Petopia Lays Off 120
Online pet product retailer Petopia.com has failed to secure financing, and last month laid off 120 employees, or 60% of its work force. Reductions were made in the marketing, merchandising, order fulfillment, warehousing, human resources, finance and online divisions, and the company’s business development and corporate communications divisions have been shut down, according to news reports. The San Francisco firm had explored several financing options, including merging with offline pet supply retailers and an initial public offering, which it attempted in March but withdrew due to adverse market conditions. The 80 remaining employees continue to take new orders and fulfill existing ones. Petopia.com was founded in 1999 with backing from Petco Animal Supplies, an offline pet product supplier.
