Pet Valu closing all U.S. stores due to virus
Liquidation sales have already begun
WAYNE » Delaware County-based Pet Valu Inc. has announced it will cease operations and close its 358 U.S. stores and warehouses, due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The specialty retailer of pet food and supplies on Wednesday announced plans to begin a “wind down” of its operations. The company expects that the corporate office in Wayne, the stores and warehouses in the Northeastern and Midwestern U.S will close by the end of the wind-down process.
In addition to its Wayne headquarters, Pet Valu Inc. operates stores in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties.
“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. However, the company’s stores have been significantly impacted by the protracted COVID-19-related restrictions,” Jamie Gould, Pet Valu Inc.’s recently appointed chief restructuring officer, said in a press release announcing the move.
No timeline has been given for when the closures will occur. On Wednesday afternoon, the Pet Valu website said liquidation sales would begin on Thursday, Nov. 5.
In its announcement, the company did not provide information about the number of employees that will be impacted by the closure. A check of Pennsylvania’s A check of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry’s Layoff Notification/WARN site did not include a posting about pending layoffs.
“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,” Gould added.
According to the American Pet Industry Association, for 2020, it is estimated that $99 billion will be spent on pets in the U.S. That total includes pet food and treat ($38.4 billion); Supplies, live animals and OTC medicine ($19.8 billion); vet care and product sales ($30.2 billion); and other services like grooming, boarding and insurance ($10.7 billion).
All Pet Valu stores in the U.S. remain open, according to the company. Customers in the U.S. can continue to use Pet Valu gift cards and loyalty rewards for purchases. However, 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 closure does not impact Pet Valu’s 600 stores in Canada, which operate as a separate company.