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PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., announces the addition of Stan Latacha to the company's ranks, in the position of Vice President, Advertising and Marketing.

Latacha brings with him more than 30 years of retail marketing and advertising experience, including 14 years in management or officer positions in some of the country's premiere advertising agencies. Stan most recently served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising for Knoxville, TN-based specialty apparel retailer Goody's. He has also led the marketing departments of Ames and OfficeMax, and worked at Young & Rubican and Ogilvy & Mather.

"This is a great company with a great focus," Latacha said. "As a pet parent myself, I am really looking forward to working in an environment so focused on animal care. That emotional link between people and their pets is one of the things that really excites me about this opportunity, since I personally understand that bond."

Bob Brann, PETCO's Senior Vice President of Merchandising, said, "Stan's extensive retail experience, as well as his love for animals, will help further the successes we have had with our advertising and marketing strategies."

Latacha will report directly to Brann.

He and his wife, Diann, along with their Chocolate Lab, Sequoyah, are looking forward to joining the PETCO family and moving to sunny San Diego. Their family also includes a son who is a doctor in St. Louis, and a daughter who is preparing to start college.

PETCO is a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food and supplies. PETCO's strategy is to offer its customers a complete assortment of pet-related products at competitive prices, with superior levels of customer service at convenient locations. PETCO generated net sales of $1.3 billion in the fiscal year ended February 2, 2002. It operates more than 600 neighborhood stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia, as well as a leading destination for on-line pet food and supplies at www.petco.com . The PETCO Foundation, PETCO's non-profit organization, has raised more than $10 million since inception in 1999. More than 1,200 non-profit grassroots animal welfare organizations from around the nation have received support from the Foundation.

SOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.