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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

        We are a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services with 600 stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia. Our products include pet food, supplies, grooming products, toys, novelty items and vitamins, small pets such as fish, birds and other small animals (excluding cats and dogs), and veterinary supplies. Our strategy is to offer our customers a complete assortment of pet-related products and services at competitive prices, with superior levels of customer service at convenient locations.

        Our stores combine the broad merchandise selection and everyday low prices of a pet supply warehouse store with the convenient location and knowledgeable customer service of a neighborhood pet supply store. We believe that this combination differentiates our stores and provides us with a competitive advantage. Our principal format is a 12,000 to 15,000 square foot store, conveniently located near local neighborhood shopping destinations, including supermarkets, bookstores, coffee shops, dry cleaners and video stores, where our target "pet parent" customer makes regular weekly shopping trips. We believe that our stores are well positioned, both in terms of product offerings and location, to benefit from favorable long-term demographic trends, a growing pet population and an increasing willingness of pet owners to spend on their pets.

        Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this Annual Report to a fiscal year refer to the fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31 of the following year. For example, references to fiscal 2002 refer to the fiscal year beginning on February 3, 2002 and ending on February 1, 2003.

The Pet Food, Supplies and Services Industry

        General.    We believe the pet food, supplies and services industry is benefiting from a number of favorable demographic trends that are continuing to support a steadily growing pet population. The U.S. pet population has now reached 353 million companion animals, including 141 million cats and dogs, with an estimated 62% of all U.S. households owning at least one pet, and three quarters of those households owning two or more pets. We believe the trend to more pets and more pet-owning households will continue, driven by an increasing number of children under 18 and a growing number of empty nesters whose pets have become their new "children." We estimate that U.S. retail sales of pet food, supplies, small animals (excluding cats and dogs) and services increased to approximately $27 billion in 2001. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from several key growth trends within the industry.

        Pet Food.    Packaged Facts, an independent provider of market research reports, projected that dog and cat food sales, which represent the vast majority of all pet food sales, accounted for approximately $10.5 billion in sales for 2001. Sales of premium dog and cat food represented approximately 32.3% of the total dog and cat food market in 2001 and are expected to increase to approximately 38.4% of the total dog and cat food market by 2005. Sales of dog and cat food accounted for $468 million, or 32%, of our fiscal 2002 net sales, of which $435 million, or 93%, was generated from premium dog and cat food sales.

        Historically, the pet food industry has been dominated by national supermarket brands such as Alpo, Kal Kan and Purina, which are primarily sold through grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores and mass merchants. In recent years, supermarkets' share of total pet food sales has steadily decreased as a result of competition from warehouse clubs, mass merchants and specialty pet store chains as well as the growing proportion of premium pet food sales. Premium pet foods, such as Science Diet, Nutro and Eukanuba, currently are not sold through supermarkets, warehouse clubs or mass merchants due to manufacturers' restrictions but are sold primarily through specialty retailers like PETCO, veterinarians and farm and feed stores.

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        The growth of the premium pet food market is attributable to both the marketing of premium brands by vendors and a heightened nutritional awareness among pet owners. In recent years, premium pet food manufacturers have launched numerous new specialty food products, such as all-natural products and products for pets with sensitive skin and stomachs, as well as oral care products. Management expects expanded product offerings by premium pet food manufacturers to continue, and that distribution of these products primarily through specialty retailers will continue to draw customers away from supermarkets and mass merchants.

        Pet Supplies and Small Animals.    Based on reports from Packaged Facts and Business Communications Company, Inc., a provider of industry reviews, we project that sales of pet supplies accounted for approximately $7.0 billion in sales for 2001 and will grow at a compounded annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 6.0% over the next few years. Pet supplies and small animals (excluding cats and dogs) accounted for $954 million, or 65%, of our fiscal 2002 net sales.

        The market for pet supplies consists of items such as collars and leashes, cages and habitats, toys, treats, aquatic supplies, pet carriers, vitamins and supplements, and grooming and veterinary products. The channels of distribution for pet supplies are highly fragmented with products sold by many types of retailers, including supermarkets, warehouse clubs and other discounters, mass merchants, specialty pet store chains, direct mail and veterinarians. Specialty retailers such as PETCO, with wide assortments of pet supplies and higher levels of customer service, represent a growing channel for sales of pet supplies.

        The market for small animals (other than cats and dogs) includes sales of fish, birds, reptiles, rabbits, hamsters, mice and other small pets. Because of the overpopulation of cats and dogs and the controversial practices of some breeders, we have elected to limit our selection of animals to birds, fish, reptiles and other small animals. We do, however, participate in pet adoption programs for cats and dogs, which are administered through local animal welfare programs.

        Pet Services.    Pet services are estimated to account for the remaining $9.5 billion of the overall $27 billion market projected by management. The market for pet services includes grooming, obedience training, and vaccinations and other veterinary services. We offer obedience training in most of our stores, grooming in the majority of our stores and limited veterinary services, such as routine vaccinations, at a number of stores. Although services represented only 3.8% of our fiscal 2002 net sales, services represent an increasing portion of our net sales and we believe that offering selected pet services better serves our best customers and increases traffic flow in our stores. For fiscal 2002, services sales increased 33% from fiscal 2001, approximately two and a half times our overall sales growth.

