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With the opening later this month of the Boardman, OH store, PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. will reach a milestone with their 700th location. This first northeastern Ohio store will quickly be followed by openings in Canton and Mentor, as PETCO completes conversions of former Kids 'R' Us sites.

Each of these three stores will feature PETCO's new, cutting-edge "Pisces" store design, centered around an exciting aquatics section and a "racetrack" walkway that showcases all of the company's animal care and product departments. This circular aisle design will allow customers to more easily move around the store to the specific section that best serves their individual pets' needs. The open, well-lit format makes the whole store visible from the front doors, enabling ease of movement and an enhanced shopping experience.

"This evolutionary and revolutionary store concept and design is the future of pet retailing," said PETCO President and Chief Operating Officer Bruce Hall. "The design itself is visually appealing and easy to navigate, and many of the new elements are based on feedback from our customers. This is truly a 'customer-centric' store, as the whole focus of the format is on meeting the needs of pet parents."

These three openings, as well as a second Toledo location set to open in October, will double PETCO's presence in Ohio to a total of eight stores. PETCO believes Ohio can accommodate as many as 50 stores, and the Buckeye State will be a focus of the company's growth over the next several years.

"We are very excited about these openings in such significant markets within Ohio," Hall added. "This will enable pet lovers in Cleveland, Youngstown and Akron/Canton to experience first-hand all the quality products and services PETCO has to offer, as well as witness the good works of the PETCO Foundation in their store communities."

Grand openings for these new Ohio stores will be October 8 (Boardman), October 15 (Canton), and October 22 (Mentor). The new Toledo store will also celebrate its grand opening the weekend of October 22. Each of these stores will also highlight PETCO's new "Think Adoption First" initiative, an industry-leading program carried out in conjunction with the PETCO Foundation and strategic online adoption partner Petfinder.com.

To learn more about PETCO or the PETCO Foundation, or the Think Adoption First initiative, visit PETCO's website at www.petco.com.

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 operates close to 700 neighborhood stores in 45 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 $18 million since inception in 1999. More than 2,100 non-profit grassroots animal welfare organizations from around the nation have received support from the Foundation. Through the PETCO Foundation, PETCO endeavors to be a community leader in promoting the welfare of companion animals, as well as the importance of the human-animal bond.

SOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc.