What happened to Pets.com?
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What Happened: What happened to Pets.com?
It shut down within a year of its IPO. Despite a famous sock-puppet mascot, it liquidated in 2000. Source: Wikipedia – Pets.com
Why: Why?
Shipping heavy, cheap pet food lost money on orders. Unit economics were negative. Source: Wikipedia – Pets.com
The Lesson: The lesson?
Marketing can't fix bad unit economics. Chewy later succeeded with subscriptions and scale. Source: Wikipedia – Pets.com