Beleaguered pet-supply retailer Petcetera is back in the doghouse after filing for creditor protection just a few weeks ago.
The Richmond-based company announced March 31 it's closing two stores — one in Abbotsford and another in Ontario.
At its peak, Petcetera had 49 stores open nationwide but the latest closures leave just 16 of the big-box stores still in business.
About 20 people will lose their jobs as a result of the latest efforts to cut costs and generate cash — part of the company's second restructuring plan since 2009.
Petcetera CFO Richard Kaga told Business In Vancouver his company did not see any way possible to keep the two stores open due to a limited marketplace in those communities combined with competition from American retailer PetSmart.
"The volume (of sales) in those stores is just not that significant," he said.
"We just couldn't see how we could be profitable in those stores in the long-term."
Kaga added a number of the large stores are beholden to long-term leases, which has proven to be a "difficult" challenge during restructuring.
"Having a store that's too big and therefore not full of inventory just gives the wrong message," he said.
"A lot of our issues wouldn't be issues if we had, generally speaking, smaller foot prints — smaller stores — within the existing markets we're in."
About 300 people remain employed by Petcetera in six provinces.
