Kamloops Petcetera store to close June 30

NEWS/ BUSINESS — The Kamloops Petcetera store has been added to the inventory of outlets that the national pet-food retailer is shutting down.

Petcetera announced today (Monday) it will close stores in Kamloops, Regina and Ottawa, in addition to six others that were made public earlier this spring.

The company will close the stores by June 30 as part of a restructuring plan after it filed notice for bankruptcy in March.

In 2009, Petcetera reduced its store operations from 50 to 18 when it went through a bankruptcy filing. Now half of those remaining stores are being sold, the other half are being shuttered.

Other stores closed this year include Abbotsford, Penticton, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Niagara Falls and Dartmouth. More than 300 workers are affected.

“We have now rationalized the prospects of every store and have concluded that our stores in Kamloops, Regina, and Ottawa cannot be sold and will be closed by the end of June,” said Petcetera president and CEO Dan Urbani.

“Closing stores is a very difficult decision, but unfortunately this was the only remaining option for these stores. While we have been forced to close nine stores we are pleased that nine stores have been sold and will continue operating as pet stores,” he said.

The Kamloops store was being used as an adoption centre for homeless animals in the community, first with the SPCA, then the Kamloops and District Humane Society.

The company gave notice March 17 it would start a nationwide inventory sale to generate cash as it filed for creditor protection. Based in Richmond, B.C., Petcetera is a 100 per cent Canadian owned and operated private company.