Business & Tech
You Ask: So Long PetSmart; Your Dreams for the Site?
PetSmart corporate headquarters confirms the Albany store is closing, with assurances pet owners here will be well-served by its location in the Richmond/Pinole area. Wonder what might comes next for the Big Box site curled off the Eastshore strip?
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We’d heard a rumor that on Eastshore Highway was closing, and sure enough Albany Patch commenter Tatter Salad this last week after a visit to the store.
Several Albany Patch readers wanted to know the official word.
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Toni J. Eberhardt, a senior public affairs manager with PetSmart’s corporate office, offered this:
“We consistently evolve our store location strategy and have decided to close the PetSmart store in Albany, CA effective April 29, 2012,” she said in an email.
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“We do have a larger store that also includes a Banfield Pet Hospital located less than 7 miles away and are confident that this PetSmart store and its pet care team can effectively serve the pet parents and pets that live in the Albany-Richmond area.”
Banfield is a private veterinarian enterprise that teams with PetSmart, she said.
The closest PetSmart—at the moment—is in Richmond off Interstate 80 near Hilltop. This store, however, is also closing, with a new one opening across the freeway in the Pinole Vista Crossing shopping center.
I asked if the Albany store wasn’t performing up to par.
“A store closure can be related to a number of factors. Our goal is to ensure that in the communities in which we have stores, we have the appropriate number of stores to effectively support pet parents and their pets,” Eberhardt responded.
Anne Hersch, in Albany’s planning department, said our inquiry was the first she’d heard of the closure. The site is zoned commercial mixed use, she said.
As for other goings-on in that neck of the city, Hersch said has purchased an empty lot south of its store, where it plans to build a new facility. At one point, a restaurant was considered for that location, Hersch said.
Meanwhile, PetSmart is having a pretty good moving sale—a tip for thrifty pet owners, like myself.
The Albany location, a bit down off the Eastshore strip, may be tricky for retail, though , with its greater visibility, seems to have no trouble drawing shoppers.
What would you like to see at the PetSmart site? Tell us in the comments.