This Popular Pet Store Chain Is Closing Locations All Across the US

Earlier this year, it shook me to my millennial core when Forever 21 announced it was filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and, as a result, closing several of its stores across the United States. Joann, which provided the felt for every Halloween costume I ever had, also met the same fate. And don’t even get me started on Claire’s; I can’t talk about it (though it has seemed to hold on with the strength of every last bedazzled keychain it’s got).

While popular pet health and wellness company Petco (hang on, don’t panic) has not filed for bankruptcy, it is closing 25 underperforming locations across the United States, the same number of stores it closed last year. Per Fast Company, the company’s decision has to do with declining sales. Per the publication’s own research, Petco has closed 13 stores in 2025 so far. They include:

• 125 W Lincoln Hwy, Exton, Pennsylvania, 19341

• 1725 Twin Creek Pl., Walla Walla, Washington, 99362

• 3100 14th St. Ste. 124, Washington, D.C., 20010

• 16835 E Shea Blvd. Ste. 105, Fountain Hills, Arizona 85268

• 8775 Tualatin Sherwood Rd., Tualatin, Oregon 97062

• 1006 Keller Pkwy Ste. 103, Keller, Texas 76248

• 300 Ryders Ln., Milltown, New Jersey 08850

• 210 Fortune Blvd., Milford, Massachusetts, 01757

• 239 Newburyport Turnpike, Topsfield, Massachusetts, 01983

• 32074 Gratiot Ave., Roseville, Michigan, 48066

• 4840 N Pulaski Rd. Ste. 100, Chicago, Illinois, 60630

• 2842 NW 63rd St., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 73116

• 444 N Santa Cruz Ave. Los Gatos, California, 95030

Its second-quarter fiscal earnings report detailed that sales declined 2.3 percent while comparable sales fell 1.4 percent. As of now, stock shares of Petco (Nasdaq: WOOF) are down almost 16 percent year to date and almost 26 percent over the last 12 months.

A spokesperson told Fast Company that these closures are in line with changes planned for the company in 2025: “[We] have been accelerating initiatives to strengthen our operating model, including optimizing our fleet of more than 1,500 stores across the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico,” the company said.

But Petco execs seem to be operating under a positive framework with these changes. While announcing these store closures on a second-quarter earnings call, CEO Joel Anderson called this news part of a “transformation” for the company, per a report from The Street: “As we enter the back half, we continue to execute on Phase Two of our transformation and expect to make improvements to our bottom line and overall performance versus last year. It is with this confidence in our ability to deliver improvements that we are able to raise our guidance and at the same time, begin thoughtful reinvestment behind the business as we set the stage for Phase Three of our journey, returning to profitable sales growth.”

Anderson reportedly added that part of the company’s strategy will be to give “customers a reason to step away from their screens and shop with their pets.”

I mean, there’s something to be said for auto-shipping cat litter on Chewy, but your pup can’t test out their favorite new squeaky ball unless they shop for it right in the shop. I may sound like the typewriter-loving Luddite Frank Navasky from You’ve Got Mail, but I do love a pet store.

To paraphrase and perhaps slightly change the meaning of Frank’s stand-out quote from the film: I am a “lone reed, standing tall, waving boldly” in strong support of never losing that in-person pet store smell of one million dogs and just a little bit of pee that didn’t get cleaned up all the way in aisle four.