P's first

What P's first does

P's first (Pets-first CO., LTD., ペッツファースト) is a vertically integrated Japanese pet care company headquartered in Tokyo, founded in April 2006. The company specializes in the sale of puppies and kittens through a national chain of more than 100 physical retail stores, supplemented by an e-commerce storefront built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Around the core pet sale, it operates an in-house veterinary hospital chain (including the Daikanyama Advanced Medical Center), a grooming salon network (Pets First Trimming, MissBIBI), and the Pet Care & Adoption Center Nikko — a senior pet sanctuary, adoption intermediary, and pet hotel facility — plus online merchandise, an original credit card, and a pet insurance joint venture with Grace Small-Amount Short-Term Insurance established in February 2025. Its proprietary technology layer centers on PF Lab for genetic disease screening (GM1 gangliosidosis in Mameshiba, PRA:CORD1 in Dachshunds), an industry-first universal microchip program launched in April 2006 that has covered more than 200,000 delivered pets, and a Monthly Pet Report tracking system that follows each animal from breeder to adoption.

The company sells approximately 20,000+ puppies and kittens annually from a curated breeder base, with revenue generated across pet sales (one-time), veterinary and grooming services plus an exclusive post-purchase "Hot Support" subscription program (recurring), insurance distribution through the Grace JV (services), and adoption intermediary and rescue activity (services/cost absorption). Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer through owned retail, complemented by a national partner network of veterinary hospitals, salons, hotels, and dog cafes offering exclusive benefits. Marketing is heavy on educational content (breed encyclopedias, care guides), organic social, and LINE-based pre-sale consultation. The company has executed three acquisitions in the last 24 months — Life Partner Ikeda pet shops (Aug 2023), Kintaro pet furniture (Mar 2024), and Express Proud children's photo studio (Mar 2024) — and was acquired as a wholly-owned subsidiary by Arclands Co., Ltd. (アークランズ株式会社) in June 2025, ending its status as an independent private company.

The founder and CEO is Masamune Shinma, with the company reporting 1,001–5,000 employees including 300+ veterinarians, nurses, health-management staff, and breeder coordinators. Operating geographies span Kanto, Kansai, Chubu, Kyushu, and Tohoku regions of Japan; no overseas expansion is disclosed. The business model emphasizes lifecycle responsibility, including a stated policy of zero unsold or lost pets, a 60% reduction in pre-sale mortality versus 2017, and over 1,100 rescue pets rehomed since 2013.

Name

P's first

Legal name

Pets-first CO.,LTD.

Website

https://pfirst.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

P's first is a vertically integrated Japanese pet care company operating 100+ retail stores specializing in puppies and kittens, supported by owned veterinary hospitals, grooming salons, a senior care and adoption facility, genetic testing via PF Lab, and a pet insurance joint venture. It serves individual pet buyers nationwide, selling 20,000+ animals per year with lifetime post-purchase support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Retail and Pet Care Services

NAICS

Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (459910), Pet and Pet Supplies Retailers (45991), Veterinary Services (54194), Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (81291)

SIC

Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940)

akta.pro primary industry

General Pet Supplies Retail (Multi-category) (CRALAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Pet Supplies Retail (CRALAIAI), Pet Supplies Inventory-led Online Retailers (CRAFADAH), Pet Supplies Omnichannel (CRAFAEAJ)

Keywords

• Pet retail services
• Veterinary hospital network
• Pet grooming salons
• Dog and cat sales
• Pet adoption services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ota

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Pet sales (puppies and kittens): Sale of puppies and kittens from verified breeders with health guarantees, including various breeds such as Toy Poodles, French Bulldogs, Chihuahuas, Munchkin cats, Scottish Folds
2. Pet health services: Veterinary hospital services, health check programs, Hot Support post-purchase program, grooming and pet hotel services
3. Pet insurance partnership: Partnership with Grace Small-Amount Short-Term Insurance Co., Ltd. for pet insurance products
4. Hot Support (post-purchase support): Original support service exclusively for Pets First customers, providing lifetime support for pet growth and development
5. Adoption center services: Pet Care & Adoption Center Nikko offering senior pet care, adoption intermediary services, dog runs, and pet hotels

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

P's first operates a chain of physical retail pet shops that sells purebred and mixed-breed puppies and kittens sourced from verified breeders, bundled with an exclusive lifetime Hot Support after-sales program. The company supplements this core retail business with owned veterinary hospitals, grooming salons, pet hotels, a large-scale senior pet care and adoption centre, a pet insurance joint venture, hereditary disease research collaborations, and an online store for pet accessories.

