PETC Petco Animal Supplies

Office Depot and PETCO Animal Supplies Announce Deal for 20 Stores PETCO to Acquire Kids 'R' Us Properties From Office Depot DELRAY BEACH, Fla. and SAN DIEGO, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Office Depot, Inc. , one of the world's leading sellersof office products, and PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. , a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services, today announced that they have reached an agreement under which PETCO will acquire 20 former Kids "R" Us stores from Office Depot for approximately $45 million in cash plus the assumption of lease obligations on leased properties. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO) The 20 stores -- concentrated in Florida and Ohio, with other locations in Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina and New York -- are part of the 124 Kids "R" Us properties that Office Depot agreed to purchase on March 3. At that time, Office Depot announced its commitment to convert 50-60 Kids "R" Us stores to Office Depot locations as well as its intention to sell the remaining properties. "Our purchase of the Kids 'R' Us stores has generated considerable interest from developers and retailers in a very short time," noted Bruce Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot. "Weare pleased to sell these locations to PETCO, an industry leader and innovative retailer. By arranging this transaction so quickly, we are able to focus on the realignment of our North American retail portfolio, specifically, converting and opening new stores in existing core markets and markets where we need to increase our retail penetration." "We know these stores well and this acquisition provides PETCO with a unique opportunity to bolster our presence in South Florida and Ohio, markets where we are underrepresented, where approximately one-half of the stores are located," said Brian Devine, Chairman of PETCO. James Myers, CEO of PETCO, commented "In addition to enabling us to further penetrate key markets in an efficient manner, the acquisition of the stores will be funded without incurring significant capital outlay, through a sale-leaseback transaction providing traditional store operating lease financing for PETCO." About Office Depot With annual sales of more than $12 billion, no one sells more office supplies to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, FL, the company conducts business in 23 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide. Office Depot is a leader in every distribution channel -- from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The company is the world's number two online retailer -- generating $2.6B in sales for FY'03. In North America, Office Depot has 900 retail storesin addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 22 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index. Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this pressrelease are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements, including without limitation all of the projections, assumptions as to future conditions, expectations for the future and anticipated levels of future performance, involve risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed herein. These risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time by Office Depot in its filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including without limitation its most recent filing on Form 10-K, filed on February 26, 2004 and subsequent 10-Q and 8-K filings. You are strongly urged to review all such filings for a more detailed discussion of such risks and uncertainties. The Company's SEC filings are readily obtainable at no charge at http://www.sec.gov/ and at http://www.freeedgar.com/, as well as on a number of other commercial web sites.We will be filing our Annual Report for 2003 and our Proxy Statement later this month, and we will hold our Annual Meeting on May 14, 2004. About PETCO Animal Supplies PETCO is a leading specialty retailer of premium pet food, supplies and services. PETCO's vision is to best promote, through its people, the highest level of well-being for companion animals, and to support the human-animal bond. PETCO generated net sales of $1.65 billion in fiscal 2003. It operates 654 stores in 43 states and the District of Columbia, as well as a leading destination for on-line pet food and supplies at http://www.petco.com/. Since its inception in 1999, The PETCO Foundation, PETCO's non-profit organization, has raised more than $15 million in support of morethan 1,900 non-profit grassroots animal welfare organizations around the nation. Certain statements in this news release that are not historical fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Stockholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results of PETCO to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors, such as performance of new stores, ability to execute expansion strategy and sustain growth, debt levels, reliance on vendors and exclusive distribution arrangements, competition, integration of operations as a result of acquisitions, compliance with various state and local regulations and dependence on senior management, are discussed from timeto time in the reports filed by PETCO with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2003. For more information, please contact Brian Levine, Director, Public Relations of Office Depot, +1-561-438-2895, ; or Don Cowan, Director, Public Relations of PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., +1-858-657-2086, . http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030603/PETCOLOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. CONTACT: Brian Levine, Director, Public Relations of Office Depot, +1-561-438-2895, ; or Don Cowan, Director, Public Relations of PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc., +1-858-657-2086, Web site: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com/ Web site: http://www.petco.com/

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