Woof Gang Bakery, the leader in specialty pet retail and grooming, will end 2018 with a milestone 110 franchise locations and enter into 2019, with a goal to open a new store every 10 days.
“Woof Gang Bakery receives about 50 qualified applications for a franchise each month and our plan is to cap 2019 new store openings at 36, to enable us to best support new and existing franchises,” said Paul Allen, President and CEO of Woof Gang Bakery.
The 2019 growth strategy is to focus expansion within several of the 12 states in which the company has existing stores to further maximize resources and leverage brand recognition. The blueprint for next year includes 12 new stores in Florida, eight across Texas, three in Georgia, two in North Carolina and one in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Much of the growth in 2019 will be from existing franchise owners opening a second or third location. To support this regional development, the company will open franchise support centers in two markets, mirroring the infrastructure that exists in the Orlando corporate office.
The success of the franchise locations, designed to be neighborhood storefronts, is attributed to services offered. In 2018, the average store will realize a 20 percent year-over-year increase in revenue. In 2019, $45 million in sales will come from pet grooming. This accounts for half of the total system-wide revenue.
“Most of our recent growth comes from grooming,” said Allen. “To consider we will groom more than 1 million dogs and cats in 2019, is a credit to our franchise owners, our amazing groomers and the recognition and reputation of the Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming brand.”
“We have also seen enormous strides in retail. Thanks to significant advertising and pet food brand awareness campaigns by companies like Chewy.com, we have seen a lift in our stores as well,” added Allen.
Woof Gang Bakery is projected to open store number 200 in 2021. This trajectory is due to an even greater focus on pet-related services offered within stores. In addition to Woof Gang Grooming that exists in nearly every location, additional specialized services that satisfy customer demand include Woof Gang Wellness Clinics, Woof Gang Dog Walking and Woof Gang Dog Massage. These services will be offered in various combination throughout new and existing stores.