medicine. This incident wasn't unique to the chain, however. The Saskatoon location also had an incident in which, a Black Labrador was rushed to Saskatoon's university veterinary clinic, when the assistant manager noted the dog was distressed and lethargic. The manager at the time attempted to set aside the distress by feeding the animal a canine cookie treat. But when the animals bowels began to spill out of its abdomen, the assistant left with the animal to be treated. Subsequently, he was also terminated for breaching protocol, and not acquiring permission for treatment.
Other incidents involving fire safety plagued many of the locations, including one location which was unable to renew their fire extinguisher inspection because head office refused to send payment.
The company again downsized its operations in 2014. It announced the closure of two stores in March and another six stores in April 2014. The remaining stores were sold to Petculture.
By June 30, 2014 the company's Kamloops, Regina, and Ottawa stores were scheduled to close. The company filed a Notice of Intention to Make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on March 17, 2014 commencing an immediate nationwide inventory sale to generate cash. It previously announced the closure of its stores in Abbotsford, Penticton, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Niagara Falls and Dartmouth, NS. Prices had been further discounted to include immediate price reductions on everything in the store with savings of up to 90% on their full range of pet merchandise, with even greater discounts in stores scheduled to close. The company has also sold 9 stores to other pet retailers and inventory were to be liquidated in these stores until the sale and purchase agreements close on May 30, 2014.
"As we developed our restructuring plan it became evident the only viable options available to us were to either close or sell the stores." said Dan Urbani, president and CEO of Petcetera. "We have now rationalized the prospects of every store and have concluded that our stores in Kamloops, Regina, and Ottawa cannot be sold and will close by the end of June. Closing stores is a very difficult decision, but unfortunately this was the only remaining option for these stores. While we have been forced to close 9 stores we are pleased that 9 stores have been sold and will continue operating as pet stores".