The national pandemic has had devastating effects on many businesses, but the pet retail industry has been thriving. Families and baby boomer empty nesters have embraced pet ownership during this challenging time. Pets are also one of the main sources of companionship for millennials, as many are delaying starting families and going out less due to quarantine restrictions. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals saw a 70% increase in animals being placed into foster care families compared to the same period last year.
With renewed focus on the importance of pets, it is inevitable that pet stores and related services have seen a spike in demand, resulting in real estate expansion. Look for Pet Supplies Plus, Petsense, Woof Gang Bakery, Scenthound, Dogtopia, Camp Bow Wow and Hounds Town USA to hit the ground running, opening new units across the country over the next few years. Well-known brands that already have a large national presence, namely Petco and PetSmart, are focused less on expanding and more on in-store renovations to add veterinary services. PetPeople also has modest expansion plans, opening about two new units per year in states where it already has a presence, focusing on Tennessee, Florida and Georgia. This means there is ample room for other pet-related brands to increase their real estate footprints.
Pet Supplies Plus anticipates opening approximately 50 to 60 new stores per year over the next three years. The brand is now focused on franchises and will expand into the new states of Washington, South Dakota and Nevada, and expects to see continued growth in California, Texas and Illinois. Pet Supplies Plus is especially interested in expanding through store rebranding franchise deals, such as its deal earlier this year to convert six PetSaver Healthy Pet Superstores in the western New York area to its own brand. Although Pet Supplies Plus’ square footage can accommodate space as small as 3,300 s.f. or as large as 12,000 s.f., its preferred sweet spot is the 5,500- to 7,500-s.f. range. Sites in neighborhood strip mall spaces with strong ingress and egress and with well-known grocery brands as co-tenants are targeted. There should not be a competitor pet store, such as a Petco or a PetSmart, in the vicinity. Pet Supplies Plus prefers inline space, but is also open to freestanding space, such as its 9,000-s.f. unit expected to open this month in a former Pier 1 Imports standalone building at the Tolson Enterprise’s North Park Plaza in Holland, Mich., a shopping center which also houses a Walmart. Pet Supplies Plus opened its 500th store last month and sells pet food for dogs, birds, fish and reptiles, and its stores provide dog-wash bays, grooming services and veterinary care at select locations.
Petsense expects to open approximately 15 to 20 new stores per year over the next three years in states where the brand already has a presence, but still has room for growth, such as Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas, Florida, Oregon, Virginia and California, as well in the new state of Illinois. Petsense is in a healthy position for expansion due to its purchase by the Tractor Supply Company four years ago. The retailer seeks approximately 5,000 to 10,000 s.f. of freestanding or inline space in strip centers, power centers or neighborhood community centers in small- to mid-size communities with populations of 30,000 to 80,000. Preferred co-tenants include Walmart, Target, The Home Depot, Lowe’s or a grocery anchor, such as Publix. Count on a 6,000-s.f. unit at the Monroe Pavilion development that is set to open next summer in Birmingham, Ala. Developed by MAB American Management and Retail Specialists, the shopping center will be anchored by a Publix and also feature Ross Dress For Less, ULTA Beauty and Planet Fitness as co-tenants. Petsense is a pet supply chain that offers grooming services at select locations.
Woof Gang Bakery is also anticipating opening 15 to 20 new units per year over the next few years, and the brand remains open to new territories, provided the franchise owners are well qualified.
States that received their first Woof Gang Bakery recently include Colorado with a 1,375-s.f. unit that opened in Boulder in August; New Mexico with a 2,430-s.f. unit that opened in July; and Ohio with a unit that opened in Shaker Heights last December. Woof Gang Bakery seeks spaces between 1,000 and 3,000 s.f., with glass frontage and rear-door delivery, in high-end strip malls or lifestyle centers in a community with an $85K median household income. Sites should have unobstructed visibility and access from a main traffic corridor, with a 20,000 minimum traffic count, and a population of 85,000 to 150,000 within a three-mile radius. Preferred co-tenants include Starbucks, high-end grocery stores such as Whole Foods Market, The Fresh Market and Sprouts, and service-oriented daily-needs businesses, including dry cleaners. The brand, with 125 units in 16 states, is known for its premium and natural dog food selections and pet grooming services.
Scenthound may only have four units in Florida at the moment, but by the end of 2021 the brand anticipates having an additional 100 units sold, primarily to multi-unit operators. The brand hired a new VP of Franchise Development over the summer in anticipation of this growth. Further expansion is expected in suburban communities and major metropolitan areas within the Southeast, namely Georgia, Florida, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Texas. Scenthound is seeking potential single and multi-unit franchise partners in those areas. Scenthound targets inline space between 1,000 and 1,200 s.f. in grocery-anchored “errand-intensive” retail centers so that customers may easily drop off their pets while performing their regular errands. Preferred co-tenants include Publix, Trader Joe’s and other pet-related tenants, such as PetSmart, Petco and veterinary offices. The store provides bathing and grooming services, including nail clipping, ear cleaning, dental care and haircuts, for either a monthly membership package or a one-time fee.
Pet Boarders Are Also Booming
Dogtopia — a daycare, boarding and grooming spa for dogs — has an ambitious plan to open approximately 70 units per year over the next three years. Expect to see further growth throughout the country, especially in Georgia, Illinois, Virginia, Connecticut and Oregon, as the dog daycare/kennel franchise has approximately 250 franchise units sold and in development. The brand looks for space between 3,500 and 12,000 s.f., ideally with outdoor space, near grocery anchors and service-oriented tenants, such as medical tenants, in upper middle class residential or workplace environments. Space can be inline or standalone, in retail strip centers or industrial space. Three years ago, the brand introduced a smaller-format “Dogtopia Lite” prototype that can accommodate sites as small as 3,000 s.f., opening up more possibilities in urban mixed-use and corporate campus spaces. Dogtopia’s primary customers are millennial-aged females and baby boomers.
Camp Bow Wow, a doggy day care/grooming/overnight boarding franchise, is on track to open approximately 35 to 40 new units per year over the next three years, and hired a new VP of Franchise Development last year to help facilitate this growth.
The company is open to interested franchisees in all U.S. markets, including areas where the brand does not currently have a presence, such as in Louisville, Ky., Billings, Mont., and Burlington, Vt. Expect additional growth in states that Camp Bow Wow entered for the first time last year, especially within Jackson, Miss., Portland and Bend, Ore. Other markets of interest include Des Moines, Boston, Baltimore, Omaha, Neb., Miami, West Palm Beach and Jacksonville, Fla., Spokane and Seattle, Wash., and El Paso, Texas. The retailer also looks for sites in the major metropolitan areas of California. Camp Bow Wow seeks multi-tenant or standalone buildings between 4,000 and 10,000 s.f. in retail or light industrial commercial space near major thoroughfares that are a few blocks away from main and main and close to high-end retail shopping centers. Though additional outdoor space is preferred, sites can be indoor-only, as Camp Bow Wow utilizes a soundproof technology to drown out barking noises.
Hounds Town USA, an affordably-priced pet boarding/daycare/grooming franchise resembling a “dog town” setting, is on the verge of major U.S. growth. With 16 units open to date in eight states, the brand anticipates opening 15 to 20 new units per year over the next two years. With its current units primarily located in the Northeast and the South, Hounds Town USA is expanding west with a unit set to open in Henderson, Nev., this month and will be expanding further into Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and central Florida. The brand seeks space ideally between 4,000 and 6,000 s.f. in industrial park or light commercial areas on well-trafficked roads. Hounds Town USA seeks suburban markets with a large population of young working families who own pets.
