PetcoRon Coughlin CEO, Wednesday stated that the specialty retailer holds a crucial advantage in an uncertain market: Americans are willing to spend money on pet care even when they don’t have much.

He said that pet owners are “resilient” to economic downturns as well as resilient to inflation during an investor event in New York City.

Additionally, people were more inclined to adopt pets as they moved into bigger homes and worked from home. This dynamic is similar to a baby boom. He said that food, veterinarian care, and many other needs will last longer than the global crisis.

Petco is looking to get a larger share of this growing market. It estimates that the pet industry drove $72 billion in demand last year, and said that will grow by 7% by 2025 — with double-digit growth in premium pet care. There are many competitors, such as ChewyAnd WalmartThe company has also increased investments in the industry of pet care by launching new services. virtual vet visitsTo pet insurance.

Petco, which is a leader in the pet industry, has increased its private label offering, expanded vet services, and attracted customers who are willing to spend on fashionable clothes and fresh organic food.

Mike Nuzzo, chief operating officer of Nuzzo Pets said that the company had more than 200 full-service hospitals by the close of fiscal year. He plans to increase this number to 900. Vital Care is a monthly subscription service that offers unlimited vet examinations and discount on pet food. It costs $19.99.

Petco had its first investor day in over a decade on Thursday. returned to the public market Early 2021. Since then, the shares of brick-and mortar retailers have increased by about 7%.

Its shares dropped 1.6% in Thursday morning amid wider market declines.

At the investor day, Petco reiterated the company’s prior outlook for the next year. On net revenue between $6.15 and $6.25 trillion, the company expects to earn between $1.00 and 97 cents per share.

It is a significant increase on Petco’s net sales of $5.81 trillion last fiscal year. The growth was roughly consistent with Wall Street’s predictions. Refinitiv reports that analysts are expecting 99 cents in adjusted earnings per share for revenue $6.2 million.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for new updates.