Petco Expands Shop-in-Shops, Entering 450 Canadian Tire Stores in 2023
Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is expanding its retail partnership with Canadian Tire. As a result, Petco's product assortment will be available in dedicated shop-in-shops across 450 Canadian Tire stores (90% of the company’s total locations) in 2023.
Canadian Tire stores (online and in-store) will feature Petco's premium, owned, and exclusive pet products, as well as a variety of additional Petco brands like SoPhresh and Well & Good. Through the partnership, the retailers hope to tap into Canada's assessed $5.3 billion pet market.
"With 60% of Canadian households home to a family cat or dog, pets are an important product category with strong potential for growth rooted in value, relevance, and trusted brands for our customers," said Michael Magennis, SVP of general merchandising at Canadian Tire Retail, in a statement.
According to Magennis, since initiating the partnership in 2018, the Canadian retailer has seen double-digit growth in the category with a significant increase in consumers shopping the pet category for the first time.
The expansion is part of Canadian Tire’s Better Connected strategy, which has included a slew of store remodel initiatives. Among them is a new 135,000-square-foot store in Ottawa that has a six-car canopy where consumers can pick up their online purchases. The store features tech such as electronic shelf labels, scan-and-buy capabilities that assist with bulky items, and workforce benefits that allow employees to access real-time information.
Petco’s Latest Store Initiatives
Petco has been heavily investing in increasing its market share in recent years, expanding into other store-in-store partnerships and creating comprehensive, full-service pet centers within its store experiences.
Last summer, the company expanded its nutrition focus into small towns and rural communities with new Neighborhood Farm & Pet Supply pet care centers — a one-stop-shop for health and wellness services that cover not only pets, but also farm animals like horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and more.
Petco also launched a concept store in San Marcos, California that is designed through data, aiming to elevate shopping by providing an end-to-end experience: a robust nutrition center, digital signage to make navigating the store easier, and integrated check-in for veterinary services and grooming, among other updates.
Early last year Petco also partnered with Lowe’s for a store-in-store experience. It launched with a pilot store at Lowe's Alamo Ranch in Texas, expanding to 14 additional Lowe's locations in Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina by the end of last year.
"Through our exclusive expanded partnership with Canadian Tire, we're growing awareness of — and access to — Petco's health and wellness products within Canada's dynamic and rapidly growing pet market," said Petco chief merchandising officer Amy College. "Four years after our teams brought this exciting and innovative concept to pet parents, the continued growth of our partnership speaks to pet parents' deep confidence in Petco's pet care expertise, as well as the power and reach of Canadian Tire's connection with local markets.”
