Highlights and lowlights at Chewy

“Our mission is to be the most trusted and convenient destination for pet parents and partners, everywhere” – these are the words with which the American online retailer Chewy greets visitors to the online shop. It ­values the fact that it can offer 110 000 products with one- to two-day dispatch, around the clock.

The financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2023, ending on 29 October, were published last December. These showed that sales of 2.74 bn dollars had risen by 8.2 per cent compared with the previous year, although the adjusted net income increased by 14.6 mio dollars over the previous year. “Chewy continues to gain market share, with third-quarter net sales increasing eight per cent against industry growth in the low single digits,” commented Chewy CEO Sumit Singh in relation to the report. At around the same time, Singh announced the appointment of David Reeder as chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from 14 February. Reeder is joining Chewy from Global Foundries, a leading manufacturer of semiconductors, where he had been CFO since 2020 and had overseen the company’s financial strategy, including its stock market entry in 2021.

It became known back in November, however, that Chewy would have to let over 200 employees go. Sector insiders report that the layoffs were the result of customers reacting to rising prices by buying fewer treats and switching from moist to dry food. “This behaviour is being driven by a more unsteady macroeconomic environment, including high inflation, which has been passed on to the sector in the last 18 months,” said Singh during a teleconference with investors on 31 August to discuss the results of the second quarter. He stressed, however, that the trend for Chewy was not a matter of concern and no reason to sound the alarm bells.