Pets.com
Company type | Public |
---|---|
Nasdaq: IPET | |
Founded | November 1998 |
Defunct | November 9, 2000 |
Fate | Self-liquidated |
Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States[1] |
Number of employees | 320 |
Website | www.pets.com at the Wayback Machine (archived March 1, 2000) |
Pets.com was a dot-com enterprise headquartered in San Francisco, U.S, that sold pet supplies to retail customers. The website was launched in November 1998 and was shut down in November 2000. A high-profile marketing campaign gave it a widely recognized public presence, including an appearance in the 1999 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and an advertisement in the 2000 Super Bowl. Its popular sock puppet advertising mascot was interviewed by People magazine and appeared on Good Morning America.
Although sales rose dramatically due to the attention, the company failed to become profitable and became known as one of the biggest victims of the
History
On November 21, 1994, the Pets.com domain name was registered by
A regional advertising campaign using a variety of media began, which included
Despite its success in building brand recognition, it was uncertain whether a substantial market niche existed for Pets.com.[22] No independent market research preceded the launch of Pets.com.[22] During its first fiscal year (February to September 1999), Pets.com earned $619,000 in revenue, and spent $11.8 million on advertising.[22] Pets.com lacked a workable business plan and lost money on nearly every sale because, even before the cost of advertising, it was selling merchandise for approximately one-third the price it paid to obtain the products.[22] Pets.com tried to build a customer base by offering discounts and free shipping, but it was impossible to turn a profit while absorbing the costs of shipping for heavy bags of cat litter and cans of pet food within a business field whose conventional profit margins are only two to four percent.[22][23] The company hoped to shift customers into higher-margin purchases, but customer purchasing patterns failed to change and during its second fiscal year the company continued to sell merchandise for approximately 27% less than cost, so the dramatic rise in sales during Pets.com's second fiscal year only hastened the firm's demise.[22]
In September 2000, Pets.com opened a new customer service call center in Greenwood, Indiana and relocated the majority of its customer work force to Indiana in order to cut costs.[24] They aggressively undertook actions to sell the company. PetSmart offered less than the net cash value of the company, and Pets.com's board turned down that offer.[citation needed] The company announced on November 7, 2000[25] that they would cease taking orders on November 9, 2000 at 11am PST and laid off 255 of their 320 employees.[26][27] Pets.com had around 570,000 customers before its shutdown.[28] Pets.com stock had fallen from its IPO price of $11 per share in February 2000[21] to $0.19 the day of its liquidation announcement.[citation needed] At its peak, the company had 320 employees,[29] of which 250 were employed in the warehouses across the United States. While the offer from PetSmart was declined, some assets of Pets.com, including its domains, trademarks and subsidiaries such as Flying Fish Express, were sold to PetSmart in December 2000.[30][31][32] As of 2024, the Pets.com domain redirects to PetSmart.com.[33]
Wainwright and nine other executives stayed during the liquidation and held a stockholders' meeting on January 16, 2001 to finalize the liquidation.[34] Wainwright received $235,000 in severance on top of a $225,000 "retention payment" while overseeing the closure.[34] The company changed its name to IPET Holdings, Inc. on January 16, 2001 and liquidation of the company was completed on January 18.[35]
Charity work
During the company's existence, Pets.com partnered with
Sock puppet
Pets.com hired the
As the puppet's fame grew through 1999 and 2000, it gained almost
After Pets.com liquidated, Hakan and Associates and Bar None, Inc. purchased the rights to the puppet under a joint venture called Sock Puppet LLC for $125,000 in 2002.[22][50][51] Bar None, Inc., an American automotive loan firm, gave the puppet a new slogan: "Everyone deserves a second chance." and aired nine commercials featuring the puppet in July 2002.[52][53]
Lawsuit
As Pets.com's recognition began to grow, it attracted the attention of the creators of
Wainwright responded to the lawsuit, saying that "We were surprised when we received the letter because there is obviously no relation between the Pets.com Sock Puppet and Triumph".[58] Canadian sock puppet character Ed the Sock, who had previously accused Smigel of basing his Triumph character on himself, also used the incident for publicity.
The lawsuit was dismissed in February 2001 by
Legacy
The publicity surrounding the Pets.com puppets, combined with the company's collapse, made it such a symbol of dot-com folly that
In June 2008, CNET named Pets.com as one of the greatest dot-com disasters.[62]
Pets.com's concept was successfully realized by
References
- ^ "FORM 10-Q". Retrieved November 19, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools". whois.domaintools.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Merlo, Omar (2009). Pets.com Inc.: The Rise and Decline of a Pet Supply Retailer. Ivey Publishing. p. 5.
