Pet Valu continues to see room for more than 1,200 stores across Canada as the specialty pet retailer expands into Alberta, Quebec and smaller communities where management believes additional market opportunities remain.
The company ended its second quarter with 877 locations after opening seven stores during the period and 15 in the first half of 2026. Recent openings have performed well, according to management, with rural markets that have little or no specialty-pet competition among the areas identified for further growth.
The 1,200-plus figure is a long-standing estimate of Pet Valu’s potential Canadian footprint rather than a new target. The retailer had 633 stores at the end of 2021 and has since added more than 240 locations as it continues to build out its national network. Stifel analyst Martin Landry expects the expansion to continue at about 40 net new stores annually, forecasting approximately 903 locations by the end of 2026 and 943 in 2027, compared with 783 stores in 2023, 824 in 2024 and 863 at the end of 2025.
Rural Markets Offer Room for Growth
Smaller Canadian communities are becoming an increasingly important part of Pet Valu’s expansion strategy. CEO Greg Ramier said the company is focusing new-store investment on growth pockets across Canada, including Alberta, Quebec and rural communities, with stores opened during the past year producing good starts and satisfactory return profiles.
Management highlighted rural locations where Pet Valu can enter communities without an existing specialty-pet competitor. The strategy fits the retailer’s neighbourhood-oriented format and its emphasis on recurring purchases such as pet food and other consumables, allowing it to operate in smaller trade areas that may have limited specialty retail competition.
Ramier also said Pet Valu continues to find opportunities to fill market gaps while some competitors have paused expansion. The company takes a long view when selecting locations, with management describing a new store as a commitment of 10 years or more that is expected to operate through a full economic cycle.
Alberta and Quebec Among Expansion Priorities
Alberta and Quebec were specifically identified by management as markets where Pet Valu continues to see growth opportunities. Quebec has become a larger part of the network following Pet Valu’s acquisition of Chico, and the company is increasingly extending programs developed across the broader Pet Valu system to the Quebec banner, including its Item of the Month and Treat of the Month initiatives.
Pet Valu also completed its first corporate-store resales under the Chico banner during the second quarter. Quebec remains a competitive specialty-pet market, including a substantial presence from Mondou, which has grown beyond 100 locations in the province, leaving Pet Valu to pursue further growth through Chico while competing with established regional operators.
Franchise Model Supports Continued Growth
Franchising remains central to Pet Valu’s network strategy. About 71% of its 877 stores were franchised at the end of the second quarter, with that proportion increasing slightly as the company continued transferring selected corporate locations to franchise operators.
Pet Valu sold 11 corporate stores during the quarter, tying a company record, with locations acquired by both new and existing franchisees. Management said there remains a strong pipeline of franchisees interested in established stores where they can begin operating with an existing customer base and sales history.
The practice dates to Pet Valu’s move into franchising in the late 1980s and is expected to continue. With more than 250 corporate locations, management said the company typically has a subset of stores available for resale, providing another mechanism for increasing franchise penetration as the overall network grows.
Store Growth Continues Despite Softer Traffic
Pet Valu is continuing to add locations despite relatively subdued comparable-store performance. Same-store sales declined 0.2% in the second quarter, with Stifel estimating that a 1.2% increase in basket size was more than offset by a 1.4% decline in traffic as consumers consolidated shopping trips amid higher fuel costs.
The company nevertheless continues to report satisfactory returns from newly opened stores and is maintaining its expansion plans. Management has also said its 2026 outlook does not depend on a material improvement in the current consumer environment, leaving new-store development as an important source of growth while comparable sales remain close to flat.
Pet Valu Continues to Gain Market Share
Pet Valu says it continued gaining market share during the second quarter, supported by its expanding store network and growth across physical and digital channels. Management estimates that specialty retailers account for roughly half of the Canadian pet market and said there has been little movement between specialty and mass-market channels, with Pet Valu continuing to consolidate share within specialty retail.
Stifel estimates Pet Valu holds about 18% of the Canadian pet market, approximately three percentage points ahead of its next competitor. Landry also sees the possibility of difficult operating conditions putting pressure on some single-location pet retailers, potentially creating additional market-share opportunities for larger operators such as Pet Valu.
Pet Valu’s scale is also helping it manage costs as the network expands. The company has been working with specialty and national brands to mitigate rising product and fuel expenses, while investments in its distribution network have generated cost efficiencies for four consecutive quarters.
Store Network Supports Digital Growth
The physical network is also supporting Pet Valu’s digital business, which management says continues to grow faster than the broader industry’s online channel. Click & Collect and delivery platforms benefit from the reach of the store base, while the AutoShip subscription service continues to increase both in absolute dollars and as a proportion of digital sales.
Pet Valu does not disclose digital sales as a percentage of total revenue, but management has repeatedly linked the performance of its online business to the reach of its physical network. That gives the company another reason to increase store density, with locations supporting recurring in-store purchases as well as digital fulfilment and pickup.
At 877 stores, Pet Valu would need more than 300 additional locations to reach the 1,200-plus network size management believes Canada can ultimately support. The current pace of about 40 new stores annually points to a multi-year expansion, with smaller communities and further development in markets including Alberta and Quebec expected to account for part of that remaining growth.