        Distribution Channels.    Our industry is highly fragmented, with an estimated 9,000 independent pet supply stores operating in the United States. PETCO is one of only two national specialty retailers of pet food, supplies and services. Between 1991 and 2001, the last year for which data is available, specialty pet store chains such as PETCO experienced significant market share gains in the pet food and supplies categories, largely at the expense of supermarkets. We believe that this shift primarily results from (1) the enhanced merchandising effort and product mix offered by specialty pet store chains and (2) the growing demand for premium pet food as nutritional awareness among the general population extends to pet owners and their pets.

Business Strategy

        Our strategy is to strengthen our position as a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services by offering our customers a complete assortment of pet-related products and

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services at competitive prices with superior levels of customer service at convenient locations. We intend to continue to pursue the following elements of our strategy:

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Continue To Increase Sales and Profitability. We have increased our net sales from $749.8 million in fiscal 1997 to $1.48 billion in fiscal 2002, for a CAGR of 14.5%. We also increased our operating income from $31.8 million in fiscal 2001 to $92.0 million in fiscal 2002. The principal contributors to this improvement in our financial performance include: (1) our ability to generate continuous comparable store net sales growth; (2) strategic expansion in both existing and new markets; (3) targeted merchandising efforts to drive greater sales of higher margin supplies and services, which have grown to 68.4% of net sales in fiscal 2002, up from 60.5% of net sales in fiscal 1998; (4) our expanding store base that offers economies of scale and purchasing efficiencies; and (5) a broad product offering of over 10,000 high quality pet-related products, most of which are not found in typical supermarkets or mass merchants.



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Capitalize Upon Our Maturing Store Base. We have historically found that the most dramatic growth in a store's net sales and EBITDA occurs in the first five years following a store's opening. During this store maturation phase, we have historically experienced store-level EBITDA margin improvements from an estimated 6% average EBITDA margin in the store's first year to over a 15% average EBITDA margin by year five. More than 40% of our stores were opened in the past five years and to date our newly opened stores have been maturing in accordance with historical rates. We believe that our maturing store base provides us with an opportunity to significantly increase our net sales and store-level EBITDA with only modest incremental capital expenditures for these stores.



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Expand Using Our Proven New Store Model. We believe that the highly fragmented pet food, supplies and services market offers compelling opportunities for us to increase our presence and gain market share. To capitalize on these opportunities and consistent with our existing strategy, we plan to increase our net store count by 40 to 50 stores per year over the next five years both by focusing on existing markets and by targeting one or two new geographic markets per year. We carefully measure each proposed store opening against demographic, economic and competitive factors. We have established an operating model that we believe enables us to quickly and profitably execute our expansion strategy after we have analyzed a market's potential. Our new stores generally have become profitable by the end of their first year of operation, and we target for each store a five-year return on investment of more than 20%. In fiscal 2003, we intend to remodel up to 50 of our existing stores into our millennium format. Our millennium format incorporates a more dramatic presentation of our companion animals and emphasizes higher-margin supplies categories.



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Leverage Our Industry-Leading Integrated Information Systems. We have invested significant resources in establishing a comprehensive integrated information system infrastructure, including approximately $40 million over the last three fiscal years to replace and upgrade our information systems. Our highly integrated point-of-sale, or POS, system in each of our stores provides our management team with timely and valuable information on store and regional level sales and merchandising trends, inventory tracking and operational data. By integrating all of our key functional areas, our systems empower regional, district and store managers to increase sales, improve operational efficiency, control inventory, monitor critical performance indicators and enhance customer service and satisfaction.



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Utilize Our Logistics Expertise. Our distribution system has over one million square feet of distribution capacity, including an integrated network of three national and five regional distribution centers. This network enables us to reduce our costs by reducing the delivered cost of merchandise and limiting the need to carry excess inventory. Our inventory control systems provide for effective replenishment of inventory and allow us to achieve optimal in-stock levels

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at our stores. Our logistics expertise has enabled us to dramatically increase inventory turns from 6.1x for fiscal 1998 to 7.7x for fiscal 2002.

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Capitalize Upon Our Brand Awareness and Highly Successful Customer Loyalty Program. The "PETCO" brand name and our slogan "PETCO, where the pets go" are well known by pet owners. We believe that this awareness reinforces the fun and enjoyable shopping experience that we seek to create for our customers and their pets. P.A.L.S., our highly successful customer loyalty program, further enhances and reinforces the loyalty, brand awareness and satisfaction of our customers. Recently, our customers have been signing up for approximately one million new P.A.L.S. cards per quarter. Our P.A.L.S. members account for over 75% of our net sales and spend on average over 50% more per transaction than do our non-P.A.L.S. customers. Our exclusive program fosters a long-term, one-on-one relationship with the customer and builds brand loyalty and customer retention. Our program also provides us with one of the largest databases of information in the industry. Information on our customers' buying preferences allows us to more precisely deliver targeted marketing efforts and assists us in more effectively catering to our customers' needs.



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Continue to Provide Superior, Knowledge-Based Customer Service. We seek to enhance our customers' shopping experience by providing knowledgeable and friendly customer service and creating a fun and exciting shopping environment. We seek to hire store managers and sales associates who themselves are pet owners and enthusiasts and therefore are more eager and better able to assist customers with their needs. We believe it is better to hire animal lovers and train them in retail rather than hire experienced retailers and hope they like animals. We believe that our customer service differentiates us from our competitors, leading to increased sales, attracting new customers and building customer loyalty.

