[6][7] At that time, CEO Ryan Cohen prepared to take Chewy public as both Petco and PetSmart approached with merger offers.

[9] In 2017, Chewy was purchased by PetSmart, a retail entity backed by private equity firm BC Partners,[10] for $3.35 billion, which at the time was the largest ever acquisition of an e-commerce business.

The company saw increased demand from millions of existing and new customers as the business sustained growth throughout the economic disruption of the COVID-19 era.

[17] In November 2020, Chewy announced that it would produce and fulfill orders of customized prescription medications, commonly referred to as compounding, for instances where commercial alternatives are absent.

This service includes the establishment of veterinary practices that offer routine check-ups, urgent care, and surgical procedures.

[26] The company's founder and first CEO, Ryan Cohen, stated that he used Jeff Bezos's 1997 letter to shareholders as a roadmap for how to grow Chewy by using Amazon's guidelines on the convenience of shopping online and customer service.