Getty Images The sock-puppet mascot of now-defunct Pets.com
Mr. Zhardanovsky in 2010 co-founded PetFlow.com Inc., a Manhattan start-up that has raised $10 million in venture capital and that now ships one million pounds of pet food a month.
“We want to prove that the pet category can be successful online,” said the 34-year-old entrepreneur, who said he expected his company to break even by the second quarter and have sales of $30 million this year, up from $13 million in 2011.
PetFlow is part of a new litter of Web-only pet-supply stores that have emerged in recent years, with some such as MrChewy.com and Wag.com sprouting just in the past few months. Backed by top venture-capital firms as well as by tech heavyweights including Amazon.com Inc., the start-ups illustrate how the economics of selling heavy bags of pet food over the Internet have evolved since the Web’s early days.
Traditional retailers such as PetSmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are also heading to the Web. Wal-Mart started selling animal food online in fall 2010 so that it could expand its selection. “Online, we have an expanded assortment of pet products that complement the pet supplies in your local Wal-Mart store,” said spokesman Ravi Jariwala. More
