Petsense To Open 100th Location, Celebrate Tremendous Growth And Job Creation

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- National pet supply retailer Petsense recently completed construction and is preparing to open its 100^th location, a 5000 square foot retail space in Athens, Tennessee. The new location will cap a nearly decade long streak of tremendous expansion and help set the stage for even faster growth over the next five years.

President and C.E.O. Bob Angstead remarked that "it's been a tremendous nine years for Petsense; from our beginnings in our Scottsdale office when we had a notebook of ideas but zero stores, to our current footprint across America, we've been very fortunate to connect with millions of pet owners who have helped propel us forward.  I am proud to say that in what can generously be described as a tough macroeconomic environment, Petsense has consistently been a market leader in store count growth, overall sales growth, and comparable store sales growth."

Petsense employs over 800 full and part time associates; including 23 positions in the Scottsdale Store Support Team office, while each Petsense location employs between six and twelve team members that are passionate about delivering a world class shopping experience. In addition, the design and construction of each location provides 150 to 200 temporary jobs starting with the real estate selection process through the completion of the project.

Petsense is proud to support employment across the country by partnering with hundreds of manufacturers, importers, and distributors. "Petsense is a great partner," said Bill Bishop, Founder and Chairman of Blue Buffalo, the #1 brand of Natural pet food. "They are a leader in providing pet parents with a positive shopping experience based on the knowledge of their sales associates, which is a real benefit to a brand like Blue Buffalo."

In 2011, Petsense partnered with Chicago-based Winona Capital Management for a round of equity financing that helped accelerate growth over the last three years.  Regarding the milestone of reaching store 100, Winona Managing Director Laird Koldyke remarked, "The Petsense team has done a remarkable job of identifying new markets where our new stores deliver great value and service. We look forward to many more years of robust growth for the company and the brand."

Petsense leadership has over a century of combined pet retail experience. CEO Bob Angstead began his pet retail career with PetSmart when the Phoenix-based retailer had only seven stores, gradually rising to Vice-President of Store Operations before leaving the chain when it reached 500 stores. In addition to Mr. Angstead, Petsense's Vice-Presidents of Merchandising, Construction, Service Development, and Logistics are also PetSmart alums. The industry experience of Petsense employees combined with the flexibility of operating without a company owned distribution network has allowed Petsense to quickly rise to number ten on Pet Business Magazine's "2014 Pet Business Top 25 Retailer's List."

Petsense LLC is a privately held retailer that specializes in reaching rural markets across the United States.  Founded by PetSmart founder Jim Dougherty in 2005, the company currently has 99 locations in 23 states from coast to coast.  

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SOURCE Petsense