PetO is aiming to add eight new stores to Queensland network over the next three to five years

Australia’s largest independently-owned pet store chain is aiming to grow its annual revenue to $250m over the next three years and double its footprint in Queensland.

PetO co-founders and brothers Nick Greenhalgh and David Rowe are expanding the company in Queensland and announced the end of the sale of live animals in all their stores. Instead they have opted to work with animal rescue shelters to adopt out rescue animals.

Australia’s largest independently-owned pet store chain is aiming to double its Queensland network over the next three to five years on its way to taking a larger slice of the $10bn pet industry.

Family-owned PetO, which was started in 2006 by brothers Nick Greenhalgh and David Rowe in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, dramatically changed its business trajectory last July after buying Woolworth’s PETStock brands’ 41 stores and 25 vet clinics across Australia.

Mr Greenhalgh said after settling down the acquisition they want to start increasing their store numbers in Queensland from eight former PETStock stores to 16 sites in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville and FNQ.

“We see Queensland as an expansion state,” he said.

“We’re looking for warehouse sites to house our retail operations, a vet clinic and grooming salon.

“Queensland has a growing population with above-average pet ownership (54 per cent) compared to the rest of the country. We have also identified there is asurplus of optimal large-format retail sites with level carparking and easy access.”

PetO co-founders Nick Greenhalgh and David Rowe.

The PETStock purchase stemmed from Woolworths’ buying a controlling stake in the company in 2022.

That sparked a court-enforced divestiture notice delivered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to Woolworths to sell PETstock.

The purchase increased PetO’s footprint to 58 stores across the country all of which now has their ‘no live animal in the store’ policy.

Mr Greenhalgh said the policy was developed with his brother over many family BBQs and dinners.

“We talked about the pet industry and how we can do it better.” he said.

“We had a very simple offering from the get go and we never wanted to sell live animals, we don’t even sell like crickets.

“The notion of bringing in live animals sometimes long distances into the store and putting a price on them doesn’t feel right.”

Despite the purchase of PETStock, there has been no private equity investment in the company which remains a family business owned by Mr Greenhalgh and his brother.

In the 2025 financial year PetO notched up about $150m in revenue and Mr Greenhalgh said they were aiming to record $250m by the end of FY28.

PetO is on a mission to re-home rescue pets.

He said pet ownership had increased during the covid pandemic and there was room to grow.

But they will be keeping the same model and would continue to support its new cat and dog adoption initiative.

“We had a big push for a whole range of adoptions from local rescue groups and that's been very successful,” Mr Greenhalgh said.

“We had about 600 cats and dogs adopted from inviting animal rescue groups into our stores so they can talk to potential pet owners about the pros and cons of pets and their circumstances and what type of pet would suit them.”