The Chewy – PetSmart – BC Partners Saga (1 of 5): Pet food to power play (#315)
- RIck LeCouteur
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
In a previous Rick’s Blog post, titled Chewy’s Big Play, we looked at how Chewy evolved from a niche online pet retailer into a full-service pet care empire. A retailer that currently offers everything from food and toys to telehealth, insurance, and pharmacy.
Behind this transformation lies a more complex and revealing corporate tale. It’s a story not just about innovation and e-commerce success, but about strategic acquisitions, private equity ambition, and the shifting tectonics of the pet care landscape.
At the center of this story are three powerful players: Chewy, PetSmart, and BC Partners.
Their interconnected journey over the last decade reads like a case study in modern capitalism, where online disruption meets old-school retail, and both are shaped by the calculating hand of private equity.
How did a brick-and-mortar giant like PetSmart end up buying a tech-savvy upstart like Chewy?
Why did BC Partners, a global private equity firm, orchestrate the deal and then split the two companies apart just a few years later?
Most importantly, what does this tangled alliance mean for the future of pet care and for veterinary medicine, now that corporate ownership is reshaping how animals are treated?
This is more than a business saga. It’s a glimpse into the soul of a rapidly consolidating industry, where the needs of pets, the ethics of care, and the pursuit of profit are now inseparably entwined.
A Cautionary Tale of Consolidation in Pet Care
The story of Chewy, PetSmart, and BC Partners is a textbook case of modern consolidation, where innovation, private equity, and shifting consumer habits collide.
Here’s an abbreviated summary:
In 2015, BC Partners acquired PetSmart, a major pet supply retailer.
The acquisition of PetSmart came with a significant debt load.
In 2017, PetSmart, owned by BC Partners, acquired Chewy for a then-record $3.35 billion, betting on the rise of e-commerce in pet care.
Chewy’s direct-to-consumer model, built on convenience, fast shipping, and customer loyalty, contrasted starkly with PetSmart’s brick-and-mortar approach.
The acquisition was strategic: leverage Chewy’s rapid growth to breathe life into PetSmart’s aging retail model.
In 2019, BC Partners decided to spin off Chewy through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), to generate cash and reduce the debt load on PetSmart.
The IPO allowed BC Partners to extract significant value from Chewy while also alleviating some of the debt burden associated with the PetSmart acquisition.
In essence, the Chewy IPO was a strategic move by BC Partners to manage their debt load and realize a portion of the investment in PetSmart and its subsidiaries.
PetSmart’s stores remained saddled with loans, while Chewy’s valuation soared.
Meanwhile, both began expanding into veterinary services.
Chewy with telehealth and pharmacy.
PetSmart with in-store clinics, turning veterinary medicine into another vertical, ripe for monetization.
What followed reveals deeper truths about private equity's influence. The question to be asked is:
Was this good for veterinary medicine?
The answer depends on whom you ask.
For consumers, it may have offered convenience and price competition.
For investors, it promised recurring revenue.
But for veterinarians, the pressure was mounting. As financial interests dominated, clinical autonomy and patient-centered care risked being compromised.
Consolidation tends to prioritize profit margins over professional standards, shifting the focus from relationships to returns.
The Chewy - PetSmart - BC Partners triangle reflects a broader trend: private equity sees pets as a market, not a mission.
When that mindset trickles into the exam room, it’s not just the industry that changes, it’s the soul of veterinary medicine that’s at stake.
In Part 2 of this 4-part series, we will look a little more closely into BC Partners.
Rick’s Commentary
As the dust settles on this high-stakes corporate drama, one question lingers:
Who ultimately benefits from this consolidation?
For pet owners, the allure of convenience is real - one-click ordering, home delivery, 24/7 access to virtual care.
For veterinarians, the implications are more sobering. When clinical decisions begin to serve corporate margins instead of medical standards, the profession risks losing its integrity.
For the animals themselves, silent stakeholders in this equation, the consequences can be invisible but profound.
The journey of Chewy, PetSmart, and BC Partners is not just about strategy and scale; it’s about what happens when the business of care begins to overshadow the calling of compassion.
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