Wayne, Pa. — Pet Valu, Inc., a specialty retailer of pet food and supplies in the United States, plans to commence a wind down of its operations due to severe impact from COVID-19. The company expects that all of its 358 stores and warehouses in the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S., as well as its corporate office in Wayne, Pa., will close by the end of the wind-down process.
Pet Valu U.S. licenses its name and contracts for certain services from Pet Valu Canada, which is a separate company based in Markham, Ontario, that is not impacted by this wind down. Pet Valu Canada will continue to serve customers across Canada through its approximately 600 stores, franchise locations and www.petvalu.com/ca/, offering its usual assortment of thousands of pet products and supplies and in-store services such as dog washes and grooming.
Roark Capital, an Atlanta-based private equity group, purchased Pet Valu in 2009 and merged the retailer with Pet Supermarket in 2016 to form Pet Retail Brands, though the combined company continued to operate its stores under the original brand names of Pet Valu and Pet Supermarket.
All Pet Valu stores in the U.S. are currently open through the wind-down process. Effective immediately, U.S. customers will no longer be able to place orders on the Pet Valu U.S. e-commerce site at www.petvalu.com/us/.
“The Pet Valu U.S. team is proud to have met the needs of our devoted pet lover customers in the U.S. for more than 25 years,” says Jamie Gould, Pet Valu, Inc.’s recently appointed chief restructuring officer. “However, the company’s stores have been significantly impacted by the protracted COVID-19-related restrictions. After a thorough review of all available alternatives, we made the difficult but necessary decision to commence this orderly wind down.”
He continues: “During the store closing process, we will continue to provide our customers with the same great in-store experience, offering them even better deals and value. We will work to assist our dedicated associates through the transition. We thank all of them for their commitment to our company and our customers, and especially for going above and beyond so we could help customers as an essential service during the pandemic.”
Pet Valu U.S. expects to commence store closing sales at all locations in the U.S. in the coming days. The company will continue to take necessary precautions to keep its stores safe for customers and employees.
The company has retained Malfitano Partners as its restructuring advisor, SB360 Capital Partners, LLC to assist with store closing sales and A&G Realty Partners, LLC to assist on U.S. real estate-related matters.
SOURCE: Pet Valu, Inc.