Purchasing and Distribution

        Our centralized purchasing and distribution system minimizes the delivered cost of merchandise and maximizes the in-stock position of our stores. We currently operate three central and five regional distribution centers. The central distribution centers are located in Mira Loma, California; Monroe, New Jersey; and Joliet, Illinois. Bulk items for all stores are either shipped to regional distribution centers for redistribution or are sent directly to store locations. Manufacturers ship non-bulk supplies to the central distribution facilities which we then distribute either to regional centers or directly to store locations. We believe that our centralized distribution system enables our stores to maximize selling space by reducing necessary levels of safety stock carried in each store. We also provide order fulfillment services for our Internet customers through our three central distribution centers.

Marketing and Advertising

        Our marketing department creates and implements a wide variety of national, regional and local advertising, direct marketing and sales promotion programs. These television, radio, circular and direct mail programs are designed to increase sales and consumer awareness of the PETCO brand name.

        In late 1997 we launched our P.A.L.S. customer loyalty program, which provides us with one of the largest databases of customer information in the industry, as our customers have recently been signing up for approximately one million new P.A.L.S. cards per quarter. Our P.A.L.S. database is integrated with our POS system, allowing us to track purchasing activity and shopping habits of our P.A.L.S. cardholders. This allows us to effectively target customers with personalized direct mail or e-mail messages, to provide promotional offers directly related to past purchases and to adjust our products and services mix to more effectively cater to our customers' needs.

        Local store marketing activities are conducted on a regular basis in most stores. These marketing activities include store opening events, in-store pet adoptions, informational seminars, school field trips,

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pet photos, product demonstrations, pet fairs and a variety of other local contests or cross-promotion events.

        We recently agreed to become the naming rights sponsor for PETCO Park, a new baseball stadium under construction in San Diego, California, which will be the home of the San Diego Padres commencing with the 2004 baseball season. As part of this arrangement, we will also receive certain other promotional benefits from the San Diego Padres.

Competition

        The pet food, supplies and services business is highly competitive. This competition can be categorized into three different segments: (1) supermarkets, warehouse clubs and mass merchants; (2) specialty pet store chains; and (3) traditional pet stores and independent service providers. We believe that the principal competitive factors influencing our business are product selection and quality, convenient store locations, customer service and price. We believe that we compete effectively within our various geographic areas. However, some of our competitors are much larger in terms of sales volume and have access to greater capital and management resources than we do.

        Many of the premium pet food brands we offer, such as Nutro, Science Diet and Eukanuba, are not presently available to supermarkets, warehouse clubs or mass merchants due to manufacturers' restrictions. One of our premium pet food vendors, The Iams Company, was purchased by Procter & Gamble in fiscal 1999. Through the end of fiscal 1999, Iams brand pet food was not widely available in supermarkets or mass merchants. In fiscal 2000, Procter & Gamble broadened the distribution of Iams to supermarkets and mass merchants across the country. The Eukanuba brand of pet food, which is also manufactured by The Iams Company, continues to be sold exclusively by specialty channels such as PETCO.

Suppliers and Vendors

        We purchase most of our merchandise directly from specialty suppliers and manufacturers of national brands. We purchase the majority of our pet food products from three vendors: The Iams Company, Hill's Pet Products, Inc. (which produces Science Diet), and Nutro, Inc. Supplies of products from these vendors accounted for approximately 9%, 10% and 8%, respectively, of our net sales in fiscal 2001 and 8%, 9% and 8%, respectively, in fiscal 2002. While we do not maintain long-term supply contracts with any of our vendors, we believe that we enjoy a favorable and stable relationship with each of these vendors.

Information Systems

        We have invested significant resources in establishing a comprehensive integrated information system infrastructure, including approximately $40 million over the last three fiscal years to replace and upgrade our information systems. We have integrated all key functional areas that provide our management team with timely information on sales trends, inventory tracking and operational data at the individual store level. The system empowers regional, district and store managers to increase sales, control inventory and enhance customer satisfaction.

        Our in-store POS system tracks all sales by stockkeeping unit (SKU) using bar codes and allows management to compare current performance against historical performance and current year's budget on a daily basis. The information gathered by this system supports automatic replenishment of in-store inventory from our regional and central distribution centers and is integrated into product buying decisions. Store labor planning and visual presentation levels are supported by sales management information systems. We use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) with a majority of suppliers for efficient transmittal of purchase orders, shipping notices and invoices. Management believes that the systems we have developed enable us to continue to improve customer service, operational efficiency

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and management's ability to monitor critical performance indicators. We continue to invest in supply chain technologies, human resources management, financial planning tools and continued improvement to the POS systems located in all stores.

Internet Initiatives

        We believe the Internet offers opportunities to complement our "brick-and-mortar" stores and to increase our retail commerce and consumer brand awareness of our products. We operate the popular e-commerce site www.petco.com, which provides our customers with pet-related content, commerce and community via the Internet. The information contained or incorporated in our web site is not a part of this Annual Report.

