Merger Creates Pet Powerhouse

Ontario-based Pet Valu and Florida-based Pet Supermarket announced today that they've merged, creating the third largest pet specialty retailer in North America. The new business is named Pet Retail Brands and has more than 930 stores and generates about $1 billion in sales across the U.S. and Canada, according to a statement.

Total Retail's Take: This merger creates some more competition for PetSmart and Petco in the lucrative pet retail category. According to Market Track, the pet market is expected to hit $91.72 billion in sales by 2019. Consider that 65 percent of U.S. households (79.7 million homes) own a pet. As you can see the demand is there. Pet Retail Brands hopes a strengthened organization can help it acquire a larger share of the market.