Focus on: Business Strategies Twenty years of steady growth and smart acquisitions have propelled Doctors Foster & Smith to the top spot among pet-supply catalogers.

By Reported Donna Loyle

A Sharp Eye on Operations

The doctors learned early in their cataloging careers that, while they may know a lot about pet health, they needed to tap the expertise of recognized merchants to help strengthen the operation. To that end, they took on two minority partners: John Powers, a pet retail-industry veteran, and Mike Scrivner, a certified public accountant. Foster oversees the contact center and Internet operations, and Smith supervises catalog operations.