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Making the company's large stores feel homier is PetSmart's competitive strategy. The company has achieved this by reducing the size of their stores, and changing the shelves stocking layout from the warehouse format that was not working for the company. These changes plus the addition of other services, which their competitor was not providing gave the company a competitive advantage. As postulated in the case study, these additional services would generate $450 million of sales, which would represent 10% of PetSmart's $4.5 billion total. Since the strategy was developed in 2000 this figure would represent a 26% increment in annual growth. These value adding services provide the pet owners an opportunity to visit the stores, and this boosts the stores sales, as the owners will buy other products.

How does Petco compete with PetSmart and other pet food stores, and how does the company's competitive strategy relate to its internal analysis? Give an example from the case.

To remain competitive in the market, Petco has adopted a different strategy than the one adopted by PetSmart. Petco not only caters for cats, and dogs, but it has included products for other animals. The company also holds events in its stores, where it has competitions, and useful demonstrations for the pet owners. The case study shows that, Petco recently in its 200 stores had a Reptile Rendezvous event. During this event, there were demonstrations like new clay which owners of reptiles can use to mound caves and hills. Petco stores are relatively small, thus they cannot provide overnight stays, but they do have a day care in some locations. The company is also privately owned and this would make it difficult to make radical changes in the stores.