Big box store closing some locations

[gwand44 160]

Good news. Petco Is Closing Locations: See Updated List of Shuttered Stores for 2026​

The pet-care giant said it planned to close between 15 and 20 stores this year.

 

[Boundava3 2]

I do go here so glad nothing relatively near me is closing.

 

[gwand44 160]

I boycott those stores in protest to how they care for their fish. They degrade the hobby.

 

[emeraldking24 75]

We don't have a Petco in our country. But why is that good news, if I may ask...?

 

[emeraldking24 75]

We don't have a Petco in our country. But why is that good news, if I may ask...?

Oh, never mind... I just noticed @gwand 's reply...

 

[Boundava3 2]

I boycott those stores in protest to how they care for their fish. They degrade the hobby.

I buy live food for my box turtle, and to feed to my bumblebee oscars.
I also get cat food and frozen fish food here on occasion.

Not too many local pet stores around, unfortunately you have to deal with the larger chain stores.

Similarity with grocery stores, as a child I remember going with my Mom and Brother to local piaz (pronounced pee ah tz) which was similar to a produce farmer's market, but European one stop instead of individual stalls. Fresh produce (tat lasted the week in the fridge without rotting in 24 hours, dairy products and meats (smoked too). Now you don't have that option any longer, at least not by me.

 

[GaryE5 3]

The danger with Petco is monopoly on a local level. They come in with a centrally purchased, limited stock of fish, often in very poor health, and undercut everyone local. The older smaller stores can't compete with the chain, so they go under. The hobby's poorly served by the choices offered by petco or the similar competitors. Dog and cat food drive the business,and aquariums are now an after thought. When Petco goes, so does the only brick and mortar store in some areas. The older local .stores are gone already.

As the US economy worsens, fancy pet food becomes a luxury and I imagine some of the chains are feeling the effects of inflation and reduced spending power. Walmart sells cheaper, lower quality pet food.

But Petco aquarium sections were dismal the last time I visited one, with very few choices and more diseases than species. Maybe the demise of some Petcos could allow a few Mom and Pop stores a chance to restart.

We have the US chain Petsmart in my part of Canada, but they haven't succeeded as well as Petco has south of here. If they were all we had, it would be lights out for fishkeeping around here. There would only be online for anything other than glofish. They do sell Malawis, fish that can't survive in soft water, in a town with water as soft as the Amazon.

 

[Fishmanic44 160]

I have 4 chain stores within a 20 minute drive.
I also have 2 family owned fish stores with much better selection and knowledgeable help within 30 minutes drive from my home. I usually buy from the family owned stores. I guess I'm fortunate to have so many stores ot choose from.

 

[Boundava3 2]

I also have 3 chain stores within 45 minutes; Petco/smart/plus.
I have a LFS 40-45 min south of me in Deerfield, IL and two 50-55 min north of me in Greenfield and West Allis, WI (Aquatics Unlimited and The Fish Factory). Although the store in Deerfield was recently bought out by a bigger conglomerate-not a chain, so I don't go there often anymore.

I remember being able to get a nice variety of fish at the chain stores years ago when I bough fish from there. Now its just the same cichlids and glow fish.

 

[Jennet24 82]

We have a Pets @ Home in the uk. Never bought fish from there, but do use their vets for my dog as they did a £99 for life jabs when I first had them and for many years. Always see same vet every time for years now, and he keeps Rotties, as do I. Vets 'sub let' a surgery at their stores. Only generally take her once a year for her jab and get flea and wormers at same time. Met with their senior management one year as a couple of us with snakes in my area wanted to do a 'looksee' and potential handling experience for customers. They allowed us as long as they were snakes under 4 ft and generally not known for biting. 4 of us took as total of 31 snakes so that we could get them out to show and be handled for a short period before putting them back and getting out others. So they were ok in that respect. Tend to use them for poo bags, collars and leads as cheaper than at my lfs, but get all fish from lfs.

 

[GaryE5 3]

Until I was 35, I never lived in an apartment (I moved a fair bit) that had fewer than 5 aquarium stores within pleasant summertime walking distance. Then, as the hobby shrank, I found myself 10 metro stops from the closest decent store. When I moved out of the city, I had needed a car to buy fish for many years. There has been a reduction of options throughout North America for longer than the chains were around.
It was striking though that since I lived in a French speaking city, the US chains found it unprofitable to translate their labeling, and they stayed away. There are a number of local stores still doing okay there, on the margins, compared to English speaking cities around where the chains established themselves.
Now in a small city, I have pleasant stores with very few fish choices. If I want anything interesting, I have two choices - an eight hour round trip to 2 stores, or 14 hours driving to and back from a reputable store I haven't gone to yet. That's a bit far...

 

[gwand44 160]

I have 2 family owned aquarium shops that are 20 minute drive from my home. One is a mega store with over 700 tanks. They have a tremendous inventory. The store opened in 1970 and now sons of the original owner run the shop. They occasionally offer live caught fish. The other shop has about 75 tanks and has standard fare. No wild caught fish. But to their credit they don’t offer glo fish. They make a profit by building and selling tanks as well as performing maintenance on large tanks in the homes of the wealthy and business offices.

 

[Innesfan43 5]

Good news. Petco Is Closing Locations: See Updated List of Shuttered Stores for 2026​

The pet-care giant said it planned to close between 15 and 20 stores this year.

Sadly that represents 1% of their 1500-plus stores in the USA. Petsmart has even more stores and about 160 of them are in Canada where Petco has no stand-alone presence.

 

[gwand44 160]

Sadly that represents 1% of their 1500-plus stores in the USA. Petsmart has even more stores and about 160 of them are in Canada where Petco has no stand-alone presence.

Let’s hope it is the beginning of a trend