Largest player in the highly fragmented and competitive pet supply retail industry; Strong product differentiation, through private labels and service offerings; Good stability in profits resulting from the high level of nondiscretionary purchases and attractive product offerings; and Increasing e-commerce competition can hurt performance trends. Highly leveraged capital structure following leveraged buyout in 2015; Rating upside may be limited because of control by a private equity sponsor; and Moderate cash flow generation. The stable rating outlook on PetSmart Inc. reflects our expectation of favorable trends in the industry and growth in its omnichannel initiatives, which we expect to lead to modest growth over the next one to two years. During this time, we expect the company to improve its financial
