This Major Pet Store Is Closing Locations Across America And The Reason Couldn't Be Clearer

Pets are not just cute non-human companions. They are part of a huge global industry worth $256 billion in 2024, a figure that is expected to grow to just over $476 billion by 2034, according to an analysis by Omaha, Nebraska-based Bridgepoint Investment Banking. A good chunk of that industry is based on providing these living, breathing creatures the food, healthcare, and accessories they need to keep them alive and thriving. Hardly any wonder that the average income of a pet food taster can exceed other jobs that don't require a college degree. But despite the size of this industry, pet retailers, like other retailers, must sometimes make tough decisions to thrive in this changing economy. This includes Petco, which announced that it will close 25 of its stores across the U.S. in 2025. Of those 25 locations, 13 stores have already been shuttered in 11 states and the District of Columbia, including three in Massachusetts, Fast Company reported.

A Petco company spokesperson told Fast Company that the store closures are part of efforts to "optimize" its armada of 1,500 retail locations in the U.S. and Mexico. But that's not all. Company executives told investors that Petco is preparing for the possible impact tariffs may have in 2025.

The store closures were announced in the same August 2025 Petco release that revealed that the company's net sales declined 2.3% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025 to $1.5 billion. Yet, while their sales were down, company executives also reported that Petco's earnings per share were four times higher than Wall Street's expectations. That was because Petco was cutting costs, including underperforming stores, as it sought to improve its economic model, Petco executives explained to investment managers during its earnings call later that same month. During that call, CFO Sabrina Simmons said Petco has so far not been adversely impacted by tariffs. But that is expected to change as tariffs "become sequentially more meaningful as we move through the back half [of 2025]," Simmons said, per a transcript provided by Investing.com.

Tariffs are a tax on imported goods and materials that the Trump Administration wants to use to collect more revenue and encourage domestic manufacturing. Problem is, they also sometimes get passed on to the consumers, pushing up the price of essential household goods and other items. As prices go up, consumption often heads downward, though Simmons said steps, such as closing underperforming stores, have helped Petco brace for tariffs' adverse effects, which will likely be felt by 2025's fourth quarter (October through December).