Drs. Foster & Smith has been one of the major players in mail order pet supplies for over two decades, and the reef aquarium hobby has grown quite fond of their livestock division, LiveAquaria. Just a few short years ago back in 2016 Petco purchased Drs. Foster & Smith, including LiveAquaria and has largely left things alone since they acquired the company.
Ever since the acquisition we’ve wondered how the parallel businesses of Drs. Foster & Smith and the Petco.com would coexist, especially in a rapidly shifting online pet goods market. Yesterday we learned through the Star Journal Now, a local Rhinelander publication, that Petco will be shuttering the Drs. Foster & Smith online business and the laying off the 289 employees that work there.
Naturally our first thought was to the LiveAquaria livestock division which is a pillar of the reef aquarium industry and community. We’re glad to hear that LiveAquaria will continue to deliver its quality livestock to the reef aquarium community but we are curious to know how the closing of DFS will affect LiveAquaria customers’ ability to add dry goods and equipment with their livestock orders.
The closure of Drs. Foster & Smith will take place over the next two to four months.
