PetSmart Brand Guidelines: ‘PetFood Warehouse’, the Adoption Model & the Chewy Deal

PetSmart built a superstore around adoption.

PetSmart is a lesson in a values choice that became a brand pillar. It was founded in 1986 in Phoenix, Arizona by Jim and Janice Dougherty — but not as “PetSmart.” It opened its first warehouse stores in 1987 under the name “PetFood Warehouse” (bulk discount pet food) and was renamed PETsMART in 1989. It grew into the big-box pet superstore — food, supplies, grooming, training, and in-store veterinary care via Banfield Pet Hospital. (An honest note: the “1986 Phoenix” origin is right, but the original name was PetFood Warehouse, not PetSmart.) (Honest caveats: no official brand hex or wordmark typeface is published, so the colours and type here are approximate.)

The defining brand pillar is adoption. In 1994, the founders committed to not selling cats and dogs, instead hosting shelter and rescue animals in-store for adoption. Through PetSmart Charities, that model has facilitated more than 11 million pet adoptions and hundreds of millions in grants — a genuine, verifiable differentiator (you cannot buy a puppy or kitten at PetSmart; you can adopt one). That decision turned a retail choice into a cause, and gave the brand real emotional meaning beyond selling supplies.

Ownership has a notable arc. PetSmart was taken private in 2015 by a consortium led by BC Partners for about $8.7 billion. Then, in a landmark move, PetSmart acquired Chewy in 2017 for about $3.35 billion — the largest e-commerce acquisition at the time (Chewy later IPO’d in 2019 and was split off; PetSmart remains privately held under BC Partners). The identity comes from a 2005 rebrand that shifted the stress from “MART” to “Smart”: the wordmark splits “Pet” in red and “Smart” in blue. A pet superstore built on a genuinely good idea.

PetSmart lives in red and blue. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

PetSmart’s palette pairs a warm red (“Pet”) with a trustworthy blue (“Smart”), plus lighter blues and white. The red reads as friendly, energetic and caring, the blue as dependable and knowledgeable — together capturing the brand’s dual promise of loving pet care and smart, expert help. The split-colour wordmark makes the “Pet + Smart” idea visual, and the overall scheme feels approachable, family-friendly and reassuring, exactly right for a store people trust with their pets. The honest caveat: PetSmart publishes no official public brand hex — the red and blue here are observed approximations (third-party captures cite a red near #E51837 and a blue near #0064B1; note PetSmart Charities publishes its own separate values), not a confirmed spec.

The lesson is colour that carries the name. PetSmart’s red-and-blue split literally spells out “Pet” + “Smart.” For designers, it’s a reminder that a two-colour wordmark can encode a brand’s dual promise. The takeaways: use colour to reinforce the brand idea (red “Pet,” blue “Smart”); balance warmth and trust (red plus blue); and treat specific hexes as approximate when no official spec is published.

The wordmark is a rounded sans — friendly and caring.

PetSmart’s rounded sans wordmark — “Pet” in red and “Smart” in blue — is friendly and caring. The soft, rounded letters feel approachable and warm, matching a pet brand built on love and helpfulness, and the two-colour treatment cleverly makes the “Pet + Smart” idea legible at a glance. It reads as welcoming and trustworthy rather than clinical or corporate, exactly the reassuring, we-love-pets-too personality the brand wants. Since the 2005 rebrand emphasised “Smart,” the mark has felt more human and modern. (Because the exact face is custom and undocumented, the honest description is “a rounded sans,” not a named font.) The type behaves like the brand: friendly, caring and approachable.

PetSmart made a values choice central.

PetSmart is a lesson in turning a values choice into a brand pillar. The decision not to sell cats and dogs — and to host shelter animals for adoption instead — could have been a quiet policy; instead, through PetSmart Charities and millions of adoptions, it became a defining part of what the brand stands for. That gives a big-box retailer genuine emotional meaning and community goodwill that pure supply-selling never could. Combined with a friendly red-and-blue identity that literally spells out “Pet Smart,” it’s a brand that pairs commerce with a real cause. Values, made central and visible, build a deeper brand.

For designers and brand-builders, PetSmart offers a clear takeaway: a genuine values choice, made central, can give a retail brand real meaning. The lessons: elevate a real values decision into a brand pillar (adoption, not selling pets); express the brand idea through design (the red “Pet,” blue “Smart”); and back the cause with a credible vehicle (PetSmart Charities). It’s also a reminder to keep the facts precise — PetSmart was founded in 1986 in Phoenix as “PetFood Warehouse” (renamed PETsMART in 1989), does not sell cats or dogs but adopts them out via PetSmart Charities (11M+ adoptions), was taken private by BC Partners in 2015, and acquired Chewy in 2017. PetSmart made adoption a brand pillar — proof that a values choice can give a retailer real meaning.

Keep PetSmart’s identity on hand — save it to a board in the Made Good inspiration library.