        On December 4, 2000, we acquired the Petopia.com web site, including software and hardware required to operate the web site, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $3.8 million. Formerly, we had a strategic alliance with, and owned an equity interest of approximately 17.6% in, Petopia.com, a comprehensive pet commerce Internet destination that launched in the summer of 1999. The operations of Petopia.com have been rationalized and fully integrated with our operations.

Trademarks and Licenses

        We have registered numerous service marks and trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We believe the PETCO trademark has become an important component in our merchandising and marketing strategy. We believe we have all licenses necessary to conduct our business.

Employees

        As of February 1, 2003, we employed approximately 13,500 associates, of whom approximately 6,900 were employed full-time. Approximately 92% of our employees were employed in stores or in direct field supervision, approximately 4% in distribution centers and approximately 4% in our corporate headquarters in San Diego. We are not party to any collective bargaining arrangements, and we believe our labor relations are generally good.

Regulation

        The transportation and sale of small animals is governed by various state and local regulations. To date, these regulations have not had a material effect on our business or operations. However, a complaint filed in June 2002 by the San Francisco City Attorney's office alleged that certain associates have not properly cared for animals for sale in our two San Francisco stores. See "Item 3—Legal Proceedings." Our aquatics and small animal buyers and real estate department are responsible for compliance with regulations governing the transportation and sale of small animals. Prior to the opening of each store, our aquatics and small animal buyers and real estate department review the regulations of the relevant state and local governments. Our real estate department then ensures ongoing compliance by keeping abreast of industry publications and maintaining contacts with our aquatics and small animal suppliers and the appropriate regulatory agency within each relevant state and local government.

Available Information

        Our Internet address is www.petco.com. We make available free of charge through our Internet web site our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Certain Cautionary Statements

        Some of the statements in this Annual Report, including, but not limited to, "Item 7—Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are therefore entitled to the protection of the safe harbor provisions of these laws. We generally identify forward-looking statements in this Annual Report using words like "believe," "intend," "target," "expect," "estimate," "may," "should," "plan," "project," "contemplate," "anticipate," "predict" or similar expressions. You can also identify forward-looking statements by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

If we are unable to profitably open and operate new stores, maintain the profitability of our existing stores and successfully complete our store remodel program, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.

        One of our strategies is to open new stores by focusing on both existing markets and by targeting new geographic markets. We have opened approximately 40 to 60 stores per year (offset by closings and relocations of existing stores) between fiscal 1998 and fiscal 2002. We plan to increase our net store count by 40 to 50 stores per year and plan to target one or two new geographic markets per year.

        There can be no assurance that we will be able to open stores at this rate. The rate of our expansion will depend on several factors, including general economic and business conditions affecting consumer confidence and spending, the availability of desirable locations, the negotiation of acceptable lease terms, the availability of qualified personnel and our ability to manage the operational aspects of our growth. The rate of our expansion will also depend on the availability of adequate capital, which in turn will depend in large part on cash flow generated by our business and the availability of equity and debt capital. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain equity or debt capital on acceptable terms or at all. Moreover, our senior credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes contain provisions that restrict the amount of debt we may incur in the future. If we are not successful in obtaining sufficient capital, we may be unable to open additional stores as planned, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

        Our continued growth also depends, to a significant degree, on our ability to increase sales in our new and existing stores. Our comparable store net sales increased by 6.4%, 8.6% and 8.0% for fiscal 2000, 2001 and 2002, respectively. As a result of new store openings in existing markets and because mature stores will represent an increasing proportion of our store base over time, our comparable store net sales increases in future periods may be lower than historical levels.

        There also can be no assurance that our existing stores will maintain their current levels of sales and profitability or that new stores will generate sales levels necessary to achieve store-level profitability, much less profitability comparable to that of existing stores. New stores that we open in our existing markets may draw customers from our existing stores and may have lower sales growth relative to stores opened in new markets. New stores also may face greater competition and have lower anticipated sales volumes relative to previously opened stores during their comparable years of operations. These factors, together with increased pre-opening expenses at our new stores, may reduce our average store contribution and operating margins. In addition, we are opening new stores in, and are remodeling some of our existing stores into, our millennium format, which incorporates our most recent merchandising strategies. There can be no assurance that our millennium format will be as or more profitable than our existing stores, and may be less profitable than historical levels for our other

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stores. If we are unable to profitably open and operate new stores and maintain the profitability of our existing stores, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed.

We may be unable to successfully execute our expansion strategy or manage and sustain our growth and, as a result, our business may be harmed.

        Our ability to open new stores depends on a number of factors, including:

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adequate capital resources for leasehold improvements, fixtures and inventory and pre-opening expenses;



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our ability to locate and obtain favorable store sites and negotiate acceptable lease terms;



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our ability to obtain and distribute adequate product supplies to our stores, including by expanding our distribution facilities;



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our ability to hire, train and retain skilled managers and personnel; and



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our ability to continue to upgrade our information and other operating systems to control the anticipated growth and expanded operations.

        Our senior credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes also contain covenants which may restrict or impair our growth plans. We currently expect to finance our store expansion plans from cash flow from operations, lease financing and capacity under our senior credit facility. To the extent that we are unable to obtain adequate financing for new store growth on acceptable terms, our ability to open new stores will be negatively impacted. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will be able to achieve our current plans for the opening of new stores. In addition, our failure to expand our distribution facilities or other internal systems or procedures in accordance with our growth plans, or difficulties we may incur in operating our distribution facilities, could adversely affect our ability to deliver merchandise to our stores in a timely fashion. As a result, our ability to support our planned new store growth may be harmed.