Product overview

P's first is a pet retail company specializing in puppies and kittens, operating primarily as a physical store chain with an integrated e-commerce platform (built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud). The portfolio consists of the core pet sales business supplemented by veterinary hospitals (ペッツファースト動物病院), grooming services (ペッツファーストトリミング), a senior pet care and adoption center (ペットケア＆アダプションセンター日光), rescue/adoption activities (里親探し活動), and hereditary disease research programs. Additional services include an online store, an original credit card, a customer portal (My Pets), a proprietary cat exercise product (ペッツファーストオリジナルキャットサークル), and a pet insurance joint venture (ペッツファースト＆グレイス少額短期保険株式会社). The company also acquired ライフパートナーイケダ for pet furniture. The ecosystem is tied together by the ほっとサポート after-sales support program available exclusively to customers who purchase pets from the company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ほっとサポート (Hotto Support): Original support service for pet owners providing ongoing care and consultation after pet purchase.
• ペットケア＆アダプションセンター日光
• ペッツファースト動物病院
• MissBIBI
• Pets always come first

Products and services

• Puppies and kittens retail sales (子犬・子猫販売) Retail sale of purebred and mixed-breed puppies and kittens sourced from verified breeders, with microchip implantation, veterinarian health checks, and breed guidance for individual consumers across Japan.
• Hot Support (ほっとサポート) Exclusive post-purchase lifetime support membership exclusively available to Pets-first customers, providing ongoing consultation and care across every stage of the pet's growth.
• Pets-first Animal Hospital (ペッツファースト動物病院) Chain of owned veterinary hospitals including the Daikanyama Advanced Medical Center, Fukuoka Ono Clinic, Kobe Sannomiya, Yokohama Motomachi and Odaiba locations, providing comprehensive medical services and lifelong care for pets.
• Pets-first Trimming (ペッツファーストトリミング) Professional pet grooming service operated by Pets-first, available at multiple locations including Daikanyama, Jiyugaoka, Kichijoji and Yokohama Motomachi stores.
• Pet Care & Adoption Center Nikko (ペットケア＆アドプションセンター日光) Senior pet care and adoption center facility in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, one of Japan's largest such facilities, offering senior pet care, adoption intermediary services, dog runs and pet hotel services.
• Rescue dog and cat adoption activity (里親探し活動・保護犬・猫譲渡活動) Adoption intermediary activity under which Pets-first takes in dogs and cats from shelters and personal owners and facilitates rehoming with new families, with 1,100+ animals rehomed cumulatively since 2013.
• Pets-first Online Store (オンラインストア at pfirstec2.jp) Owned e-commerce storefront (built on Salesforce Commerce Cloud) selling pet accessories, supplies and merchandise directly to consumers under the pfirstec2.jp domain.
• Pets-first Original Cat Exercise Circle (ペッツファーストオリジナルキャットサークル) Original proprietary cat exercise and play circle product under the Pets-first brand, expanding the company's own-brand pet accessory line.
• Pets-first & Grace Small-Amount Short-Term Insurance pet insurance service (ペッツファースト＆グレイス少額短期保険) Joint-venture pet insurance service with Grace Small-Amount Short-Term Insurance Co., Ltd., offering insurance products that support lifetime pet care for Pets-first customers.
• Premium Pet Salon MissBIBI (プレミアムペット salon MissBIBI) Premium pet salon partner service offering grooming, pet hotel stays and high-quality pet goods operated under the wholly-owned MissBIBI brand.
• Life Partner Ikeda (ライフパートナーイケダ) Pet furniture and pet accessories retail sub-brand acquired by Pets-first in August 2023, providing pet furniture products through dedicated retail.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero unsold or lost pets - all handled with full responsibility
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Grace Small-Amount Short-Term Insurance Co., Ltd. (グレイス少額短期保険株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 February 2025Establishment of pet insurance partnership company to provide insurance products for Pets First customers, supporting lifetime pet care services.
• Express Proud Co., Ltd. (株式会社エクスプランド)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2024Acquisition of single-family home-style children's photo studio business, expanding service offerings.
