news releases

Through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and state career centers across the country, PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. hopes to hire and train more than 800 new groomers this year.

In order to meet growing demand, as well as 60 projected new store openings, PETCO is committed to finding pet lovers and training them to be top-quality pet groomers. PETCO offers a 20-week paid training course, which includes classroom as well as practical, hands-on training. PETCO opened four new Grooming Training Centers last year to assist in this effort, bringing the total to 13 training facilities across the country.

"We're a people business, so we continue to make a significant investment in the training and development of our people," PETCO Director of Pet Services Stu Wolman said. "Since animals are our customers, we want to ensure that everyone who works in our stores has the necessary knowledge, training and skills to properly care for people's pets."

Through the U.S. Department of Labor's National Business Partnership program, PETCO hopes to supplement ongoing recruiting and hiring efforts.

"This federal partnership will help us tap into local resources, through the state career centers," PETCO Vice President of Human Resources Paul Schmitt said. "We are confident that this program will not only help us fill these grooming positions, but also will be an excellent tool to assist our recruiting as a whole."

Along with the new Grooming Training Centers added in Houston, Dallas, Seattle and Denver last year, the company also has centers in Lansing, Ill., Oakdale, Minn., Mesa, Ariz., Massapequa, N.Y., Waltham, Mass., Warminster, Pa., and Escondido, Vacaville and Glendale, Calif. PETCO is looking at regional demand to determine where new training facilities will be opened in the coming years.

PETCO is a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services, with a commitment to quality animal care and education. PETCO's strategy is to offer its customers a complete assortment of pet-related products and services at competitive prices, with superior levels of customer service at convenient locations, by hiring pet lovers and training them to become counselors to our pet-loving customers. PETCO generated net sales of $1.48 billion in the fiscal year ended February 1, 2003. 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 $11 million since inception in 1999. More than 1,400 non-profit grassroots animal welfare organizations from around the nation have received support from the Foundation.

SOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.