        In addition, we routinely evaluate our strategic alternatives with respect to each of our stores and our other operating assets and investments. In connection with this evaluation, we may elect to close stores or to sell or otherwise dispose of selected assets or investments. Excluding store relocations, we closed ten stores in fiscal 2000, six stores in fiscal 2001 and six stores in fiscal 2002. There can be no assurance that any future sale or disposition would be achieved on terms favorable to us because we incur closing costs or may lose sales to our competitors as a result.

Our substantial amount of debt may limit the cash flow available for our operations and place us at a competitive disadvantage.

        We have, and will continue to have, a substantial amount of debt. As of February 1, 2003, this debt consisted primarily of (1) $192.5 million of borrowings under our senior credit facility (with $62.2 million of additional available credit, subject to certain conditions) and (2) $170.0 million in principal amount of our senior subordinated notes. Our level of indebtedness has important consequences. For example, our level of indebtedness may:

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require us to use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to pay interest and principal on our debt, which would reduce the funds available to use for working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes;



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limit our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other investments, which may limit our ability to carry out our business strategy;



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result in higher interest expense if interest rates increase on our floating rate borrowings; or

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heighten our vulnerability to downturns in our business or in the general economy and restrict us from exploiting business opportunities or making acquisitions.

The agreements governing our debt impose restrictions on our business.

        The agreement governing our senior credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes contain a number of covenants imposing significant restrictions on our business. These restrictions may affect our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of potential business opportunities as they arise. These covenants place restrictions on our ability to, among other things:

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incur more debt;



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pay dividends, redeem or repurchase our stock or make other distributions;



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make acquisitions or investments;



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enter into transactions with affiliates;



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merge or consolidate with others;



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dispose of assets or use asset sale proceeds;



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create liens on our assets; and



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extend credit.

        If compliance with our debt obligations materially hinders our ability to operate our business and adapt to changing industry conditions, we may lose market share, our revenue may decline and our operating results may suffer.

Our failure to satisfy covenants in our debt instruments would cause a default under those instruments.

        In addition to imposing restrictions on our business and operations, our debt instruments include a number of covenants relating to financial ratios and tests. Our ability to comply with these covenants may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. The breach of any of these covenants would result in a default under these instruments. An event of default would permit our lenders to declare all amounts borrowed from them to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest. Moreover, the lenders under our senior credit facility would have the option to terminate any obligation to make further extensions of credit under our senior credit facility. If we are unable to repay debt to our senior lenders, these lenders could proceed directly against our assets.

The loss of any of our three key vendors, or of our exclusive distribution arrangements with our vendors, would negatively impact our business.

        We purchase significant amounts of products from three key vendors: The Iams Company, Hill's Pet Products, Inc. (which produces Science Diet) and Nutro, Inc. Supplies of products from these vendors accounted for approximately 9%, 10% and 8%, respectively, of our net sales in fiscal 2001 and 8%, 9% and 8%, respectively, in fiscal 2002. We do not maintain long-term supply contracts with any of our vendors. While we believe that our vendor relationships are satisfactory, any vendor could discontinue selling to us at any time. The loss of any of our three key vendors or any other significant vendors of premium pet food or pet supplies offered by us would have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

        In addition, a change in how our key products are distributed could have a material adverse effect on our business. It could materially adversely affect our business if any premium pet food

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manufacturers were to make premium pet food products widely available in supermarkets or through mass merchants, or if the premium brands currently available to supermarkets and mass merchants were to increase their market share at the expense of the premium brands sold only through specialty pet food and supplies retailers.

        Through the end of fiscal 1999, the premium pet food brands that we purchased from The Iams Company, Hill's Pet Products, Inc. and Nutro, Inc. were not widely available in supermarkets or mass merchants. One of our primary premium pet food vendors, The Iams Company, was purchased by Procter & Gamble in fiscal 1999. In March 2000, Procter & Gamble broadened the distribution of the Iams brand to supermarkets, warehouse clubs and mass merchants across the country. The Eukanuba brand of pet food, which is also manufactured by The Iams Company, continues to be sold exclusively through specialty channels such as PETCO. Sales of Iams brand pet food represented approximately 9% of our net sales in fiscal 1999, decreasing to approximately 6% of our net sales in fiscal 2000. The broadening of the distribution of Iams brand pet food negatively impacted our comparable store net sales during fiscal 2000, resulting in lower increases in comparable store net sales through the first quarter of 2001.

        Our principal vendors also currently provide us with certain incentives such as volume purchasing, trade discounts, cooperative advertising and market development funds. A reduction or discontinuance of these incentives would increase our costs and could reduce our profitability.

        We also purchase significant amounts of pet supplies from a number of vendors with limited supply capabilities. There can be no assurance that our current pet supply vendors will be able to accommodate our anticipated growth and expansion of our stores. We continually seek to expand our base of pet supply vendors and to identify new pet-related products. An inability of our existing vendors to provide products in a timely or cost-effective manner could impair our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Competition in the markets in which we operate is strong and if we are unable to compete effectively, our ability to generate sales may suffer and our operating income and net earnings would decline.

        The pet food and supplies retailing industry is highly competitive. We compete with a number of specialty pet store chains and traditional pet stores. We also compete with supermarkets, warehouse clubs and mass merchants. Many of these competitors are larger and have access to greater capital and management resources than we do.

        There can be no assurance that in the future we will not face greater competition from national, regional and local retailers. In particular, if any of our major competitors seeks to gain or retain market share by reducing prices or by introducing additional products, we may be required to reduce prices on our key products in order to remain competitive, which may negatively impact our profitability.

A prolonged economic downturn could result in reduced sales and lower revenues and profitability.

        Purchases of pet-related supplies may be affected by prolonged, negative trends in the general economy that adversely affect consumer spending. Any reduction in consumer confidence or disposable income in general may affect companies in pet-related and other retail industries more significantly than companies in industries that rely less on discretionary consumer spending. In addition, due to our substantial amount of debt we are more susceptible to some of these adverse economic effects than are some of our competitors which have greater financial and other resources than we do.

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Our operating results could be harmed if we are unable to integrate acquired companies into our operations.

        The pet food and supplies retailing industry is highly fragmented. We may pursue expansion and acquisition opportunities in the future, and we must efficiently integrate and combine operations of acquired companies to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions. To be successful, the integration process requires us to achieve the benefits of combining the companies, including generating operating efficiencies and synergies and eliminating or reducing redundant costs. Since we often have limited prior knowledge of acquired companies, there can be no assurance that the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions will be fully realized without incurring unanticipated costs or diverting management's attention from our core operations. Our operating results could be harmed if we are unable to efficiently integrate newly acquired companies into our operations. Any future acquisitions also could result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities, or the incurrence of additional debt or the assumption of contingent liabilities.

We have made investments in the past and may make investments in the future without being able to achieve an adequate return, if any, on our investment.

        In the past we have made, and in the future we may make, investments in strategic ventures or other complementary businesses in an effort to expand internationally or to otherwise grow our business. These investments typically involve many of the same risks posed by acquisitions, particularly those risks associated with the diversion of our resources, the inability of the new venture to generate sufficient revenues, the management of relationships with third parties and potential expenses. Strategic ventures have the added risk that the other strategic venture partners may have economic, business or legal interests or objectives that are inconsistent with our interests and objectives. Although we have no present plans to make any such investment, there can be no assurance that any investment we make in the future would achieve an adequate return, if any.

        In the past we have terminated, and in the future we may terminate, our relationship in a strategic venture after we have made substantial investments in that strategic venture. For example, our investment in Petopia.com, an e-commerce destination for the sale of pet food and supplies, failed to achieve the desired results, and in fiscal 2000 we took a charge of approximately $10.2 million due to Petopia.com's pending liquidation and wrote off $1.3 million in receivables due from Petopia.com. In addition, in January 2002 we terminated our relationship with Canadian Petcetera Limited Partnership, which operated 32 Petcetera retail pet food and supplies stores in Canada, because the stores operated by the Canadian partnership were not producing the results we had anticipated. At the time of the termination of our relationship, we also entered into a settlement agreement with the other partners of the partnership to resolve allegations made by the other partners that we had reneged on an alleged agreement to buy out their interests in the Canadian partnership. We recorded a write-off of approximately $26.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, which represented the carrying value of our Canadian investment and related assets, and settlement expenses of approximately $10.3 million related to the settlement of the related dispute.

If we are required to restructure our operations to comply with regulations governing our business, it could have a material effect on our business and operations.

        The transportation and sale of small animals is governed by various state and local regulations. These laws vary from state to state and are enforced by the courts and by regulatory authorities with broad discretion. While we seek to structure our operations to comply with the laws and regulations of each state in which we operate, there can be no assurance that, given varying and uncertain interpretations of these laws, we would be found to be in compliance in all states. A determination that we are in violation of applicable laws in any state in which we operate could require us to restructure our operations to comply with the requirements of that state, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

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Negative publicity arising from claims that we do not properly care for animals we sell could adversely affect how we are perceived by the public and reduce our revenues and profitability.

        From time to time, we are subject to claims or complaints that we do not care properly for some of the animals we sell. For example, allegations were made in a complaint filed in June 2002 in the San Francisco Superior Court by the San Francisco City Attorney's office to the effect that certain associates have not properly cared for companion animals for sale in our two San Francisco stores. The complaint seeks damages, penalties and an injunction against the sale of companion animals in our San Francisco stores. The complaint and related news reports have caused negative publicity. We take seriously any allegations regarding the proper care of companion animals and have taken steps to reiterate to all our associates the importance of proper care for all companion animals in all our stores. We are responding to the complaint and are defending it vigorously. The complaint and any similar allegations or actions which could be filed in the future could cause negative publicity which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Some of our compensation practices have been challenged in a complaint that, if successful, could harm our financial condition and results of operations.

