| Type | Pet Store |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Headquarters | Chillicothe, Ohio |
| Key people | Ed Kunzelman, founder and Chairman |
| Subsidiaries | Aquarium Adventure |
| Website | www.petland.com |
Petland, Inc. is a privately-owned corporation of franchise pet stores based in Chillicothe, Ohio.[1] The company was founded in 1967 by chairman Ed Kunzelman. At its peak, Petland currently operates 131 stores in the United States, and 61 in foreign markets including South Africa, Canada, Japan, China, and Mexico City. More than 15 new stores are expected to open within the next twelve months.[2]
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Petland, Inc. was started in 1967 when Ed Kunzelman opened up his first store in Chillicothe, Ohio. The company originally owned and operated pet stores in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. In the early 1980s, Petland began expanding its presence in Canada and entered foreign markets. In 2008, Petland became a $50 million company which expanded to nearly 230 stores generating retail sales of about $300,000,000 in the United States, South Africa, Canada, Japan, and Mexico.[3] The company currently sells birds, fish, small animals, puppies, and kittens.
Aquarium Adventure, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petland, was founded by Ed Kunzelman in 1995, when he began working with Bill Wymard, a franchisee and marine biologist of Petland, on developing a concept of an "aquatics only" store. They both saw that there was more demand for an aquatics-only retail store in major metro markets that were not endorsed or owned by Petland stores.[4]