Petco to buy Drs Foster Smith

[shermanator]

Crazy news. Assuming Kevin Kohen continues to lead LA/DD, I'm sure both will remain top notch (but will he stay and for how long?). That said, I'll personally have a hard time buying from LA/DD due to the horrible treatment of fish by my local Petco. I don't want them using my $$$ to continue their bad habits, even if through LA/DD.

 

[CODE3EMT]

Some people just don't get it. So I'll sum it up in a nut shell......


1) Quality will drop.... This is sure as death and taxes
2) Prices will rise..... Big box corporations with CEOs and share holders need to get paid.
3) Implied warrantees and guarantees will change.... Because Petco controls the market.
4) Shipping rates will change....... Cheaper packing to reduce cost to the company, and past the price onto the buyer.
5) Jobs will be lost and replaced with those who will work for less.......which equates to the drop in quality.

Let's call a spade a spade and not pretend Petco is doing something great.
Not shopping at LiveAquaria will let Petco know.....oops! We made a mistake and bought this company for millions and now it's worth nothing. Original owners of LiveAquaria take there $$$$ and laugh at Petco.
To the original owners I say... Good job. That's what success in business is about.
To Petco I say..... You won't get my money.

 

[albano]

Last I checked Petco had zero guarantee on saltwater fish and other SW livestock. Unless this is new...?

From PETCO website:

We have a 30-day guarantee on Live Companion Animals and 30-day guarantee on Freshwater Fish. We do not guarantee our Marine Life purchased in store.

Online:
All Aquatic Life, including live rock, plants, and invertebrates are guaranteed to stay alive for 30 days from the day they arrive at your home or we will gladly refund your money.

 

[nuxx]

Sad news

I've always received great livestock from LA/DD in the past. Really the only place I used to buy from. An oddball here and there from collectors as well.

BTW: I'm a software architect by trade and have always done well with online businesses in the past based in areas I'm interested in. Launched an online livestock business about 6 weeks ago and will be sponsoring RC in December. Mainly launched due to other online stores not really showing interest in helping me find livestock, I knew I could be better.

Anyway... I won't post the site name or URL here in respect to RC, but I'm sure you'll be seeing it soon

 

[Fade2White12]

Some people just don't get it.

I find this funny. It's not that people don't "get it" like you apparently do. It's just that some people understand that a corporate buyout does not inherently mean absolute disaster. Have we seen it happen? Yes. Have we seen it result in business as usual? Yes to that as well.

It very well could happen exactly as your guarantee. But it also may not. There's no way to say definitively.

 

[Philly guy]

Has anybody tried to put a positive spin on this? Maybe Petco wants to make DFS products available at their retail outlets. Maybe they want to learn a few tricks about how to keep livestock healthy. What if they are serious about improving their image and quality through this acquisition?

Only time will tell, but...

 

[BrianD]

People should be mad at the sellers, not the buyers.

If the 4 vets that started Dr Forsters and Smith wanted to keep a good thing going, they wouldn't have sold out for the almighty dollar.

Now Petco will run it into the ground, the Divers Den was a great place..........but will be crap shortly.

That is an opinion I don't share (at all). They have obviously worked hard to build this company up. They deserve the right to sell it to whoever they want to. Kudos to them.

 

[JMorris271]

Petco did not get to be a giant by being stupid. My bet is LA won't change.

 

[Eric Boerner]

Has anybody tried to put a positive spin on this? Maybe Petco wants to make DFS products available at their retail outlets. Maybe they want to learn a few tricks about how to keep livestock healthy. What if they are serious about improving their image and quality through this acquisition?

No. Petco is not interested in bettering their animal care practices. Dr. F&S is a highly profitable company, mostly because of their own animal care practices. Petco sees a higher profit margin, so they're buying the private company out. Usually the operations staff stays on with an acquisition, so Petco is banking that Dr. F&S' livestock practices will continue to net them big profit. Especially in the "designer" coral segment.

I find it hard to believe that reefers here have not caught on that DFS is a chop shop for wild colonies. Hopefully when Petco takes over, that practice will be called out finally.

 

[BrianD]

Unless you have direct inside information, you are just speculating.

 

[sublime9182]

Let's pump the breaks alittle here, guys.

What sense does it make for PetCo to acquire a company valued for it's specialties and expertise, and then run the brand into the ground by entirely changing that model? Corporations like that aren't in the business of just throwing money away. DRFS and LA/DD are valuable assets with tons of market share and loyal customers. PetCo knows that if they alienate those (us) people, they're likely to find them turning to other specialty online stores rather than turning to PetCo as the parent company or staying loyal to the DRFS brand.

Things will change, but not by much.

Yea who knows maybe petco will learn a little from LA.

 

[DFS]

Greetings,
I would like to take a moment to respond and address some concerns posted in this thread.

Dr. Race Foster and Dr. Marty Smith have worked incredibly hard over the last 31 years, to build an incredibly successful business, which revolves around education, pet heath, and responsible pet ownership. The Petco mission is elevating the lives of animals and enhancing the connection people have with their pets, with a commitment to the highest standards of social responsibility, while continually striving to make things better for pets, people and the planet. Understanding each company’s mission and goals are very similar, we feel this partnership and synergy is going to be beneficial to animals, pet owners, and aquarium hobbyists and enthusiasts alike.

I can assure everyone, my personal mission as the LiveAquaria Director is to take LiveAquaria.com to an even higher level than ever before. The continued expansion of our Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life facility in Rhinelander Wisconsin, home of the LiveAquaria.com Divers Den®, allows us to offer an even greater assortment of quality aquatic life shipped direct to your door.

Rest assured, Dr. Race Foster and I are not going anywhere, and will continue to operate Drs. Foster and Smith pet supplies and LiveAquaria.com as it's business as usual. Both Race and I are incredibly excited for the future and what lies ahead.

Kindest Regards,
Kevin Kohen

 

[kenneth wolfe]

from the horses mouth..btw I was at petco Monday and they have completely new system in there store and the fish look a lot better than in the past..

 

[kzickovich]

I have been in petco stores that have been very disappointing to say the least and then I have been in some that I proudly shop at. My point is, it's not the corporations fault how owners or managers run there store and how lazy some employees are.

 

[Cujo13]

I have been in petco stores that have been very disappointing to say the least and then I have been in some that I proudly shop at. My point is, it's not the corporations fault how owners or managers run there store and how lazy some employees are.

I disagree, if their name is on the business and are reaping profits it is their responsibility. If they need clean up some stores then so be it. Our local Petco has a horrible saltwater department. Most of the fish have at least one easily diagnosed disease and simply do not educate the buyer on what to buy. Maybe it is time that they clean house.

 

[Nina51]

kevin, saw your post as a sticky here. thanks so much for responding!

 

[Deinonych]

kevin, saw your post as a sticky here. thanks so much for responding!

+1

Don't know what I would do without LA/DD. None of my LFS have good quality livestock.

 

[Cujo13]

Greetings,
I would like to take a moment to respond and address some concerns posted in this thread.

Dr. Race Foster and Dr. Marty Smith have worked incredibly hard over the last 31 years, to build an incredibly successful business, which revolves around education, pet heath, and responsible pet ownership. The Petco mission is elevating the lives of animals and enhancing the connection people have with their pets, with a commitment to the highest standards of social responsibility, while continually striving to make things better for pets, people and the planet. Understanding each company's mission and goals are very similar, we feel this partnership and synergy is going to be beneficial to animals, pet owners, and aquarium hobbyists and enthusiasts alike.

I can assure everyone, my personal mission as the LiveAquaria Director is to take LiveAquaria.com to an even higher level than ever before. The continued expansion of our Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life facility in Rhinelander Wisconsin, home of the LiveAquaria.com Divers Den®, allows us to offer an even greater assortment of quality aquatic life shipped direct to your door.

Rest assured, Dr. Race Foster and I are not going anywhere, and will continue to operate Drs. Foster and Smith pet supplies and LiveAquaria.com as it's business as usual. Both Race and I are incredibly excited for the future and what lies ahead.

Kindest Regards,
Kevin Kohen

Thank you Kevin for taking the time to fill us in. I have used DFS for years for dog, fish and pond supplies and have been very pleased. Your customer service is above all. The benchmark for online fish orders has been Divers Den and Liveaquaria. I will look forward with great anticipation with what you have said. One thing is true, the news of this has caused some concern and that is only because when you have a great company to deal with you do not want to see it disappear. Best wishes for all of your staff.

 

[Wryknow]

Hmmm, corporate merger playbook strategy:

CEO of PETCO states: "We love this new company and respect the clients. We're not changing anything. Everything is going to be wonderful."

Executives of Old Company (that are now getting paid by PETCO "Everything will be the same except better! We love you and respect our clientelle!"

What really happens - The company doesn't change for a couple of months while the new corporation figures out how it's going to cut costs and integrate the new company into their existing processes. Then they start firing "over-compensated" employees (i.e. ones with experience that care about their customers) and "streamilne" the supply chain to reduce costs. Customers now get the same crummy service and products that they would get from PETCO under a new name. Some customers are OK with this because they are used to getting treated like crud by everyone else all the time anyway. Everyone is sad. Marine Depot sales go up 20%.

 

[AdamSabina]

Greetings, I would like to take a moment to respond and address some concerns posted in this thread. Dr. Race Foster and Dr. Marty Smith have worked incredibly hard over the last 31 years, to build an incredibly successful business, which revolves around education, pet heath, and responsible pet ownership. The Petco mission is elevating the lives of animals and enhancing the connection people have with their pets, with a commitment to the highest standards of social responsibility, while continually striving to make things better for pets, people and the planet. Understanding each company’s mission and goals are very similar, we feel this partnership and synergy is going to be beneficial to animals, pet owners, and aquarium hobbyists and enthusiasts alike. I can assure everyone, my personal mission as the LiveAquaria Director is to take LiveAquaria.com to an even higher level than ever before. The continued expansion of our Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life facility in Rhinelander Wisconsin, home of the LiveAquaria.com Divers Den®, allows us to offer an even greater assortment of quality aquatic life shipped direct to your door. Rest assured, Dr. Race Foster and I are not going anywhere, and will continue to operate Drs. Foster and Smith pet supplies and LiveAquaria.com as it's business as usual. Both Race and I are incredibly excited for the future and what lies ahead. Kindest Regards, Kevin Kohen

Thank you for posting. I love your live Aquaria site. I was worried the live stock handling would change