Here at Pet Supplies Plus, our tails are wagging as pet store owner Karl Keller from PetsWay joined our pet store franchise family. He signed a franchise agreement to convert his five stores to our brand.
“I was very impressed with the progress they’ve made since 2007. The purchasing power is so important for Franchise Owners. Pet Supplies Plus is competitive on retail pricing, and the product mix and margins are very attractive,” says Karl Keller.
Our Independent Pet Conversion Program gives Franchise Owners like Karl the opportunity to offer more products, greater variety, marketing insights and analytics and streamlined store operations. Plus, Franchise Owners benefit from more buying power for better prices on pet supplies that reward neighbors and compete with bigger brands.
A second-generation pet store owner.
His dad, Karl Keller, Sr., started the pet business after falling in love with guppies. With an entrepreneurial mindset, he soon realized that he could sell the guppy babies. At age 17, his parents told him to get the business out of their house, so he leased his first storefront when he was still in high school. Over time, his business grew as more customers asked if he had food for hamsters, parrots and other pets.
Meanwhile, Karl Jr. chose another career working for Boeing in St. Louis. But his dad’s business was so successful, he asked his son to help the company and move back to Springfield. Driven by his love for pets and family, Karl moved his family and joined Pets Way in 2000 which was operating five stores.
Karl chose a best-in-show brand carefully.
Karl did his homework and has been following Pet Supplies Plus for 15 years. He visited dozens of our stores across the U.S., and after visiting with our corporate team, he was even more impressed with what we’re doing and how fast we’re growing.
Last year, we reached out to Karl to let him know about the Independent Pet Conversion Program. Karl says he was “excited for the outreach and was ready to learn more about the latest developments with one of the top pet franchise brands.”
“The infrastructure is excellent and allows us to compete and grow in the pet business against other big brand names. We have the community base and relationships in our local market. It’s a win-win. We can be market players and operate multiple stores,” adds Karl.
Unleashing big goals with the big dogs.
With five successful stores, Karl wants to be a market player, compete with the big box pet store franchise brands and also retain that local community store appeal. His hopes are to get his first store converted to Pet Supplies Plus by the holiday season this year. We’re totally on board with that goal and are here with marketing, merchandising, tech and support to help Karl’s stores lead the pack.
“It’s been very rewarding and challenging at the same time. It’s never easy to go out on your own as an entrepreneur. But, the quality of people at Pet Supplies Plus is unmatched. I feel like I’ve worked with these people forever. You want to work with people you feel good about,” adds Karl.
Why franchise with us? People, pets and community, for starters.
As Karl says, “Pet Supplies Plus is a very respected pet franchise brand in our industry.” As the largest chain of independent pet store owners and operators in the country, we offer brand recognition, the buying power of 500+ stores and a proven track record of innovation, recession-resilient growth, neighborly service and top-notch support.
