Gentle growth

Pet Smart has announced that it now expects comparable store sales growth of between 0.0 per cent and 1 per cent for the fourth quarter of its 2007 fiscal year. “We experienced relatively weak sales during the later half of November and the majority of December in what we believe was a challenging consumer environment,” said Philip L. Francis, chairman and CEO. “We are encouraged by slight improvements during the last week of December and first part of January; however, it is unlikely those improvements are significant enough for us to achieve our previously announced EPS estimates.” The company will announce its fourth quarter and 2007 earnings on March 5.