Company Thrives Offering Hotel Services (and Day Care) for Pets

Being treated like a dog may not be such a bad thing if being pampered is part of the deal. Philip L. Francis, the chairman and chief executive of PetSmart, says his company has found that many pet owners want just that kind of treatment for their pets.

Mr. Francis, 61, says PetSmart is benefiting from what he calls “the macronization of the humanization of pets.” The company is growing by selling services like day care and hotel accommodations for pets. Mr. Francis spoke recently about those services, last year’s pet food recalls and a lesson of Hurricane Katrina. Following are excerpts:

Q. Your quarterly sales are now surpassing $1 billion every quarter. You reported more than $4.23 billion in sales in your last fiscal year. Four years ago, your annual sales were $2.70 billion. Is that growth coming from opening new stores or selling more merchandise?

A. First, it is new stores; we have been opening about 100 stores a year. We just opened our 1,000th store a few months ago.

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