Daily News from New York, New York • 32

i i QUOTE OF THE DAY We want to have a beautiful, fun store with lots of activities to lure BRIAN DEV1NE, Petco CEO, on plans for Union Square torn, tho first off thro duo to open in Manhattan newgO li bs'! i Mi ODflDpy mm mm wt-ww nn QEHunnr LARRY ZUMWALT DAILY NEWS THE FORMER Herman's store on 860 Broadway at Union Square has a new leash on life with opening of Petco Animal Supplies' first Manhattan superstore in October. plans to open two other sites in Manhattan and 13 stores on the East Coast by year's end, he said. The publicly traded Petco combines warehouse store prices with the service of a neighborhood shop. Its approach is to sell goods at 10 to 30 below independently owned shops. Petco is trying to cash in on the fact that Americans are spending more than ever on the care and feeding of their pets.

Spending on pets is rising as much as 15 a year, while the number of cats and dogs in U.S. homes is rising only about 4 annually, studies show. New York is prime territory for Petco because company research shows that there are 1.4 million cat owners and another 1.5 million who have dogs in the city, Devine said. Even so, Petco will face intense com- By SONIA Rf YES lwv tow tuwn New York will et its first pet supply superstore later this year when a national chain opens in Manhattan as part ofa major East Coast expansion. Petco Animal Supplies which runs 2H9 retail pt stores including more than 1 10 superstores plans to open a massive outlet at Union Square In October.

The site was formerly occupied by Herman's Sporting Goods. Petco paid fcMXJ.lxx) to acquire the store lease in an auction last week. "It Is a tremendous opportunity, an excellent site," said Brian Devine, Metro's chief executive. "We want to have a beautiful, fun store with lots of activities to lure customers." The San Diego-bused company also petition here from supermarkets and smaller stores, which have an extremely loyal following among pet owners, experts said. It's also unclear whether the superstore concept will work in Manhattan since Petco plans to sell bulk products in a town where patrons' storage space is limited.

Ironically, Petco, which had sales last year of $270 million, started out as a mom-and-pop pet supply store in La Mesa, Calif. The owner, Walter Evans, acquired a few more stores, which he later sold to one of his key executives. The chain quickly expanded and, by 1988 boasted 39 stores in California. It drew the attention of several venture capitalists seeking to establish the first national pet supply chain. The investors acquired two more tiny chains, which hiked the number of stores to 130 by late 1988.

Since 1989, the company has opened 20 to 50 stores every year. In 1994, it sold stock to the public. Since then, it has been a high flier on the stock market, jumping 82 in value in the last year to $27 per share. Wall Street analysts say the company has a good shot at making it in New-York and the region given its discount prices and keen customer service. "Because it's so large, it gets bigger purchasing discounts it passes on to consumers," said Joan Bogucki, an an--alyst with Needham Co.

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fMKufar Anne WMh WASHINGTON After 15 years on the Supreme Court, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is often described as the most powerful judge in America a centrist whose vote can make a difference on closely divided cases at America's highest court. O'Connor's clout is good news for corporate America: In the high court term that ended Monday, O'Connor also was the most reliable vote for business concerns. "It's good to have her on our side," said Stephen Bo- a 1 ages and savings and loan damage claims against the federal government O'Connor racked up a 12-0 mark in support of positions backed by com-panies and trade groups. She was on the winning side in 75 of those cases. Just as significant as O'Connor's support for business, Bokat said, is the emergence of the court's newest member, Justice Ste-phen Breyer, as a steadfast ally of business.

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Ask For FxlPfwion 71 0 24 HOUR DCLIVTRY TO YOUR HOME OR OfflCE i 1 NYNEX 31 WE NOW SHIP CO.D. 48 HOURS kat, general counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. O'Connor and the other high court justices handed business a series of big victories during the nine-month 1995-96 term. Her influence as a swing vote is most often seen on divisive social issues that split the high court, while the justices generally show more unanimity on business issues.

During the current term, business prevailed on issues ranging from bank fees and corporate free speech to early retirement plans. Moreover, In a dozen key non-unanimous decisions where business groups had arooting' interest' 'including'- of the 12 split decisions. "Breyer has a better and more realistic understanding of how business works than almost any of them," Bokat said. "He's also particularly active and vocal on the bench, and more ofa leader than junior justices tend to be." Justice David Souter had a 9-3 record of voting with business on the business cases that divided the court, followed at 8-4 by Justice Anthony Kennedy a key centrist who, with O'Connor, often provides the deciding margin in close calls on social policy cases before the Supreme Bloomberg Business News Authorized Agent 0S3D 'M. NT nmmMr npBtnrtiiM'ifciWMMvMU tJBywirrlrt juj ftoiunt aeon.