        In July 2001, we received a copy of a complaint filed in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles alleging violations of the California Labor Code and the Business and Professions Code. The purported class of plaintiffs allege that we improperly classified our salaried store managers and assistant store managers as exempt employees not entitled to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours per week. The relief sought includes compensatory damages, penalties, preliminary and permanent injunctions requiring us to pay overtime compensation under California law, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees and such other relief as the court deems proper. In November 2001, the case was transferred to the Superior Court of California for the County of San Diego. In December 2002, we announced our intention to settle all claims related to this lawsuit. While we continue to deny the allegations underlying the lawsuit, we have tentatively agreed to the settlement to avoid possible disruption to our business from protracted litigation. In fiscal 2002, we expensed $2.1 million, after tax, for the settlement, which received preliminary court approval but remains subject to final court approval. If the settlement is not approved, and the plaintiffs are successful, this litigation could further harm our financial condition, and any required change in our labor practices could have a negative impact on our results of operations. See "Item 3—Legal Proceedings."

We depend on key personnel, and if we lose the services of any of our principal executive officers, including Mr. Devine, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, we may not be able to run our business effectively.

        We are dependent upon the efforts of our principal executive officers. In particular, we are dependent upon the management and leadership of Brian K. Devine, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. The loss of Mr. Devine or certain of our other principal executive officers could affect our ability to run our business effectively.

        Our success will depend on our ability to retain our current management and to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future. Competition for senior management personnel is intense and there can be no assurance that we can retain our personnel. The loss of a member of senior management requires the remaining executive officers to divert immediate and substantial attention to seeking a replacement. The inability to fill vacancies in our senior executive positions on a timely basis could adversely affect our ability to implement our business strategy, which would negatively impact our results of operations.

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Terrorism and the uncertainty of war may have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

        Terrorist attacks, such as the attacks that occurred in New York and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, and other acts of violence or war may affect the operations of the United States securities markets, the markets in which we operate and our operations and profitability. Further terrorist attacks against the United States or U.S. businesses may occur. The potential near-term and long-term effect these attacks may have for our customers, the markets for our services and the U.S. economy are uncertain. The consequences of any terrorist attacks, or any armed conflicts which may result, are unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee events that could have an adverse effect on our business.

Concentration of ownership among our existing executive officers, directors and principal stockholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.

        As of March 19, 2003, our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders owned, in the aggregate, approximately 63% of our outstanding common stock. As a result, these stockholders will be able to exercise control over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors, amendment of our certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions, and will have significant control over our management and policies. The directors elected by these stockholders will be able to make decisions affecting our capital structure, including decisions to issue additional capital stock, implement stock repurchase programs and incur indebtedness. Prior to consummation of our initial public offering, Green Equity Investors III, L.P. and TPG Partners III, L.P. and its affiliates entered into an agreement, pursuant to which they agreed to vote for two nominees of Green Equity Investors III, L.P. and two nominees of TPG Partners III, L.P. and its affiliates. This control may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers, delaying or preventing changes in control or changes in management, or limiting the ability of our other stockholders to approve transactions that they may deem to be in their best interests.

Future sales of shares of our common stock in the public market may depress our stock price.

        If our existing stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market or if there is a perception that these sales may occur, the market price of our common stock could decline. As of March 19, 2003, we had outstanding 57,373,067 shares of common stock. Of these shares, the 16,675,000 shares of common stock sold in our initial public offering and the shares sold to date by our stockholders pursuant to Rules 144, 144(k) or 701 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, are freely tradable in the public market, without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, unless the shares are held by "affiliates" of ours, as such term is defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act.

        We also have 3,150,601 shares of common stock reserved for issuance under our stock option and incentive plans, of which 2,320,736 shares were subject to outstanding options as of March 19, 2003. In March 2002, we filed a registration statement on Form S-8 to register all of the shares of common stock which could be purchased upon the exercise of stock options outstanding on that date and all other shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our stock option and incentive plans. Accordingly, shares issued upon exercise of such options are freely tradable by holders who are not our affiliates and, subject to the volume and other limitations of Rule 144, by holders who are affiliates. All remaining shares held by our existing stockholders were issued and sold by us in private transactions, or are shares retained by senior management in connection with our recapitalization transaction in October 2000, and are eligible for public sale if registered under the Securities Act or sold in accordance with Rules 144, 144(k) or 701 thereunder.

        In addition, we intend to convert our existing registration statement on Form S-1, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 14, 2003, into a shelf registration statement

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on Form S-3 to register the sale by us of up to $55 million in aggregate amount of our common stock and the sale by some of our principal stockholders of up to 11,500,000 shares of our common stock. These shares will be available for sale into the public market from time to time following the effectiveness of the shelf registration statement, which we expect to occur in the first quarter of fiscal 2003.

The price of our common stock may be volatile.

        Since our initial public offering in February 2002, the price at which our common stock has traded has been subject to significant fluctuation. The market price for our common stock in the future may continue to be volatile. In addition, the stock market has recently experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that in many instances have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of specific companies. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a particular company's securities, securities class-action litigation has often been brought against that company. If similar litigation were instituted against us, it could result in substantial costs and divert management's attention and resources from our core business.

Our stock price may be adversely affected because our results of operations may fluctuate from quarter to quarter.

        The timing of new store openings, related pre-opening expenses and the amount of revenue contributed by new and existing stores may cause our quarterly results of operations to fluctuate. Our business is also subject to seasonal fluctuation. Historically, we have realized a higher portion of our net sales during the month of December than during the other months of the year. If our quarterly revenue and operating results fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors, the market price of our common stock could fall substantially.

