Vetco and Pet Store Vets

[Alpha8472]

Vetco seems to be doing good business inside of Petco stores. PetSmart also has their own Vet hospitals set up now. They are very busy.

At PetSmart you can see a computer screen listing the appointments and the pet names. The vet services seem to bring in so many customers to shop as well. I think they made a good decision to get rid of Banfield. Banfield seems to give terrible service.

I work in a Pharmacy and pet insurance is getting very popular. Pets can get their prescriptions covered in part by insurance. It helps out quite a bit and prices are cheaper from a pharmacy than at the vet.

[mbz321]

At PetSmart you can see a computer screen listing the appointments and the pet names. The vet services seem to bring in so many customers to shop as well. I think they made a good decision to get rid of Banfield. Banfield seems to give terrible

Many of my local Petsmart stores still have a Benfield...I wonder if they are closing when whatever leases they have are up. Another one close to me lost theirs when it moved to their own storefront in a new mixed-use complex up the road (I've never seen a standalone Banfield until this point in my region). It just so happened I drove by that location today and I did notice that 'Veterinarian' was added to the Petsmart exterior signage.

[storewanderer]

These in store vet offices like Banfield, etc. offer free first visits and discounts on vaccines so I think there is a situation brewing where people move from vet to vet every year for these deals.

Banfield closed multiple Petsmart locations 10-15 years ago then started to reappear in some Petsmarts later. They seem to go back and forth.

We will see how this works out of these chains... vet services are tough to get in a lot of markets due to demand issues but I am not sure this is the answer. They would need to be paying these employees salaries higher than freestanding vet hospitals to even be able to recruit employees. These chains have not been known to pay high for store level employees but maybe they are going to be more generous with these "services" employees.

[ClownLoach]

These in store vet offices like Banfield, etc. offer free first visits and discounts on vaccines so I think there is a situation brewing where people move from vet to vet every year for these deals.

Banfield closed multiple Petsmart locations 10-15 years ago then started to reappear in some Petsmarts later. They seem to go back and forth.

We will see how this works out of these chains... vet services are tough to get in a lot of markets due to demand issues but I am not sure this is the answer. They would need to be paying these employees salaries higher than freestanding vet hospitals to even be able to recruit employees. These chains have not been known to pay high for store level employees but maybe they are going to be more generous with these "services" employees.

My understanding is that Banfield became scared about PetSmart's Financials after the whole botched Chewy takeover. Some PetSmart locations were closed that were not great stores but had strong Banfield offices inside. Obviously Banfield didn't get a say in the matter and lost some productive locations. So Banfield started an effort to get out of PetSmart's buildings and go freestanding. Obviously they rectified the Chewy issue and got their Financials back afloat but Banfield is continuing to move away.

PetSmart made the decision that they will take over the spaces as Banfield vacates, provide the equipment and systems and such, and recruit Veterinarians who want to start their own practice. Probably best for both companies to separate. It's not easy to operate within someone else's space and be entirely at their mercy.

[babs]

These in store vet offices like Banfield, etc. offer free first visits and discounts on vaccines so I think there is a situation brewing where people move from vet to vet every year for these deals.

Banfield closed multiple Petsmart locations 10-15 years ago then started to reappear in some Petsmarts later. They seem to go back and forth.

We will see how this works out of these chains... vet services are tough to get in a lot of markets due to demand issues but I am not sure this is the answer. They would need to be paying these employees salaries higher than freestanding vet hospitals to even be able to recruit employees. These chains have not been known to pay high for store level employees but maybe they are going to be more generous with these "services" employees.

My understanding is that Banfield became scared about PetSmart's Financials after the whole botched Chewy takeover. Some PetSmart locations were closed that were not great stores but had strong Banfield offices inside. Obviously Banfield didn't get a say in the matter and lost some productive locations. So Banfield started an effort to get out of PetSmart's buildings and go freestanding. Obviously they rectified the Chewy issue and got their Financials back afloat but Banfield is continuing to move away.

PetSmart made the decision that they will take over the spaces as Banfield vacates, provide the equipment and systems and such, and recruit Veterinarians who want to start their own practice. Probably best for both companies to separate. It's not easy to operate within someone else's space and be entirely at their mercy.

I'm very familiar with Banfield and why they did what they did. Banfield came to the realization that while Petsmart was a great opportunity to grow into a national player (remember Banfield used to be called Vetsmart), they hit a wall. They couldn't grown any larger without going in a different direction by opening freestanding locations. They tested the concept in Portland, near their HQ in Vancouver. it worked to their satisfaction and has allowed Banfield to grow into a much larger company than they would have otherwise. I don't think the issue was that they got scared by Petsmart's financials as much as they were tied too closely to a single chain, and what happens if Petsmart turns into the next ToysRUs?

[ClownLoach]

These in store vet offices like Banfield, etc. offer free first visits and discounts on vaccines so I think there is a situation brewing where people move from vet to vet every year for these deals.

Banfield closed multiple Petsmart locations 10-15 years ago then started to reappear in some Petsmarts later. They seem to go back and forth.

We will see how this works out of these chains... vet services are tough to get in a lot of markets due to demand issues but I am not sure this is the answer. They would need to be paying these employees salaries higher than freestanding vet hospitals to even be able to recruit employees. These chains have not been known to pay high for store level employees but maybe they are going to be more generous with these "services" employees.

My understanding is that Banfield became scared about PetSmart's Financials after the whole botched Chewy takeover. Some PetSmart locations were closed that were not great stores but had strong Banfield offices inside. Obviously Banfield didn't get a say in the matter and lost some productive locations. So Banfield started an effort to get out of PetSmart's buildings and go freestanding. Obviously they rectified the Chewy issue and got their Financials back afloat but Banfield is continuing to move away.

PetSmart made the decision that they will take over the spaces as Banfield vacates, provide the equipment and systems and such, and recruit Veterinarians who want to start their own practice. Probably best for both companies to separate. It's not easy to operate within someone else's space and be entirely at their mercy.

I'm very familiar with Banfield and why they did what they did. Banfield came to the realization that while Petsmart was a great opportunity to grow into a national player (remember Banfield used to be called Vetsmart), they hit a wall. They couldn't grown any larger without going in a different direction by opening freestanding locations. They tested the concept in Portland, near their HQ in Vancouver. it worked to their satisfaction and has allowed Banfield to grow into a much larger company than they would have otherwise. I don't think the issue was that they got scared by Petsmart's financials as much as they were tied too closely to a single chain, and what happens if Petsmart turns into the next ToysRUs?

I think we are saying the same thing but different ways. My understanding was that Banfield lost some highly profitable locations that were within the walls of PetSmart stores that were losing money, and the expectations were that the Chewy acquisition/overpay was a threat to the survival of PetSmart. I personally know of PetSmart stores that were closed that were totally dead, oversized original superstore formats where there were more Banfield vet customers than store customers. Banfield lost out big time with these closures and had to scramble to get freestanding locations nearby.

After these issues Banfield began to separate themselves from PetSmart. At the same time PetSmart was looking for ways to increase their profits through services, so getting directly into Vet offices fell right in line with that initiative. Basically it's in the best interests of both businesses for Banfield to move out of PetSmart.