• Kintaro (キンタロー)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2024Acquisition of all shares of pet furniture and crib manufacturing and sales business, expanding product portfolio.
• Japanese College of Veterinary Science (日本獣医生命科学大学)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 December 2023Collaborative research partnership on FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) treatment and prevention in cats, contributing to rare disease research efforts.
• Life Partner Ikeda (ライフパートナーイケダ)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 August 2023Acquisition of pet shop business through new share transfer, expanding retail distribution network.
• Japan Assistance Dog Association (日本補助犬協会)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2023CSR partnership for hearing dog and assistance dog breeding support. 14th Pets First hearing dog has been trained as of 2026.
• Pet Resort College Co., Ltd. (ペットリゾートカレッジ株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2022Absorbed merger to streamline operations and expand pet care services.
• Kagoshima University - Professor Dai Yamato (鹿児島大学大和教授)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Genetic disease research collaboration focusing on GM1 gangliosidosis in Mameshiba dogs and PRA:CORD1 in Dachshunds. Professor Yamato serves as advisor for breeding environment improvement based on genetic research findings.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Pet Shop COCO: Established Japanese pet retail chain selling puppies, kittens, and pet supplies with brick-and-mortar stores across major Japanese cities. Directly comparable as a live-pet-focused multi-store retailer serving similar first-time owner segments.
• PETEMO: Pet supplies and services sub-brand of AEON PET operating in AEON Mall locations across Japan. Comparable as a mall-anchored, multi-service pet retailer with grooming and merchandise focus competing for the same physical-retail customer base.
• AEON PET (Aeon Pet): Japan's largest pet retail chain, part of the AEON Group; operates multi-category pet shops, grooming salons, and pet hotels nationwide. Most directly comparable to P's first in scale, omnichannel footprint, and integrated pet services offering.
• Kojima Pet / Pet Box: Japanese pet retail chain operated within home-center and hardware-store parent companies. Comparable as a multi-store pet retailer combining supplies, grooming, and live-pet categories, competing in regional Japanese markets.

Broad incumbents

• PetSmart (US): Largest North American specialty pet retailer offering products, services, in-store veterinary hospitals, grooming, and training. Comparable as a scaled, vertically integrated pet retail and services platform with a similar lifetime-care value proposition.
• Petco (US): Major US omnichannel pet retailer combining pet supplies with veterinary hospitals (Vetco) and grooming. Comparable as an established, scaled omnichannel pet-care platform offering similar bundled retail-plus-services experience.
• Pets at Home (UK): UK-listed omnichannel pet retailer with in-store veterinary clinics, grooming, and loyalty programmes. Comparable as a publicly traded reference point for the vertically integrated retail-plus-vet-plus-services model that P's first is replicating in Japan.

Emerging players

• Anicom Holdings: Japanese pet insurance and animal hospital operator. Comparable for its deep involvement in pet health economics, including insurance and veterinary networks, which overlap with P's first's vet-hospital and Grace insurance JV strategy.
• With Green: Japanese pet lifestyle retailer emphasising curated pet goods and grooming salons. Comparable as a Japanese premium-positioned pet retail and services brand competing for urban, design-conscious pet owners in overlapping Tokyo and Osaka geographies.

Others

• MissBIBI (internal brand): Premium pet salon and hotel brand wholly owned by P's first following acquisition. Listed as a peer to acknowledge it as a sub-brand rather than a standalone comparable; included because it occupies the premium grooming niche within P's first's own portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/psfirst
• Instagraminstagram.com/psfirst_official
• Xx.com/pfirst_jp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about P's first