Pet Supplies Plus heads west

Specialty pet retailer Pet Supplies Plus is entering three new states as part of an aggressive 2016 expansion plan.



The chain is entering California, Colorado and Oklahoma, as well as furthering its expansion in the states of New Jersey, Texas, Missouri, Iowa and Georgia. In addition, Pet Supplies Plus recently signed a deal to open 10 new stores in Kansas City, and is on target to open approximately 60 new stores by the end of the year.



Growth for the year will include 20 franchise deals for 55 new stores across the country signed in the first half of 2016. In 2015, Pet Supplies Plus signed 26 total franchise deals for 36 new stores.



To help accelerate Western growth and expansion, the retailer will be converting several Pet Extreme stores in California to Pet Supplies Plus establishments after acquiring the California-based 10-unit pet retail chain in fourth quarter 2015. Currently, Pet Supplies Plus operates more than 360 stores in 27 states.



“Consumers pumped more than $60 billion into the pet industry by the close of 2015, $2 billion more than 2014,” said David Leonardo, senior VP for franchising at Pet Supplies Plus. “With the spending came a drastic need for an increase in pet products and supplies stores across the U.S. The steady growth of the pet industry is credited to cognizant pet owners looking for natural products for their pets and an increase in the amount of households with pets, which is now roughly 75% of the country.”