- ^ "Yahoo! News – WebMagic". WebMagic. November 4, 1998. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "Yahoo! Finance – WebMagic". WebMagic. March 29, 1999. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Amazon's Pet Projects". Newsweek. June 20, 1999. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "Amazon.com Announces Investment in Pets.com". March 29, 1999. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- ^ Tarsala, Mike. "Pets.com killed by sock puppet". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- Farlex. March 29, 1999. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ^ a b Abelson, Reed. "TECHNOLOGY; Pets.com, Sock Puppet's Home, Will Close". Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com to buy assets of rival Petstore.com". CNET. June 13, 2000. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ a b K. Ryan, Peter. How Venture Capital Works.
- ^ "Pets.com publishes print magazine – Multichannel Merchant". Multichannel Merchant. June 1, 2000. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com socks it to competitors". Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ a b Neuman, Jay. The Complete Internet Marketer.
- ^ a b "IQ Interactive Special Report: IQ Q&A – Sock Dogma". Retrieved September 28, 2018.
- ^ "10 big dot.com flops – Pets.com (1) – CNNMoney.com". money.cnn.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ Andrew Beattie. "Why Did Pets.com Crash So Drastically?". Investopedia. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ "For startups, failure can be a good thing – March 1, 2007". March 3, 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Watch 5 of the best Super Bowl commercials from 2000". Ad Meter. January 21, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ a b "Pets.com raises $82.5 million in IPO". CNET. February 10, 2000. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7432-3575-4. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-7494-4433-4. Retrieved April 22, 2009.
- ^ "CNET.com – News – E-Business – Pets.com moves part of litter to Midwest". November 2, 2000. Archived from the original on November 2, 2000. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com goes out of business – Nov. 7, 2000". money.cnn.com. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "The Pets.com Phenomenon". NBC News. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com Will Shut Down, Citing Insufficient Funding". WSJ. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ Tarsala, Mike. "Pets.com killed by sock puppet". MarketWatch. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
- ^ "The Pets.com Phenomenon". NBC News. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
- ^ "Petsmart.com snaps up rival domain name". CNET. December 4, 2000. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ Grenier, Melinda. "Pets.com sells name to rival Petsmart | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ "PetSmart.com Buys Pets.com Domain Name". Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Petsmart.com buys URL of former rival Pets.com". Computerworld. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ a b Mearian, Lucas (January 2, 2001). "Pets.com to finalize liquidation plans". Computerworld. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- U.S. SEC. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ^ "Pets.commitment: Pets.com is partnering with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary". May 29, 2000. Archived from the original on May 29, 2000. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
- ^ "Defunct Pets.com Donates Dog Food". Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ^ "Oak Leaf 27 January 2000 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com goes out of business - Nov. 7, 2000". money.cnn.com. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ Kaufman, Leslie (March 27, 2000). "Media; The Sock Puppet That Roared: Internet Synergy or a Conflict of Interest?". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Eaton, Leslie (November 24, 1999). "And Now, a Balloon From Our Sponsor". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
- ^ G. Weinzimmer, Laurence. The Wisdom of Failure: How to Learn the Tough Leadership Lessons Without.
- ^ [16][10][40][41][42]
- ^ "Pets.com goes out of business - Nov. 7, 2000". money.cnn.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ "The Puppet That Ate a Dot-Com". Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ Olsen, Stefanie (July 26, 2000). "Pets.com's puppeteer on strike against ad industry". CNET. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
- ^ "Pets.com goes out of business - Nov. 7, 2000". money.cnn.com. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ "Pets.com Sock Puppet - Business Insider". Business Insider. June 28, 2018. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ISBN 1588243702.
- ^ "Sock Puppet On Board With Bar None!" (Press release). BarNone. May 9, 2002. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
Bar None and Hakan Enterprises, Inc., joined forces to secure the rights for the Sock Puppet – and they are excited to be able to give him a "second chance" in the advertising world.
- ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ "2ND ACT FOR PETS.COM SOCK PUPPET". New York Post. June 19, 2002. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "Sock puppet gets 2nd chance". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ Information on Smigel's lawsuit at The Smoking Gun
- ^ "Daily Kent Stater 27 April 2000 — Kent State University". dks.library.kent.edu. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
- ]
- ^ "PETS.COM POOP$ ON CONAN'S 'PUP'PET". New York Post. April 26, 2000. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
- Farlex. April 27, 2000. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ^ "Case docket: Pets.com Inc v. Smigel". ia802307.us.archive.org. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
- ^ "2HRS2GO: E*Trade wins ad Super Bowl". CNET. January 2, 2002. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
- ^ "E-Trade - Ghost Town - Ad Age". adage.com. January 28, 2001. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
- ^ "The greatest defunct Web sites and dotcom disasters". CNET. June 5, 2008. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- ^ Alexis Christoforous (August 8, 2019). "Chewy founder: Don't compare us to Pets.com". Yahoo. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
External links
- Pets.com (domain now owned by PetSmart)
- "Pets.com, Sock Puppet's Home, Will Close" New York Times article
- "Investors put Pets.com to sleep; Garden.com wilts"—Internet Retailer
- "Pets.com is extraordinary!"—Epinions
- "Pets.com to finalize liquidation plans"—InfoWorld via the Wayback Machine
- Historical business data for Pets.com:
- SEC filings