"It was as if there were a giant hole that Jim Dougherty’s creation filled. His vision of a superstore for pet food and supplies tapped into the passion of people who loved their pets and gave them a way to express that passion like never before. I’m honored to have been a part of the amazing PetSmart story, and I was fortunate enough to build upon the foundation that Jim created. The PetSmart story is about the remarkable growth and success of a small business that became the dominant pet industry leader. But there is much more to the story than that.

The PetSmart story is really about the creation of a brand that facilitates and celebrates the magical bond between people and their pets. After all, before PetSmart came along, most customers bought their dog and cat food from large grocery store chains, and some bought premium brands from a veterinarian. If they bought supplies at all, they bought them mostly from “ma and pa” pet stores. Jim changed all of that. When his first stores opened, customers discovered vast quantities of pet food and every pet product they needed—in seemingly every variety imaginable—all under one roof.

From the very beginning, Jim understood the importance of listening to customers and meeting their needs. He also understood that once you truly understood your customer, you could create their needs as well. Like all truly great brands, a symbiotic relationship exists between the brand and the customers. The customers were constantly shaping the way PetSmart did business, and PetSmart was constantly shaping the way customers thought about their pets."