        Operating results also may vary depending on a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, including:

•

changes in our pricing policies or those of our competitors;



•

the hiring and retention of key personnel;



•

wage and cost pressures;



•

changes in fuel prices or electrical rates;



•

costs related to acquisitions of businesses; and



•

seasonal and general economic factors.

Takeover defense provisions may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

        Various provisions of the Delaware general corporation law, or the DGCL, and of our corporate governance documents may inhibit changes in control not approved by our board of directors and may have the effect of depriving our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium over the prevailing market price of our common stock in the event of an attempted hostile takeover. In addition, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. These provisions include:

•

a classified board of directors;



•

a prohibition on stockholder action through written consents;



•

a requirement that special meetings of stockholders be called only by our board of directors, our chairman or our president;

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•

advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations; and



•

availability of "blank check" preferred stock.

        You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect management's view only as of the date of this Annual Report. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this Annual Report, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES

        We lease all of our store and warehouse locations. The original lease terms for our stores generally range from five to 20 years, with many of these leases containing renewal options. Leases on 169 stores expire within the next three years. Of these leases, 131 contain renewal options.

        Our headquarters, located in San Diego, California, consists of two facilities. We own an approximately 70,000 square foot facility and we lease an approximately 43,000 square foot facility. The owned San Diego facility is financed under an obligation, which expires in February 2006. We also lease three central and five regional distribution centers. Our three central distribution centers collectively occupy approximately 900,000 square feet of space in Monroe, New Jersey; Joliet, Illinois; and Mira Loma, California under leases which expire in May 2018, April 2005 and September 2005, respectively. Our five regional distribution centers collectively occupy approximately 240,000 square feet of space in Stockton, California; Portland, Oregon; New Hope, Minnesota; Mansfield, Massachusetts; and Garland, Texas under leases which expire in April 2004, February 2007, September 2007, December 2003 and August 2004, respectively. Except with respect to the lease for our Portland, Oregon facility, all of our distribution center leases contain a renewal option.

        We design our stores to offer a fun, vibrant and enjoyable shopping experience for our customers and their pets. A typical PETCO store is moderately sized at 12,000 to 15,000 square feet, with low

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ceilings, attractive signage and bright lighting, resulting in a distinctive retail setting. Below is a table listing, for our 600 stores at February 1, 2003, the number of stores by state:

Number of PETCO Stores
as of February 1, 2003

ITEM 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

        In July 2001, we received a copy of a complaint filed in the Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles alleging violations of the California Labor Code and the Business and Professions Code. The purported class of plaintiffs allege that we improperly classified our salaried store managers and assistant store managers as exempt employees not entitled to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours per week. The relief sought includes compensatory damages, penalties, preliminary and permanent injunctions requiring us to pay overtime compensation under California law, prejudgment interest, costs and attorneys' fees and such other relief as the court deems proper. In November 2001, the case was transferred to the Superior Court of California for the County of San Diego. In December 2002, we announced our intention to settle all claims related to this lawsuit. While we continue to deny the allegations underlying the lawsuit, we have tentatively agreed to the settlement to avoid possible disruption to our business from protracted litigation. In fiscal 2002, we expensed $2.1 million, after tax, for the settlement, which received preliminary court approval on March 7, 2003 but remains subject to final court approval, the hearing for which is anticipated in July 2003.

        In June 2002, allegations were made in a complaint filed in the San Francisco Superior Court by the San Francisco City Attorney's office to the effect that certain associates have not properly cared for companion animals for sale in our two San Francisco stores. The complaint, which has been subsequently transferred to the Santa Clara Superior Court, seeks damages, penalties and an injunction against the sale of companion animals in our San Francisco stores. The complaint and related news

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reports have caused negative publicity. We take seriously any allegations regarding the proper care of companion animals and have taken steps to reiterate to all our associates the importance of proper care for all companion animals in all our stores. We are responding to the complaint and are defending it vigorously. The complaint and any similar actions, which could be filed in the future, could cause negative publicity, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

        From time to time we are involved in routine litigation and proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. We are not currently involved in any other pending litigation matters that we believe would have a material adverse effect on us.

ITEM 4.    SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

        No matters were submitted to a vote of our stockholders during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Market Information

        Our common stock has been listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market's National Market under the symbol "PETC" since it was initially offered to the public on February 22, 2002. Prior to that time, there had not been a market for our common stock. The following table shows the high and low per share sale prices of our common stock, as reported on the Nasdaq National Market for the periods indicated:

        On March 19, 2003, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq National Market was $20.08. As of March 19, 2003, there were approximately 100 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividend Policy

        We have not paid cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain all future earnings, if any, for use in the operation of our business and we do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, our senior credit facility and the indenture governing our senior subordinated notes place limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make other distributions in respect of our common stock. Any future determination as to the payment of dividends on our common stock will be restricted by these limitations, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by the board of directors, including the DGCL, which provides that dividends are only payable out of surplus or current net profits.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

        The following selected historical consolidated financial data as of, and for the fiscal years ended January 30, 1999, January 29, 2000, February 3, 2001, February 2, 2002 and February 1, 2003, presented below under the captions "Statement of Operations Data" and "Balance Sheet Data," have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements as of those dates and for those periods. The selected historical consolidated financial data and notes should be read in conjunction with

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"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our consolidated financial statements.